PRAEHISTORIA. Volume Edited by Árpád Ringer

Transcription

1 PRAEHISTORIA Volume 9 10 Edited by Árpád Ringer Miskolc

2 The publication of this volume was supported by the following institutions: The Council of the City of Miskolc The University of Miskolc A Tudomány Támogatásáért Észak-Magyarországon Alapítvány Front cover illustration: The face of a Neanderthal child from Suba-lyuk Cave, Hungarian Natural History Museum. Reconstruction and photograph by Gy. Skultéty. The cleft of the Bársony house found in 1891, Hungarian National Museum. Photograph by G. Kulcsár. Back cover illustration: Photo of Ottokár Kadić Székely K. (szerk.): Kadić Ottokár a magyar barlangkutatás atyja Önéletrajz Budapest, Magyar Állami Földtani Intézet, 2010, p. 6. HU ISSN Prof. Dr. Gyula Patkó Rector of the University of Miskolc bears full responsibility for the publication Published by the Archaeolingua Foundation & Publishing House on behalf of the Department of Prehistory and Ancient History, University of Miskolc, in collaboration with the Herman Ottó Museum and the Miskolc Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. ARCHAEOLINGUA Foundation All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digitised, photo copying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. ARCHAEOLINGUA ALAPÍTVÁNY H-1014 Budapest, Úri u. 49. Word processing, desktop editing and layout: Rita Kovács and Zsolt Mester Cover design: Erzsébet Jerem and Gergely Hős Printed by: Prime Rate, Budapest

3 CONTENTS Editorial Preface... 5 Szeleta Workshop Commemorating the 100 th Anniversary of the Excavation at Szeleta Cave October Miskolc... 7 György LENGYEL, Péter SZOLYÁK & Martina PACHER Szeleta Cave Earliest Occupation Reconsidered... 9 Árpád RINGER Nouvelles données sur le Szélétien de Bükk William DAVIES & Robert HEDGES Dating a Type Site: Fitting Szeleta Cave into Its Regional Chronometric Context Zdeňka NERUDOVÁ The Technology of the Szeletian Lithic Industry in the Context of Moravian EUP Cultures Martin OLIVA Questions du Szélétien supérieur en Moravie Viola T. DOBOSI Leaf Points in non-szeletian Context Zsolt MESTER Les outils foliacés de la grotte Jankovich : la renaissance d un problème ancien Jürgen RICHTER The Role of Leaf Points in the Late Middle Palaeolithic of Germany Agnès LAMOTTE, Gilles HUGUENIN, Georges WILLEMAN, Philippe DUPAS & Jean-Michel PIROT Les stations de plein air à outils foliacés dans l Est de la France Petr NERUDA Moravia during OIS 3: Cultural Relations Yuri E. DEMIDENKO East European Aurignacian and Its Early / Archaic Industry of Krems-Dufour Type in the Great North Black Sea Region András MARKÓ Raw Material Use at the Middle Palaeolithic Site of Vanyarc (Northern Hungary) Josip KOBAL The Pioneer of Subcarpathian Palaeolithic Research

4 Árpád RINGER & György LENGYEL The Upper Palaeolithic Site at Budapest Corvin-tér Péter SZOLYÁK New Radiocarbon Data with Stratigraphical, Climatic and Archaeological Contexts to the Palaeolithic Assemblage of the Herman Ottó Cave, Miskolc-Alsóhámor, Northeast Hungary Péter SZOLYÁK Upper Palaeolithic Blade Cores and Flake Cores from the Herman Ottó Cave, Miskolc-Alsóhámor, Northeast Hungary György LENGYEL Radiocarbon Dates of the Gravettian Entity in Hungary Dietrich MANIA Gravettien zwischen Elbe und Thüringer Wald Vasile CHIRICA, Madalin-Cornel VALEANU & Codrin-Valentin CHIRICA L image de la femme dans l art et les religions prehistoriques: l orante László G. JÓZSA Depicted Obesity and Steatopygia on Paleolithic Statues Book Review

5 PRAEHISTORIA vol ( ) THE UPPER PALAEOLITHIC SITE AT BUDAPEST CORVIN-TÉR Árpád RINGER * & György LENGYEL ** Abstract Rescue excavations at Corvin-tér in Budapest recovered Upper Palaeolithic remains in Finds from the site are knapped stones, animal bones and poorly preserved wood remains. In addition to these fi nds human footprints were also found on the surface of the archaeological layer. According to the features of the lithic tools, the site belongs to the Ságvárian archaeological culture dated to the Last Glacial Maximum period. Introduction The archaeological site was found during building operations in 1997 at Budapest Corvintér (Place Corvin) (Fig. 1). The rescue excavation was carried out by the Historical Museum of Budapest and the Upper Palaeolithic settlement by the Department of Prehistory and Ancient History (today Department of Prehistory and Archaeology) of the University of Miskolc. The site preserved traces from the prehistory to the middle ages. the Pleistocene stratigraphy on the II/a terrace of Danube at this place. The archaeological layer 1 3 cm thick lay above a loamy clay and under a silt loam layer. The silt loam layer cm thick consisted of The oldest human settlement traces were found in the Northeastern portion of the excavation area, during the excavation of Celtic pits. All together 30 square meters were recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic settlement. The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary results of this excavation. Site stratigraphy Corvin-tér is situated in the center of Budapest, on the right bank of Danube. The Upper Palaeolithic site covered a topographically tilting area m below the actual surface (105 m above sea level) on the II/a terrace of Danube dated to the Late Pleistocene age (Pécsi et al. 1982). During the excavation the gravel terrace of Danube was not reached. Thus, only the archaeological layer and the sediments above and beneath are known from Fig. 1. Corvin-tér site below the Castle Hill of Buda. * University of Miskolc, Institute of History, Departmet of Prehistory and Archaeology, H-3515 Miskolc- Egyetemváros. bolringa@uni-miskolc.hu ** University of Miskolc, Institute of History, Departmet of Prehistory and Archaeology, H-3515 Miskolc- Egyetemváros. bolengyu@uni-miskolc.hu 205

6 Árpád RINGER & György LENGYEL 2 4 cm thick laminae (Fig. 2). This structure is characteristic to water lain sediments. Probably, the area of the site was a small shelf in the Plesitocene. The abandonment of the site was followed by water level rise of the Danube. The layer covering the archaeological remains was formed during suffusions of the Danube which lay down the fine silt loam up to 1.40 m thickness. The original Holocene formation on top of the Pleistocene sequence was missing in the area, most probably due to the continuous human presence and anthropogenic effects upon the soil cover. A total of 1.50 m thick Pleistocene sediment was studied at the site. Accordingly, changes in the sedimentation can only be observed at the unconformity between the loamy clay (1) and the silt loam (2), where the human settlement itself was preserved (Fig. 3). Site features The archaeological layer partially was reddish and dark gray. No charcoals and hearths were found. A few organic remains were recovered at the site. Botanical remains are of wood of Pinus silvestris, including a large piece of bark (Babos 1997) (Fig. 4). The fauna, especially concentrated in the west and southwestern part of the excavation area, was dominated by bison (Vörös 2010). Fig. 2. The laminated sediment. Fig. 4. Wood remain. Fig. 3. Stratigraphy of the site. 206

7 The Upper Palaeolithic site at Budapest Corvin-tér Most of the finds are lithics (Fig. 5). Those seem to have been hardly moved by the fluctuation of Danube, because the lithic refitting study found close spatial distribution of finds. Fig. 5. The excavated area. Fig. 6. Footprints. 207

8 Árpád RINGER & György LENGYEL Interesting features are footprints in the silt loam. Most of these have shapes of animal feet and two humans (Fig. 6). According to the physical anthropologist Gy. Gyenis (personal communication, 1997), the human footprints belong to an adult left foot and a child right foot. These two were found next to each other in trench I square 15. Toes were directed toward highest part of the site. The presence of footprints, both animal and human, and the preservation of wood may indicate that the area of the site was wet and plastic during the human occupation. Basically four types of lithic raw materials compose the assemblage, Radiolarite, sandstone of two varieties, and lime stone. The most numerous is the radiolarite, that can be found in large amount and various colors in Bakony Mountains in Western Hungary (Biró & Dobosi 1991, 2000). Its colour is brown, reddish and yellowish. The top of the archaeological layer partially was red and dark gray. These hues in the sediment most probably were signs of fire, although hearths and charcoals were not found. The lack of these latter may have probably been due to the low velocity water flow of the Danube. Contrary to the charcoals, minute knapping chips, < 5 mm, are present in the archaeological assemblage, which were not removed by water. The knapped lithic artefacts lay scattered in the excavation area. A few refitted specimens lay next to each other. Animal remains were concentrated in the western, southwestern squares of the site. A total of ten postholes were found in the level of the highest elevation of the excavated area, which ambiguously could have been dated to the human settlement (Fig. 7). Lithic assemblage The lithic assemblage consists of 383 knapped specimens and one intact block of stone (quartzite) (Table 1). Most numerous are the flakes, then the knapping debris and on the third place are the bladelets. Blades do not occur in the assemblage. A very few core trimming products are also present, such as core platform rejuvenating removals (tablets and a flake), burin spalls, neo-crest bladelets, and core margin removal flakes (debordant). This composition of knapped lithics shows the stone tool manufacture was performed at the site. Fig. 7. Postholes. Table 1. Composition of the lithic assemblage of Budapest Corvin-tér (including tools and broken items). Frequency Percent flake ,8 bladelet 93 24,3 debris and chips ,1 rejuvenating flake 1 0,3 core tablet 5 1,3 spontaneous removal 2 0,5 debordant 4 1,0 burin spall 3 0,8 neo crest 6 1,6 bladelet core 4 1,0 flake core 1 0,3 Total

9 The Upper Palaeolithic site at Budapest Corvin-tér The radiolarite products rarely bear the original cortical surface of this rock. The scanty presence of cortex on flakes and bladelets (10 and 1 items, respectively) is due to that the nodules were brought to the site in pre-processed state and the majority of the cortical surfaces were removed elsewhere. This procedure resulted in that the bladelets, except a single specimen, are devoid of cortex. The bladelet core configuration action consisted of the removal of few flakes, including one to create the striking platform. According to the features of the butts, radiolarite bladelets were detached by soft hammer technique. These features are the abrasion of the overhang (28 of 41), almost absence of impact point (7 cases), and moderate or no bulb (18 diffuse, 20 slight convex). In the course of the bladelet debitage, the convexity of the debitage surface was improved, the results of which are the neo-crest products in the lithic assemblage. As well, according to the presence of core tablets (2 items) and a core platform rejuvenating flake, the striking platforms of the cores were rejuvenated from time to time. The average length of the bladelets is 28 mm and the largest complete bladelet is shorter than 50 mm. Bladelets were selected to make the backed armatures such as Gravette points and backed bladelets (Fig. 8). Truncations were solely made on bladelets, all of which are oblique. A few edge retouched bladelets are also included in the tool kit (Table 2). Radiolarite flakes do not seem to have been produced via systematic and separate debitage from the bladelet production. Those most probably are byproducts of the bladelet debitage and the bladelet core configuration. This assumption is simply based on the absence of radiolarite flake cores in the lithic assemblage. Compared to the bladelets, the flakes exhibit more traces of hard hammer percussion. This observation is due to the number of intact overhangs (30 of 51), the frequent presence of impact point on the butts of the flakes. It is of importance Table 2. Tool types by fl akes and bladelets. flake bladelet total % end-scraper ,3 notch denticulate ,7 retouched ,3 truncated ,5 borer ,7 burin ,3 backed ,5 Gravette point , Fig. 8. Stone tools. 1: end-scraper; 2: denticulate; 3: retouched fl ake; 4: burin; 5: burin-end-scraper; 6: Gravette point; 7 9: backed bladelet; 10: obliquely truncated bladelet. 209

10 Árpád RINGER & György LENGYEL that, even taking into account that the retouch modifies the length of the blank, the radiolarite flake tools are larger in average (25 mm) than the blank flakes (22 mm). Therefore, the large flakes seem to have been preferred for shaping tools. Tools made of radiolarite flakes are end scrapers, burins, a few edge retouched tool and notches-denticulates. Contrary to the radiolarite processing, the three other types of hard rocks in the lithic assemblage solely were used for producing flakes. None of these raw materials have bladelets in the assemblage. The second type of raw material is a fine grained green sandstone pebble. Besides the flakes and the knapping debris, it yielded one of the flake cores. The raw material itself has a tabular form, 4 cm thick. One of the flat faces was the striking platform and the debitage surface was accordingly short side of the rock. The strikes for removing the flakes were made upon the chosen flat face. Detaching took place by hard hammer technique. Due to that a short and wide part of the block was the debitage surface, all the flakes removed from this core have a special shape. Compared to the flakes made of radiolarite, the distal part of flakes from the second type raw material is wider than the proximal one and the edges thus are divergent. It is of interest that no tools were made of these flakes with further retouching. The third type of raw material is a coarse grained dark grey sandstone pebble. Its technological features do not differ from those of the former raw material. The fourth type of raw material is a yellow lime stone pebble. This raw material yielded no core but flakes and knapping debris. According to the lithic refitting, during the knapping process the striking platform was floating. Hard hammer technique was used and no tools were made out of these flakes by retouching. Discussion and conclusion Characteristic features of the Corvin-tér lithic assemblage are the bladelet production, the small size of the tools, and the use of radiolarite and pebble raw materials. The tool kit is dominated by end-scrapers, burins, and edge retouched flakes and bladelets. Archaeological culturally significant types are the backed bladelets and the small sized Gravette points. These features in the Hungarian Upper Palaeolithic are characteristic to Ságvárian lithic assemblages (Dobosi 2004; Lengyel 2011), approximately dated to the Last Glacial Maximum period, between 20 and 18 k radiocarbon years BP (see Lengyel ). The faunal assemblage of Budapest Corvintér is dominated by bison. This species is present but underrepresented in the hunted animal assemblage of Ságvár or in any Last Glacial Maximum near assemblage. Usually, their frequency is half of the rein deer (Vörös 2000). Although the faunal assemblages differ, according to the lithic tools the Corvintér assemblage resembles most to that of the eponymous site of Ságvárian, Ságvár Lyukasdomb. Acknowledgement György Lengyel was supported by OTKA fund No Bibliography BABOS, K. A Budapest Corvin-tér őskőkori lelőhely fakéreg maradványa. Unpublished report. BIRÓ, K. T. & DOBOSI, V. T Lithoteca - The Comparative Raw Material Collection of the Hungarian National Museum. Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest. BIRÓ, K. T. & DOBOSI, V. T Lithoteca - The Comparative Raw Material Collection of the Hungarian National Museum. Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest. DOBOSI, V After the Golden Age (Hungary between 20 and 16 ka BP). 210

11 The Upper Palaeolithic site at Budapest Corvin-tér In: Dewev, M., Noiret, P. & Teheux, E. (eds), The upper Palaeolithic. General Sessions and Posters. Acts of the XIV th UISPP Congress. University of Liege, Belgium, 2 8 September BAR International Series S1240, Oxford, Archaeopress. LENGYEL, Gy., Radiocarbon dates of the Gravettian Entity in Hungary. Praehistoria 9 10, LENGYEL, Gy The pebble, the block and the tabular. Lithic raw material use at Ságvár Lyukas-domb Upper Palaeolithic site. In: T. Biró K. & Markó A. (Szerk.), Emlékkönyv Violának. Tanulmányok T. Dobosi Viola tiszteletére. Papers in Honour of Viola T. Dobosi Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest. PÉCSI, M., SCHEUER, Gy. & SCHWEITZER, F Geomorphological position and chronologacal classification of Hungarien travertines. In: Pécsi, M. (ed.), Quaternary Studies in Hungary Geographical Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. VÖRÖS, I Macro mammal remains on Hungarian Upper Pleistocene sites. In: Dobosi, V. T. (ed.), Bodrogkeresztúr Henye (NE Hungary), Upper Palaeolithic site Budapest, Hungarian National Museum. VÖRÖS, I Gerinces faunalista, Budapest Corvin-tér. Unpublished report. 211