Development of a Middle Bronze Age (1900–1500 cal BC) house at the site of Százhalombatta-Földvár, Hungary: detecting choice of materials by the means of archaeological thin section soil micromorphology and phytolith analysis

Abstract Százhalombatta-Földvár Bronze Age tell settlement is one of the most extensively studied sites of Hungary. Interdisciplinary approach is one of the key factors in understanding the past here. Therefore, a range of natural scientific methods are applied, including thin section soil micromorphology and phytolith analysis. The high resolution of these techniques is used to add details that are impossible via traditional archaeological means. In this paper, we aim to look at decision-making in choices of construction materials. A Middle Bronze Age house (ID 3147), belonging to the so-called Vatya Culture, was sampled to investigate the used materials, the building techniques and space use. Earthen floors, clay floor, wall and hearth material are under the microscope for a better understanding of Bronze Age construction and everyday life. Micro fragments are traced to investigate space use and activities inside the house. It is also our intention to further test the conjoint application of the abovementioned methods to add data and encourage work between the experts of the two fields as there is only a handful of such studies available.

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ETHNOCULTURAL CONTACTS OF THE NORTHEAST CAUCASUS POPULATION WITH STEPPE TRIBES AT THE END OF THE EARLY AND MIDDLE BRONZE AGE

History Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus ◽

10.32653/ch14382-94 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 82-94

Author(s):

Gamzat D Ataev ◽

Tufan I Ahundov

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Complex Nature ◽

Cultural Traditions ◽

Distinctive Features ◽

Scientific Methods ◽

The North ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

North Eastern ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

General Scientific

The article examines little-studied aspects of contacts between the population of the Northeast Caucasus and the steppe tribes in the end of the early and middle Bronze Age. The study is based on the material of archaeological researches, conducted in this area over the past 50 years. The work uses general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, induction), as well as comparative historical and typological methods of an archaeological research. The materials of archaeological excavations from the monuments of the considered time of various physical and geographical regions of Daghestan and Chechnya are analyzed and compared, as well as the opinions of a number of researchers. This allows a new approach to the disclosure of many aspects related to the study of the issue. As a result of studying the materials of archaeological monuments during the reviewed period, it can be stated that at the turn of the ages of the Early and Middle Bronze, the material and spiritual culture of the population of the North-Eastern Caucasus was undergoing cardinal shifts and changes. Inside the early bronze culture of Daghestan there were processes associated with the maturation of many elements of subsequent cultures of the Middle Bronze Age. New cultures of this age have features of continuity from the previous culture, but already possesses vivid and distinctive features of other cultural traditions. At the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, Northern and Middle Daghestan were intensively influenced by steppe crops, which then changed its culture, while Southern Daghestan transformed culture somewhat later. As a result of the research, it became possible to study the complex nature and dynamics of cultural-historical relations between local, autochthonous and steppe population, to determine the role of steppe tribes in the formation of the culture of the Middle Bronze Age of the Northeast Caucasus.

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The Interdisciplinary Approach of Some Middle Bronze Age Pottery from Eastern Romania

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11114885 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 4885

Author(s):

Ana Drob ◽

Viorica Vasilache ◽

Neculai Bolohan

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

Main Element ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

The Past ◽

Prehistoric Pottery ◽

Type Size ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

Manufacturing Technologies

Prehistoric pottery is the most abundant material discovered in archaeological sites and represents the main element of knowledge about human communities from the past. This study presents a model of interdisciplinary investigation of pottery through several types of analyses, enabling the scientific study of this category of artifacts. The analyses were performed on 11 ceramic fragments from the Middle Bronze Age settlement of Piatra Neamț–Lutărie, Eastern Romania, considering information about the color, production technique, type, size, functionality and category of the vessel, but also data related to ceramic paste inclusions. The samples were studied by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and micro-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (µFTIR). The results obtained provide important information regarding pottery manufacturing technologies, such as sources of the raw materials and firing temperatures, and revealed the functionality of various vessel categories within a prehistoric settlement.

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