Abstract
AbstractThis article uses age-depth models based on 29 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates from charred plant macroremains (seeds, chaff), wood charcoal, and snail shells found in two moats from the settlement Fidvár near Vráble (SW Slovakia) to improve the absolute chronology of the Early Bronze Age in central Europe. The charred macroremains were taxonomically identified to species or genus level and the lifespan of the objects and the archaeological context were considered carefully. The selected snail shells were identified to provide reliable age information. This study demonstrates that under certain conditions, ditch archives can be well suited to contribute to archaeological chronologies. For the first time, the transition from the Hatvan to the Únětice period is dated absolutely.
Highlights
The Early Bronze Age in south-central Europe started at the end of the 3rd millennium BC
This article uses age-depth models based on 29 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates from charred plant macroremains, wood charcoal, and snail shells found in two moats from the settlement Fidvár near Vráble (SW Slovakia) to improve the absolute chronology of the Early Bronze Age in central Europe
Regarding the well-matching ages of cultural periods derived from bones (Görsdorf 2000; Görsdorf et al 2004; Ernée et al 2009) and botanical remains presented here, both dating approaches complement each other and provide mutual support
Summary
The Early Bronze Age in south-central Europe started at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Due to the growing demand for the new material bronze, trading increased including long-distance exchange (i.e. Baltic amber) and settlement activities along the ore-rich Carpathian Mountains intensified (Kienlin 2010, 2015). From the western foreland of the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia, for example, the Únětice, Nitra, and Mad’arovce cultures are known, while the Hatvan, Füzesabony, and Otomani cultures occupied the central and eastern parts in the course of the Early Bronze Age. The Makó-Kosihy-Čaka complex represents the end of the prevailing Eneolithic (Buchvaldek et al 2007; Bátora et al 2008)
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