Modelling obsidian trade routes during late Neolithic in the south-east Banat region of Vrsac using GIS

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the possible trajectory of the movement of the obsidian that was brought to the region of present day Vrsac from Carpathian 1 and Carpathian 2 sources, located between Kosice and Miskolc (the present day border area between Hungary and Slovakia). This objective has been fulfilled using computer aided modelling performed within the constraints of geographic information system software based on the physical characteristics of the terrain and the reconstruction of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions in the period of the late Neolithic. The second largest obsidian collection in the territory of Vinca culture originates from the site of Potporanj, south of Vrsac. The abundance of finds indicates the importance this region had in the distribution of this resource during late Neolithic. In the paper the modelling of two different possibilities of land based distribution from the flow of the river Tisza are shown; the first from Perlez/Opovo (western route) and the other from Mure? (northern route), i.e. present day Arad and Timi?oara. The modelled results indicate the existence of a settlement patterning close to the modelled pathways in the period of Vinca culture.