River networks and funerary metal in the Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin.

Paul R Duffy

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0238526

Abstract

Archaeologists use differences in metals from burial contexts to identify variation in social inequalities during the European Bronze Age. Many have argued that these social inequalities depended on access to, and control of, trade routes. In this paper, I model critical gateways in the Tisza river—a river system in the Carpathian Basin that might have enabled privileged access to metal in some areas but not others. I then evaluate the concentration of metal on different topological nodes of the river network in an attempt to understand what best explains the distribution of metals across this landscape. I do this by describing Bronze Age metal consumption and display in cemeteries from four micro-regions of the Tisza, and compare them with network ‘betweenness centrality’ values for locations along the river. I find support for the argument that favourably located river nodes had better access to metal in the earlier part of the Bronze Age.

Highlights

Explaining the origin, persistence, and variation in social inequality in time and space remains a central challenge for archaeologists [1, 2]
This paper evaluates the topological position of different nodes in the Tisza river system, but uses a modified network that includes portage points in the calculations
This paper models critical gateways in the Tisza river drainage and evaluates the concentration of metal on different topological nodes of the river network in an attempt to understand what parameters best explain the distribution of metals across this landscape

Summary

Introduction

Explaining the origin, persistence, and variation in social inequality in time and space remains a central challenge for archaeologists [1, 2]. We know that social inequality must be institutionalized in middle-range societies before further demographic and political growth. Archaeologists often argue that different sources of power, such as religious institutions and economic infrastructure, are the key to maintaining and growing social inequality [3, 4]. Many believe it was warrior expeditions and control of metals and trade routes that enabled the rise of social inequality and the consolidation of power in Bronze Age Europe [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. This paper investigates the possibility that trade along a key river offered people in some areas privileged access to metal, creating the potential for varying displays of inequality

Methods

Results

Conclusion