Prehistoric Stone Raw Materials from the Bükk Mountains in Northeastern Hungary

The initial hypothesis of our project was that the management of lithic raw material sources by prehistoric communities was influenced by natural, economic and cultural factors, and this complex interaction can best be examined in a time scale where significant climatic-environmental and economic-cultural changes took place. This problem is based on the palaeoethnological approach of the French lithic research and our previous experiences. At the early Upper Paleolithic site of Andornaktálya 1 (Bükk Mountains, Hungary), we found that Silesian flint (from Southern Poland) and obsidian (from Eastern Slovakia) were treated in the same way as local raw materials. Our field observations in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary have convinced us of how important it is to distinguish lithic raw material sources according to procurement, and what role geomorphological processes play in changing access.

Bevezetés: a kutatási projekt és előzményei

Mester

2024

Az őskori ember kapcsolata a nyersanyagforrásokkal: módszertani megfontolások

Mester,

Faragó,

Király

2024

Based on the approaches mentioned in the previous chapter, especially the French palaeoethnological approach, we turned to new approaches in the understanding of prehistoric raw material management. Many factors influence the relationship of a community – be it hunter-gatherers or food producers – with the raw material resources located within its physical or virtual territory. The first factor is whether the group knows about the existence of the resource. The second factor is whether the resource is accessible to the community. The third factor is whether the source can be exploited for the community which is dependent upon their technology. The fourth factor is whether the raw material is suitable for use by them. After weighing the listed factors, a prehistoric community decided which of the possible sources was considered a source of raw materials. Our Occurrence–Source–Archaeological site (OSA) model helps to describe the interaction between siliceous rock resources and humans. Any place where stone suitable for knapping can be found is considered to be an Occurrence. If the lithic raw material from an occurrence is found in the archaeological material, we call it a Source, as it was utilized by humans. All places where remains of human activity are found are usually considered Archaeological sites. This provides a dynamic framework for examining the relationship between people and raw material sources.

Terepi megfigyelések a nyersanyagforrásokkal kapcsolatban

Mester

2024

Half of the lithic material of the Andornaktálya 1 site is Silesian flint and Slovakian obsidian from distant sources, treated in the same way as local raw materials. This led to the need to examine the connections between the areas here and beyond the Carpathians, which also included field research of possible sources. The research program was started in 2011–2012 with the support of the International Visegrad Fund and continued in 2017–2024 with the support of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund. The occurrences of siliceous rocks were studied at sites in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary. In addition to getting to know the field conditions, we also set the goal of documenting the diversity of the given siliceous rock by collecting samples. The collected information was organized into a QGIS-based database. The studied occurrences were categorized according to the four categories defined by Alain Turq for raw material sources, which are closely related to the methods of acquisition. The main lesson learned from our field investigations is that the problem of identifying raw material sources is extremely complex, as both the occurrences of siliceous rocks in the landscape and their lithological properties are incredibly diverse. This is especially true for limnosilicites of post-volcanic, hydrothermal origin, which are peculiar to the Carpathian Basin. Petrographic tests on rock samples from the reference collection also produced results that shed new light on certain types of raw materials. Based on these experiences, we believe it is worthwhile to continue the research project both in terms of field collection and petrographic analyses.