Entangled traditions: Lengyel and Tisza ceramic technology in a Late Neolithic settlement in northern Hungary

Abstract The Late Neolithic period (5000–4500 BCE) of the Carpathian Basin is characterised by two major cultural complexes: the Lengyel culture in western Hungary and the Tisza–Herpaly–Csőszhalom complex in eastern Hungary. The occupation area of the two cultural complexes had a ‘common border’ along a large area in recent northern Hungary, from the Danube River to the Upper Tisza River region. Their relationships are indicated in the mixed nature of their material culture, settlement types and mortuary practices. The focus of this paper is the site of Aszod-Papi foldek, which was situated in the borderlands. A peculiarity of this site is that a considerable number of the ceramic finds represent typological forms and decorations characteristic of both the Lengyel and Tisza cultures. Lengyel and Tisza ceramics appear together in the settlement features and graves, and no spatial or chronological distinction has been identified between them or the features containing them. The number of Tisza and Lengyel vessels appearing together indicates that this site could have been a meeting point for the cultures. The mixed nature of the ceramic assemblage at Aszod therefore has profound implications concerning the cultural relationships in Late Neolithic Hungary. In order to better understand Lengyel and Tisza relationships at Aszod, ceramic petrographic analyses were carried out on 68 ceramic samples from the site and on seven local sediment samples. The results indicate that both Lengyel and Tisza vessels were made from locally available raw materials, and there was no technological distinction between them. Only stylistic features can be used to distinguish between Lengyel and Tisza vessels. The similarities between Lengyel and Tisza ceramic technologies could only have existed if there was a more complex social relationship and interaction between the people and communities who produced these two pottery styles than has previously been assumed. The results are also compared with other, previously analysed, sites, showing that the ceramic technology at Aszod corresponds well with technological results from other Late Neolithic sites. The Late Neolithic period witnessed considerable changes in ceramic technology, namely a sharp increase in grog tempering and also a sharp decrease in chaff tempering. These changes distinguish this period from the Early and Middle Neolithic in Hungary, which are also represented at Aszod.