Early and Middle Bronze Age Chronology of the Carpathian Basin Revisited: Questions Answered or Persistent Challenges?

Abstract

The Early and Middle Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin is often viewed as a long period of transition from a dispersed form of land occupation to one of increasing aggregation, ultimately resulting in the formation of tell settlements and large cemeteries. This developmental trajectory remains a legacy of early 20th century archaeology, where the similarity of material culture recovered from cemeteries and settlements was used to develop a multi-linear scheme of progression of regional chronologies tied to specific archaeological cultures. While typologically conclusive, the recent increase in the availability of radiocarbon determinations suggests that these sequences represent a priori interpretation of social development rather than empirically verified observations. In order to do so, it is necessary to re-evaluate the existing dataset in order to determine whether the formation of tells was a chronologically contemporary development and whether the regional chronological sequences are supported by independent dating.

Society in Transition: Cultural Change in the Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Nižná Myšl’a in the Light of Absolute Chronology

“…The first are bronze hoards, which were used to delineate a number of chronological horizons, most often with blurred boundaries and a rather large capacity calculated in calendar years (David 2002, and further literature therein). The second group of sources were ceramics from cemeteries (Staniuk 2021). What is characteristic, in the case of grave pottery, it was also used to date the pace of development of individual settlements.…”

Forging a New World Order? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Management of Metalworking and Ideological Change in the Late Bronze Age Carpathian Basin

“…3), thereby just overlapping with the abandonment phase at nearby MBA tells, with absolutely dated abandonment horizons at Pecica, Feudvar, and possibly Rabe Anka Siget, which may have been abandoned in the previous century (Nicodemus et al, 2015;O'Shea et al, 2019, p. 614, Fig. 7;Staniuk, 2021). Additional finds from Șagu demonstrate that metalworking was situated within a multi-craft milieu including food preparation (quern stones; butter churn) and pottery production (Sava et al, 2011, pp.…”

“…1-2 hectares. Despite the LBA Carpathian metalwork styles being influential across Europe, research into Bronze Age Carpathian societies has so far focused primarily on the MBA tells and their inhabitants, evident in fieldwork investment since the nineteenth century (Dani et al, 2019;Găvan, 2012;Kienlin et al, 2017;Staniuk, 2021). Over the past 10 years, this situation is changing with greater focus on the LBA.…”

“…Archaeometric research has revealed insights into the circulation of metal as a resource and into object biographies (through metallography, metalwork wear analysis, and fragmentation studies) that explore specific human-object interactions over time (e.g. Dolfini & Crellin, 2016, Horn & von Holstein, 2017, Knight, 2019, Mödlinger & Trebsche, 2021, Mödlinger, 2011, 2021, Molloy, 2018, Nørgaard et al, 2021, Radivojević et al, 2019, Tarbay et al, 2021. Fewer studies have focussed on craft choices through the lens of particular technical ceramics, and these typically focus on specific components of the chaîne opératoire (Amicone et al, 2020b, Binggeli, 2011Eklöv Pettersson, 2012;Ó Faoláin 2004;Needham 1980;Sahlén, 2013).…”

“…-1550 in the later Early and Middle Bronze Age (MBA). Though unfolding over decades, the tell settlement network had collapsed between 1600 and 1500 BC with the abandonment of virtually all tells and the breakdown of the supporting social infrastructures (Staniuk, 2021).…”