BRONZE AGE COMMUNITIES IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN

BRONZE AGE COMMUNITIES
IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN
PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM
FROM TÂRGU MUREŞ
24–26 October 2008
Edited by
BERECKI Sándor
NÉMETH E. Rita
REZI Botond
Editura MEGA
Cluj-Napoca
2009
CONTENT
Tiberius Bader
Deutsche Beiträge zur Erforschung der Bronzezeit im Karpatenbecken. Ein Überblick ..................... 7
Carol Kacsó
Frühbronzezeitliche Gräberfelder von Ciumeşti. Zusammenfassung............................................... 33
Zsolt Székely
The Beginning of Early Bronze Age in south-eastern Transylvania. Problems of Chronology .......... 39
Sándor József Sztáncsuj
Contribuţii la cunoaşterea bronzului timpuriu din sud-estul Transilvaniei.
Aşezarea culturii Schneckenberg de la Ariuşd ................................................................................ 45
Judit Koós
Bronzezeitliche Siedlung in Nordostungarn und die Koszider-Problematik .................................... 79
Sándor Berecki
Middle Bronze Age Pottery from Adămuş, Mureş County............................................................. 89
Florin Gogâltan
A Late Bronze Age Dwelling at Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument, Mureş County .....................103
Imola Kelemen
The Faunal Remains from Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument, Mureş County ............................143
József-Gábor Nagy
The Wietenberg Site from Floreşti–Poligon (Cluj County). A Study of Settlement Archaeology .....151
Ioan Bejinariu
The Settlement from Recea–Sulduba Valley, Sălaj County. Contributions to the Knowledge
of Late Bronze Age Habitat in North-Western Romania ..............................................................183
János Németi
The Hajdúbagos / Pişcolt–Cehăluţ Group ...................................................................................203
Márta L. Nagy–Róbert Scholtz
A késő bronzkori Felsőszőcs-kultúra települése Őr–Őri-tag lelőhelyen ...........................................223
Botond Rezi
The Bronze Hoard from Aluniş (Mureş County) .........................................................................259
ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................273
THE FAUNAL REMAINS FROM
IERNUT-SFÂNTU GHEORHGE–MONUMENT, MUREŞ COUNTY
Imola KELEMEN
The Szekler Museum of Ciuc
Miercurea-Ciuc, Romania
imonox@yahoo.com
Keywords: faunal remains, archaeozoology, Late Bronze Age, domestic mammals, bone tools
The faunal sample comes from the surface dwelling found at Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–
Monument, belonging to the synthesis of the local late Wietenberg communities and the
newcomers in the Late Bronze Age of central Transylvania, the Noua populations1.
The sample consists of mammal bone remains (including two bone tools) and two
mollusc shells. Most of them were in a fragmented and a bit weathered stage, some of the bones
even bearing cut and teeth marks. The first impression is that these remains are leftovers, rubbish
from daily meals.
All the bones from the sample were identifiable, a very rare case in the study of
archaeozoology. Accordingly, a total of 24 faunal remains were identified (Table 1): 2 shells, 2
bone tools made from the long bones of one large sized animal and one small-medium sized
animal, and 20 other mammal bones coming from 3 domestic species, as followed:
Cattle (Bos taurus) – left mandible fragment with P4-M1 + the tooth-bed of M2–M3
(adult individual); 2 isolated teeth: M2 inferior, molar superior; 2 vertebrae: half an atlas,
vertically broken (possibly split in half), fragment of an epistropheus with a small cutmark;
fragment of a left ulna partially burnt and with small cutmarks; a proximal epiphysis of a left shin
bone (tibia) not properly ossified (adult – 3.5–4 years old individual), with several small
cutmarks; a distal epiphysis fragment of a metacarpus with many visible cutmarks; a proximal
epiphysis of a right metatarsus; 1 complete primal phalange of a foreleg.
Domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) – left upper jaw fragment with P4-M2 (subadult
individual); left upper jaw fragment with P4-M1 very used (over 3 years old – adult individual);
right premaxilar fragment with I1–I2, the tooth-bed of I3, C and P2–P4 (female subadult
individual); left mandible with the tooth-bed of P3-M3 (subadult individual); 1 right mandible
with M1–M3 in growth (1.5–2 years old – juvenile/subadult individual) and another right
mandible with P4-M2 used (1.5–2 years old – another juvenile/subadult individual); 1 diaphysal
fragment of a humerus with clear teeth and cutmarks; 1 incomplete thoracal vertebra.
Sheep (Ovis aries) – fragment of a right mandible with P3-M3 in growth (aprox. 2 years
old – subadult individual); 1 diaphysal fragment of a left humerus with teeth and cutmarks.
1
See the study of Fl. Gogâltan in the present volume.
Bronze Age Communities in the Carpathian Basin, 2009, p. 143–149
144 │ IMOLA KELEMEN
Cattle
Domestic pig
Sheep
Total mammals
Shells
Bone tool – unid. large sized mammal
Bone tool – unid. small-medium sized mammal
Total
NISP
10
8
2
20
2
1
1
24
%
50
40
10
100
MNI
1
4
1
6
%
16,6
66,8
16,6
100
Table 1. The faunal remains from the surface dwelling at Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument.
Abbreviations: NISP = Number of Identified Specimens; MNI = Minimal Number of Individuals.
Among the bones, there was an unusually large number of upper and lower jaw fragments
(Table 2), especially in the case of domestic pigs, and thid was very helpful in counting out the
minimum number of individuals (the ages were classified in age stages using the datas provided
by FOREST 1997, 951–958). In this way, 6 individuals were counted, as follows:
Cattle: 1 adult (3.5–4 years old);
Pig:
2 juvenile/subadults (1.5–2 years old);
1 female subadult (2–2.5 years old);
1 adult (over 3 years);
Sheep: 1 subadult (aprox. 2 years old).
Cattle
Upper jaw
Lower jaw
Isolated teeth
Atlas
Epistropheus
Humerus
Ulna
Tibia
Metacarpus
Metatarsus
Phalange I.
Vertebra
Total
1
2
1
1
Pig
3
3
Sheep
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Total
3
5
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
20
Table 2. The distribution by anatomical regions of animal bones from the surface dwelling
at Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument.
Cattle. The bone remains belonging to this species is the most numerous in the sample.
10 fragments, some with teeth and cutmarks, coming from almost all parts of the body, represent
both meals’ leftovers and butchery waste. The cutmark on the epistropheus, the second vertebra
of the neck, is proof of decapitating, probably during butchering. Only one bone could be
measured (all measurements in mm, using the codes of VON DEN DRIESCH 1976, 97), the
complete primal phalange: GL-57.3, Bp-27.8, SD-23.4, Bd-26.4. The 10 fragments come from
at least one individual, an adult of aprox. 3.5–4 years old, the age being determined after the
tooth wear in the mandible (GRANT 1982, 92) and the ossification level in the proximal end of
the shin bone. This individual, at this age, was most likely not sacrificed for its meat, but during
its life provided secondary products (milk and works) and being over the sexual maturity, was
presumably used for reproduction. The distribution of the cattle bones by meat quality (not
The Faunal Remains from Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument, Mureş County │ 145
counting the two isolated teeth) is the following: A-2 fragments, B-3 fragments, C-3 fragments
(VÖRÖS 2007, 33.).
Domestic pig. There are 8 bone fragments belonging to this species, with only the
humerus bearing cut and teethmarks. None of the remains were measureable. Because of the
presence of 3 upper and 3 lower jaws, we were able to count out that all these fragments come
from at least 4 individuals: 2 juvenile/subadults (1.5–2 years old), 1 female subadult (2–2.5 years
old) and 1 adult (over 3 years old). The juveniles represent 50% of the pigs, sacrificed at an
optimal or a little over optimal age. Taking into consideration the sexual maturity of the species,
the last two individuals were presumably used for reproduction, but as expected, they seem to
have ended up as food. The distribution of the bones according to the quality of the meat is: A-2,
B-3, C-3.
Sheep. Only 2 bones were identified as belonging to this species, a mandible and a
humerus, the latter bearing cut and teethmarks and the slaughtering age of the minimum 1
individual (aprox. 2 years) was estimated on the basis of the tooth wear (GRANT 1982, 93).
Unfortunately, none of the two fragments were able to be measured. The meat quality
distribution in sheep is: A-1, B-1. The meat quantity estimation of the these minimum number
of individuals reveals that 6 animals of these ages (1 adult cattle; 2 juvenile/subadult, 1 subadult,
1 adult pig and 1 subadult sheep) would provide a total of aprox. 681 kg of pure meat, after
butchering and processing, using the data provided by B.D. SMITH 1975, 93–106, 47,7% of it
given by the adult cattle, 47% by the 4 pigs and 5,3% by the only individual of sheep. These
estimations are of course, purely hypothetical, only to illustrate what 6 individuals of these
domestic species would represent in general in a single surface dwelling.
The shells. The two shell fragments could easily be evidence of the community eating
mollusks, a habit much spread at the time.
The bone tools. Both of the tools are bone awls, one made from a long bone of a large
sized mammal, the other also from a long bone, but of a small-medium sized mammal. These
tools were perhaps used to make leather clothing and bags.
Analogies
Archaeozoological analyses on materials determined as coming from this mixture of the
Noua and Wietenberg communities in the Late Bronze Age are very few, and for Transylvania
even less. One study about the animal remains from Pălatca, Cluj County (BINDEA–KELEMEN,
in press) tells us about a community whose main activity was animal breeding. Some (3.02%)
wild animal bones were found, too, but most of sample came from domestic mammals in the
following order: cattle, sheep/goat, pig, horse and dog. According to the minimal number of
individuals, sheep/goat stay in front, pigs come second and cattles, horses and dogs follow them.
One mollusc and some worked bones were also found. The resemblance to the material coming
from the surface dwelling at Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument is that among the domestic
animals the cattle is the most exploited and it seems that in both sites animal bones were used as
prime material for fabricating tools.
The most comprehensive archaeozoological analyse of a Late Bronze Age settlement (in
the intra-Carpathian region) was applied to the faunal sample coming from Zoltan, Covasna
county (EL SUSI 2002), belonging to the Noua culture. Since that was an extensive analyse of a
whole settlement, the bone sample consisting of more than 8500 fragments, found mostly in pits,
only the general conclusions can be compared to the reduced number of animal bones examined
in the present study.
146 │ IMOLA KELEMEN
First of all, at the settlement of Zoltan appear many species of wild animals and 6 species
of domestic ones (cattle, sheep, goat, pig, horse, dog), while at Iernut there were only 3 domestic
species identified (cattle, sheep and pig). Looking at the percentages of the three common
species, the cattle bones were the most numerous in both samples (33,1% at Zoltan, 50% at
Iernut). The second place is taken at Zoltan by the ‘ovicaprinae’ (sheep/goat – 27,9%), a species
at third degree at Iernut (10%), while the pigs are only third (24%), a species that occupies the
second place at Iernut (40%). The good news is, that the Noua community at Zoltan seemed to
have collected and consumed molluscs (EL SUSI 2002, 153), a tendency apparently also followed
by the people living in the surface dwelling no. 1 of Iernut.
Second of all, taking into consideration the sacrificing ages, most of the cattle bones
(34,7%) from Zoltan belong to adult animals (EL SUSI 2002, 159), and the only identified cattle
individual in Iernut was also in the same age state, fitting in the pattern from Zoltan, where
bovines were primarily exploited for milk, works and only secondly for meat (EL SUSI 2002,
159). In the case of domestic pigs, the resemblance is not that obvious. While in the surface
dwelling at of Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument were identified mostly juvenile/subadult
individuals (2, that is 50%), the settlement from Zoltan shows mostly adults (EL SUSI 2002,
159). In sacrificing sheep, the Noua community of Zoltan presents individuals from all age
stages, subadults having the highest percentage (39%) (EL SUSI 2002, 159), and curiously, the
only identified individual from Iernut was also in a subadult stage (aprox. 2 years).
In the intra-Carpathian region, two other very small samples belonging to the Noua
culture in the Late Bronze Age were analysed, one coming from Iclod in Cluj County (BINDEA
2008, 97), the other from the city Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County (BINDEA 2008, 99). At Iclod were
identified 55 fragments, 11.11% of it belonging to wild mammals. Among the domestic ones
some horse bones are present, too, but the three species common with Iernut (cattle, pig and
sheep) resemble in importance at the two sites. At Iclod, too, cattle occupy the first place
(28,88%), pigs the second (26,66%) and sheep/goat the third (17,77%). At this location, a bone
tool was also found, a diaphysis of a medium sized mammal’s long bone being transformed into a
piercer.
The other sample, from Cluj-Napoca contained 15 isolated teeth, found in a pit, almost
all worked (pierced and polished) or in a process of working, coming from two species: pig and cattle.
Faunal remains from many sites over the Carpathians were thoroughly analysed, too
(SAVA 2005, 143–159). According to these finds, the surface dwelling at Iernut seems to fit in to
the general aspect of the communities belonging to the Noua culture at the Prut-DnesterDneper-Eastern Carpathic region, where the bones of domestic mammals dominate: cattle and
sheep/goat, followed by horse, swine and dog (SAVA 2005, 148). Three of these appear at Iernut,
cattle bones are the most numerous, followed by swine and thirdly by sheep.
Conclusions
The 20 identified mammal bones coming from the surface dwelling at of Iernut-Sfântu
Gheorghe–Monument have clearly kitchen midden’s aspect, some of them even bearing teeth and
cutmarks. The most numerous fragments come from cattle, followed by pigs and the thirdly by
sheep. There are too little fragments though, to assign any general importance to this distribution.
The two shell fragments suggest the habit of gathering and eating molluscs, while the two
bone awls found prove the community has probably often used animal bones as a prime material
for fabricating tools.
The Faunal Remains from Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument, Mureş County │ 147
The reduced number of bone fragments does not allow us to draw any further, more
accurate conclusions. A more diversified and possibly ‘all inclusive’ analyse in the future, though,
would give us a much clearer picture of the economy of the settlement.
Literature
BINDEA 2008
BINDEA–KELEMEN,
IN PRESS
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FOREST 1997
GRANT 1982
SAVA 2005
SMITH 1975
VÖRÖS 2007
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rekonstrukciós
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List of plates
Plate I. Cattle bones found in the habitation no. 1 at Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument. 1. Proximal
fragment of a tibia with cutmarks. 2. Epistropheus fragment with a large cutmark. 3, 5. Metacarpus with cutmarks on the side and on the back. 4. Burnt ulna.
Plate II. Animal bones found in the habitation no. 1 at Iernut-Sfântu Gheorghe–Monument. 1–2. Pig
humerus with cut and teethmarks. 3. Two bone tools (awls) made from long bones of large and
small-medium sized mammals.