Symmetry and technology in ornamental art of old Hungarians and Avar-Onogurians from the archaeological finds of the carpathian basin, seventh to tenth century A.D.

Abstract

Earlier investigations [1] have revealed that mirror double frieze types were used in the ornamental art of the Old Hungarians, on archaeological finds from the tenth century A.D. On archaeological finds from the Avar-Onogurian times (seventh to ninth century A.D.) a rich variation set of double frieze patterns has been discovered by the author. Over mirror reflection, half turn and simple translation also occur as doubling operations of ornamental friezes on belt buckles, the main finds of the Avar-Onogurian archaeology. After the elaboration of the mathematical background of all kinds of double friezes built from a simple element, the possible technological roots of these ornamental inventions have been discussed and their relations to the plane symmetry patterns summarized. The suggestion, that double friezes were cut out of plane symmetry patterns made mainly by weaving makes the technological origin of these ornamental structures probable. The structural classification of ornamental adornations has been used in a comparison of different cultural communities. Both the frequency of occurrence of different frieze, double frieze and plane symmetry structures and the inventive developments of basic (natural) patterns are characteristic to cultural communities. Examples of the survival of structures and the distribution of m-g structure from the supposed Pontusian Greeko-Scythian source region have been shown.