Körös culture settlement, subsistence and environment: investigations of the Early Neolithic Körös culture site of Ecsegfalva 23, Co. Békés, Hungary
Alasdair Whittle, 2008. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000068. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Prof Alasdair Whittle, Cardiff University unless otherwise stated
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Primary contact
Prof
Alasdair
Whittle
School Of History and Archaeology
Cardiff University
Cardiff
CF1 3XU
Wales
Tel: 02920 875633
Fax: 02920 874929
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- ADS Collection: 794
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000068
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
This project was concerned with the early Neolithic Körös culture of the Great Hungarian Plain. Four years of small-scale but intensive investigations were centred on the site of Ecsegfalva 23, Co. Békés. The site lies beside an old meander - the Kiri-tó - of the Hortobágy-Berettyó river, northern tributary of the Körös river system. The site, first recorded by the Hungarian Archaeological Topography, was chosen for its proximity to pollen-bearing sediments in the meander and its position near the main northern limits of the Körös culture.
Within broader questions about the Körös culture and its place in the development and spread of the Neolithic, detailed aspects of environment, settlement and subsistence were the principal goals of the project. Ecsegfalva 23 is part of a distinctive, flat landscape. Other sites are known in the vicinity, around the meander and in former channels of the Berettyó; none are known at present in the depressions to the north, while rather more are recorded on the old alluvial terraces to the south. The project included GIS-based study of the affordances of this landscape, detailed investigations of the Kiri-tó meander, its sediments, pollen and phytolith analysis, and molluscan analysis. Early Neolithic people at Ecsegfalva 23 lived beside the waters of a shallow meander in a landscape probably prone to periodic flooding, surrounded by a mosaic of woodland and open ground.
Ecsegfalva 23 is known from surface finds and geophysical survey to stretch in total some 140 m along the edge of the Kiri-tó, though the main concentration of features occupies only the highest point. Only three small trenches (A, B, C) were excavated, and the largest, Trench B (10 by 15 m) was not fully excavated over its whole extent. In Trenches A and C, probably on the periphery of the occupation, pits were found; those in Trench A were shallow, but contained quantities of carbonised plant remains, and were overlain by a burial of the Alföld Linear Pottery culture. In Trench B, a large pit was overlain by a substantial cultural deposit, rich in finds of sherds, daub, animal, bird and fish bone, shellfish, lithics, fired clay objects and bone tools. Micromorphological analysis indicates the presence of both animal dung and charcoal, and grasses and other vegetation were also introduced. Much of the deposit consists of ashy material, though it varies chemically across the area uncovered. The deposit is probably the result of both middens and the burning of former structures. Only one posthole was located (though others may remain in the unexcavated portion of Trench B) but study of the daub shows not only numerous impressions of reeds but also some of posts or wooden components. The pit fill and the stratigraphy may suggest a succession of structures. Radiocarbon dates suggest that occupation began after 5800 cal BC, and was concentrated between 5750-5650 cal BC, probably within a period of 70-80 years. The attached files give details of site stratigraphy and the contexts used in excavation.
A very wide range of evidence for subsistence was recovered. Although, as at other sites of the Körös culture, a broad spectrum of both domesticated and wild species are represented, the principal animal was the sheep (with some goat). The status of cattle is uncertain, though five samples analysed for their aDNA indicate wild aurochs. Young animals are represented, indicating settlement in the summer, and study of sheep/goat mandibles shows winter killing of older animals, as well as teeth wear patterns indicative of high stocking levels, perhaps in fairly confined conditions. Sheep/goat were consumed for meat, and there is also evidence from analysis of residues of fatty acids in pottery for the consumption of dairy products as well as of animal fats. Birds, fish and shellfish were also consumed, though probably as supplementary food. Bird species include summer and winter migrants. Plant species recovered by flotation of their carbonised remains include glume wheats, free-threshing wheat and barley, one grain of common millet, one grain of lentil, a range of wild seeds/fruits, and a range of weeds including both wild species and ones associated with cultivation. Einkorn, emmer and barley were probably the principal species cultivated. The dominance of annuals in the weed assemblages suggests permanent cultivation plots or gardens. Isotopic study of the AVK burial and the fauna from Ecsegfalva 23, and the evidence of teeth from Körös and AVK sites on the Great Hungarian Plain, complement these investigations of subsistence.
There was a rich if simple material inventory, dominated by pottery. The abundant pottery included cups, bowls, globular vessels and jars. Decoration was principally by burnishing, slips, impression and incision of various kinds, applications and barbotine treatment. A few figural representations were found, along with large clay weights and loomweights. A wide range of bone tools were found. Imported stone material included small axes and two small querns; there were also a few small beads and buttons. Other lithic material was not abundant but included limnnic quartzite, obsidian, radiolarite, Banat and Volhynian flint, and porzelanite, variously from sources to the north and south. Both 'Mediterranean' and 'Danubian' styles of production can be discerned, suggestive of varying cultural traditions and origins.
People lived at Ecsegfalva 23 for perhaps not more than two or three generations, between c. 5750-5650 cal BC. They might have been of mixed descent. They chose to live in a varied, mosaic landscape, perhaps liable to periodic flooding. The settlement was probably small at any one time, and for parts of the year perhaps isolated; larger seasonal aggregations can also be considered. People had structures built of daub, reeds and probably timber. They hunted game and birds, fished, and collected wild plants and shellfish, but their principal concerns were with sheep/goat herding and cultivation of cereals in gardens. The evidence strongly suggests occupation in all the main parts of the year, though it is possible that there were movements out into the landscape according to seasons and tasks. These data are important not only for establishing the nature of the Körös culture in one part of its distribution but also for thinking about the conditions in which the subsequent Linear Pottery culture arose.
