The Cupper Age settlements from Suplac – Lapis. During the archeological research from Suplac – L... more The Cupper Age settlements from Suplac – Lapis. During the archeological research from Suplac – Lapis (2013 Mai – Julie), 534 features were discovered. They may be dated in the Cupper Age, Bronze Age and Roman Empire Age. 20 complexes may be included in Tiszapolgár Culture. They were discovered in A sector, on the smooth terrace of the Barcău river. The storage pits represent the biggest percentage, 65%, the deepened houses 15%, the postholes 15%, the complexes with the indeterminate functionality 5%. The postholes ware dated using the pottery materials which were discovered in the complex, without connections with other archeological contexts, as houses or annexes. The inventory of the complexes contains handmade pottery, decorated with perforated beak, clay with hall-mark, abraded stone, hand-mill, mica-schist, and unprocessed animal bones. As pottery shapes, we identified bowls, cups with leg, deep bowls. The pottery is wicked persuasion, in the most cases without slip, because of the soil acidity. We could identify just the plastic ornament, as the beak entire perforated or half-perforated. The archeological resource from Suplacu de Barcău, Lapis, reveals the periphery of Tiszapolgár settlement, on top of the hill situating the settlement center. 3 houses with their annexes were discovered, respectively the supplies pits, without information of the intern structure of the settlement.
The article presents eight clay stamps from the Starčevo-Criş site of Tăşnad. Seven of them are u... more The article presents eight clay stamps from the Starčevo-Criş site of Tăşnad. Seven of them are unpublished (Pl. I/2; Pl. II), one published in an exhibition catalogue (Pl. I/1). This category of pieces originates in the Anatolian area and spread with the process of Neolithisation. Such pieces are rare and raise many discussions and hypotheses about their functionality. Various assumptions have been made about their functionality, some authors attributing a practical function to these pieces, like decorating ceramics, printing textiles and leather, tattooing human bodies, marking goods as a sign of ownership. Others give cultic values to these pieces like marking the food (i.e., the “sacred bread”), or the role as talismans or pendants with magical, protective values. The small variety of motifs present on these pieces as well as the presence of these motifs on cult pieces such as idols, altars, anthropomorphic vessels or vessels with anthropomorphic representations, are arguments f...
Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asi... more Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom’s northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.
We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern... more We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.
By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southe... more By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra–West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe.
The site was discovered in 1987 on a grind, on the left of the Dindeşti – Andrid road, at the ent... more The site was discovered in 1987 on a grind, on the left of the Dindeşti – Andrid road, at the entrance to the village of Andrid, as a result of some works of adrift. The site was partially destroyed by the works, the only rescue measure taken being the collection of ceramics by Professor I. Ciarnău from the school in Dindesti. Checking in 1997 the materials collected by I. Ciarnau, J.. Németi notes that these are mixed with materials belonging to other eras and even sites. We had the opportunity to analyze this material in the spring of 2001, being improperly stored in two bags of lime. The material was indicated by Professor Ciarnau as coming entirely from the site at Andrid. Unfortunately, the material became inaccessible. According to the verbal reports of the author of the excavation, prof I. Ciarnău, sunken houses and storage or rubbish pits and clay extraction pits discovered. Three (four?) burial graves were discovered. in a crouched position
The site of Bolda-La spini (Satu Mare county) was first investigated in 1967 by T. Bader. A
recen... more The site of Bolda-La spini (Satu Mare county) was first investigated in 1967 by T. Bader. A recent excavation which took place in 2014 provided a pit containing ceramic and lithic materials dating to the Middle Neolithic Pișcolt cultural group. The pottery material is fragmented and poorly preserved. Two main categories of pots are present: coarse pottery (24%) and semi-fine pottery (76%). The semi-fine pottery is painted in a proportion of 26% with linear motifs made with black bitumen. The lithic inventory consists of 11 chipped stone pieces, of which 10 are made of obsidian and one of Prut-Volhynia flint.
In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption th... more In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption that each human skeleton can be treated as a set of heterochronous carbon reservoirs capable of supplying at least an elementary sequence consisting of two 14C dates corresponding to the moment of birth (otic capsule) and that of demise (ribs), as well as an anthropologically defined lag between them. Two case studies demonstrate that the approach can raise the precision of 14C dates related to the death of the individuals. The benefits and main issues of this sampling strategy as well as the involved bioarchaeological conflict potential are taken under discussion.
Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7thmillennium BCE – brought by mig... more Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7thmillennium BCE – brought by migrants from Anatolia who settled in the region before spreading throughout Europe. To clarify the dynamics of the interaction between the first farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherers where they first met, we analyze genome-wide ancient DNA data from 223 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12,000 and 500 BCE. We document previously uncharacterized genetic structure, showing a West-East cline of ancestry in hunter-gatherers, and show that some Aegean farmers had ancestry from a different lineage than the northwestern Anatolian lineage that formed the overwhelming ancestry of other European farmers. We show that the first farmers of northern and western Europe passed through southeastern Europe with limited admixture with local hunter-gatherers, but that some groups mixed extensively, with relatively sex-balanced admixture compared to the male-biased...
ABSTRACTAncient DNA sampling methods—although optimized for efficient DNA extraction—are destruct... more ABSTRACTAncient DNA sampling methods—although optimized for efficient DNA extraction—are destructive, relying on drilling or cutting and powdering (parts of) bones and teeth. As the field of ancient DNA has grown, so have concerns about the impact of destructive sampling of the skeletal remains from which ancient DNA is obtained. Due to a particularly high concentration of endogenous DNA, the cementum of tooth roots is often targeted for ancient DNA sampling, but standard destructive sampling methods often result in the loss of at least one entire root. Here, we present a minimally destructive method for extracting ancient DNA from dental cementum present on the surface of tooth roots. This method does not require destructive drilling or grinding, and, following extraction, the tooth remains safe to handle and suitable for most morphological studies, as well as other biochemical studies, such as radiocarbon dating. We extracted and sequenced ancient DNA from 30 teeth (and 9 correspo...
Résumé/Abstract The settlement Urziceni-Vama is situated in North of Urziceni Village, in the fre... more Résumé/Abstract The settlement Urziceni-Vama is situated in North of Urziceni Village, in the free area between romanian and hungarian border. The presentation of materials: The pottery. a) The invoice: on the whole, the clay of the pots with trick walls contains organic ...
Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 y... more Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 years before present (BP). Subsistence shifts from hunting and gathering to agriculture are hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a simultaneous decline in physiological health as inferred from paleopathological analyses and stature reconstructions of skeletal remains. A key component of the health decline inference is that relatively shorter statures observed for early farmers may (at least partly) reflect higher childhood disease burdens and poorer nutrition. However, while such stresses can indeed result in growth stunting, height is also highly heritable, and substantial inter-individual variation in the height genetic component within a population is typical. Moreover, extensive migration and gene flow were characteristics of multiple agricultural transitions worldwide. ...
Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7th millennium BCE - brought by mi... more Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7th millennium BCE - brought by migrants from Anatolia who settled in the region before spreading throughout Europe. However, the dynamics of the interaction between the first farmers and the indigenous hunter-gatherers remain poorly understood because of the near absence of ancient DNA from the region. We report new genome-wide ancient DNA data from 204 individuals-65 Paleolithic and Mesolithic, 93 Neolithic, and 46 Copper, Bronze and Iron Age-who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between about 12,000 and 500 BCE. We document that the hunter-gatherer populations of southeastern Europe, the Baltic, and the North Pontic Steppe were distinctive from those of western Europe, with a West-East cline of ancestry. We show that the people who brought farming to Europe were not part of a single population, as early farmers from southern Greece are not descended from the Neolithic population of northwestern Anat...
În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat
o săpăt... more În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat o săpătură arheologică în situl neolitic timpuriu de la Tășnad-Sere în colaborare cu Ciprian Astaloș și Cristian Virag (Muzeul Județean Satu Mare). Săpăturile s-au încheiat în 2019 după opt campanii de săpături a câte șase săptămâni. Cu cca. 17000 obiecte descoperite și înregistrate tridimensional, evaluarea finală a cercetărilor va mai lua timp. În prezentul articol sunt raportate complexele descoperite și oferim o scurtă descriere a obiectivelor cercetării și a metodelor de săpătură.
In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption th... more In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption that each human skeleton can be treated as a set of heterochronous carbon reservoirs capable of supplying at least an elementary sequence consisting of two 14C dates corresponding to the moment of birth (otic capsule) and that of demise (ribs), as well as an anthropologically defined lag between them. Two case studies demonstrate that the approach can raise the precision of 14C dates related to the death of the individuals. The benefits and main issues of this sampling strategy as well as the involved bioarchaeological conflict potential are taken under discussion.
The Cupper Age settlements from Suplac – Lapis. During the archeological research from Suplac – L... more The Cupper Age settlements from Suplac – Lapis. During the archeological research from Suplac – Lapis (2013 Mai – Julie), 534 features were discovered. They may be dated in the Cupper Age, Bronze Age and Roman Empire Age. 20 complexes may be included in Tiszapolgár Culture. They were discovered in A sector, on the smooth terrace of the Barcău river. The storage pits represent the biggest percentage, 65%, the deepened houses 15%, the postholes 15%, the complexes with the indeterminate functionality 5%. The postholes ware dated using the pottery materials which were discovered in the complex, without connections with other archeological contexts, as houses or annexes. The inventory of the complexes contains handmade pottery, decorated with perforated beak, clay with hall-mark, abraded stone, hand-mill, mica-schist, and unprocessed animal bones. As pottery shapes, we identified bowls, cups with leg, deep bowls. The pottery is wicked persuasion, in the most cases without slip, because of the soil acidity. We could identify just the plastic ornament, as the beak entire perforated or half-perforated. The archeological resource from Suplacu de Barcău, Lapis, reveals the periphery of Tiszapolgár settlement, on top of the hill situating the settlement center. 3 houses with their annexes were discovered, respectively the supplies pits, without information of the intern structure of the settlement.
The article presents eight clay stamps from the Starčevo-Criş site of Tăşnad. Seven of them are u... more The article presents eight clay stamps from the Starčevo-Criş site of Tăşnad. Seven of them are unpublished (Pl. I/2; Pl. II), one published in an exhibition catalogue (Pl. I/1). This category of pieces originates in the Anatolian area and spread with the process of Neolithisation. Such pieces are rare and raise many discussions and hypotheses about their functionality. Various assumptions have been made about their functionality, some authors attributing a practical function to these pieces, like decorating ceramics, printing textiles and leather, tattooing human bodies, marking goods as a sign of ownership. Others give cultic values to these pieces like marking the food (i.e., the “sacred bread”), or the role as talismans or pendants with magical, protective values. The small variety of motifs present on these pieces as well as the presence of these motifs on cult pieces such as idols, altars, anthropomorphic vessels or vessels with anthropomorphic representations, are arguments f...
Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asi... more Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom’s northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.
We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern... more We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.
By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southe... more By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra–West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe.
The site was discovered in 1987 on a grind, on the left of the Dindeşti – Andrid road, at the ent... more The site was discovered in 1987 on a grind, on the left of the Dindeşti – Andrid road, at the entrance to the village of Andrid, as a result of some works of adrift. The site was partially destroyed by the works, the only rescue measure taken being the collection of ceramics by Professor I. Ciarnău from the school in Dindesti. Checking in 1997 the materials collected by I. Ciarnau, J.. Németi notes that these are mixed with materials belonging to other eras and even sites. We had the opportunity to analyze this material in the spring of 2001, being improperly stored in two bags of lime. The material was indicated by Professor Ciarnau as coming entirely from the site at Andrid. Unfortunately, the material became inaccessible. According to the verbal reports of the author of the excavation, prof I. Ciarnău, sunken houses and storage or rubbish pits and clay extraction pits discovered. Three (four?) burial graves were discovered. in a crouched position
The site of Bolda-La spini (Satu Mare county) was first investigated in 1967 by T. Bader. A
recen... more The site of Bolda-La spini (Satu Mare county) was first investigated in 1967 by T. Bader. A recent excavation which took place in 2014 provided a pit containing ceramic and lithic materials dating to the Middle Neolithic Pișcolt cultural group. The pottery material is fragmented and poorly preserved. Two main categories of pots are present: coarse pottery (24%) and semi-fine pottery (76%). The semi-fine pottery is painted in a proportion of 26% with linear motifs made with black bitumen. The lithic inventory consists of 11 chipped stone pieces, of which 10 are made of obsidian and one of Prut-Volhynia flint.
In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption th... more In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption that each human skeleton can be treated as a set of heterochronous carbon reservoirs capable of supplying at least an elementary sequence consisting of two 14C dates corresponding to the moment of birth (otic capsule) and that of demise (ribs), as well as an anthropologically defined lag between them. Two case studies demonstrate that the approach can raise the precision of 14C dates related to the death of the individuals. The benefits and main issues of this sampling strategy as well as the involved bioarchaeological conflict potential are taken under discussion.
Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7thmillennium BCE – brought by mig... more Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7thmillennium BCE – brought by migrants from Anatolia who settled in the region before spreading throughout Europe. To clarify the dynamics of the interaction between the first farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherers where they first met, we analyze genome-wide ancient DNA data from 223 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12,000 and 500 BCE. We document previously uncharacterized genetic structure, showing a West-East cline of ancestry in hunter-gatherers, and show that some Aegean farmers had ancestry from a different lineage than the northwestern Anatolian lineage that formed the overwhelming ancestry of other European farmers. We show that the first farmers of northern and western Europe passed through southeastern Europe with limited admixture with local hunter-gatherers, but that some groups mixed extensively, with relatively sex-balanced admixture compared to the male-biased...
ABSTRACTAncient DNA sampling methods—although optimized for efficient DNA extraction—are destruct... more ABSTRACTAncient DNA sampling methods—although optimized for efficient DNA extraction—are destructive, relying on drilling or cutting and powdering (parts of) bones and teeth. As the field of ancient DNA has grown, so have concerns about the impact of destructive sampling of the skeletal remains from which ancient DNA is obtained. Due to a particularly high concentration of endogenous DNA, the cementum of tooth roots is often targeted for ancient DNA sampling, but standard destructive sampling methods often result in the loss of at least one entire root. Here, we present a minimally destructive method for extracting ancient DNA from dental cementum present on the surface of tooth roots. This method does not require destructive drilling or grinding, and, following extraction, the tooth remains safe to handle and suitable for most morphological studies, as well as other biochemical studies, such as radiocarbon dating. We extracted and sequenced ancient DNA from 30 teeth (and 9 correspo...
Résumé/Abstract The settlement Urziceni-Vama is situated in North of Urziceni Village, in the fre... more Résumé/Abstract The settlement Urziceni-Vama is situated in North of Urziceni Village, in the free area between romanian and hungarian border. The presentation of materials: The pottery. a) The invoice: on the whole, the clay of the pots with trick walls contains organic ...
Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 y... more Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 years before present (BP). Subsistence shifts from hunting and gathering to agriculture are hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a simultaneous decline in physiological health as inferred from paleopathological analyses and stature reconstructions of skeletal remains. A key component of the health decline inference is that relatively shorter statures observed for early farmers may (at least partly) reflect higher childhood disease burdens and poorer nutrition. However, while such stresses can indeed result in growth stunting, height is also highly heritable, and substantial inter-individual variation in the height genetic component within a population is typical. Moreover, extensive migration and gene flow were characteristics of multiple agricultural transitions worldwide. ...
Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7th millennium BCE - brought by mi... more Farming was first introduced to southeastern Europe in the mid-7th millennium BCE - brought by migrants from Anatolia who settled in the region before spreading throughout Europe. However, the dynamics of the interaction between the first farmers and the indigenous hunter-gatherers remain poorly understood because of the near absence of ancient DNA from the region. We report new genome-wide ancient DNA data from 204 individuals-65 Paleolithic and Mesolithic, 93 Neolithic, and 46 Copper, Bronze and Iron Age-who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between about 12,000 and 500 BCE. We document that the hunter-gatherer populations of southeastern Europe, the Baltic, and the North Pontic Steppe were distinctive from those of western Europe, with a West-East cline of ancestry. We show that the people who brought farming to Europe were not part of a single population, as early farmers from southern Greece are not descended from the Neolithic population of northwestern Anat...
În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat
o săpăt... more În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat o săpătură arheologică în situl neolitic timpuriu de la Tășnad-Sere în colaborare cu Ciprian Astaloș și Cristian Virag (Muzeul Județean Satu Mare). Săpăturile s-au încheiat în 2019 după opt campanii de săpături a câte șase săptămâni. Cu cca. 17000 obiecte descoperite și înregistrate tridimensional, evaluarea finală a cercetărilor va mai lua timp. În prezentul articol sunt raportate complexele descoperite și oferim o scurtă descriere a obiectivelor cercetării și a metodelor de săpătură.
In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption th... more In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption that each human skeleton can be treated as a set of heterochronous carbon reservoirs capable of supplying at least an elementary sequence consisting of two 14C dates corresponding to the moment of birth (otic capsule) and that of demise (ribs), as well as an anthropologically defined lag between them. Two case studies demonstrate that the approach can raise the precision of 14C dates related to the death of the individuals. The benefits and main issues of this sampling strategy as well as the involved bioarchaeological conflict potential are taken under discussion.
Portable X‐ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (pXRF) was used to reveal the chemical signatures of 75 ... more Portable X‐ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (pXRF) was used to reveal the chemical signatures of 75 obsidian artefacts from seven sites in the Satu Mare region, ranging in age from Early Neolithic (late Starčevo‐Criș culture) to Late Copper Age. The results reveal the origin of the obsidian to be the Carpathian 1 source area in eastern Slovakia, reinforcing the pattern documented elsewhere in Romania and in northern Bulgaria which indicates a clear preference for Carpathian 1 obsidian throughout the period from the later stages of the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
Fontes perennitatis: Studia in honorem magistri Nicolae Ursulescu octogesimum annum peragentis, Ediderunt: Vasile Cotiuga, Felix Adrian Tencariu et Andrei Asandulesei. 2023 , 2023
The intensification of the archaeological research in the last two decades led to the accumulatio... more The intensification of the archaeological research in the last two decades led to the accumulation of information about the evolution of human communities from North-Western Romania during the Neolithic and Eneolithic. Both previously known sites and newly discovered ones help us to better understand, even if not completely, the period roughly framed between 5500-4500 BC. New research on sites from the territories of Sălaj and Satu Mare counties, on the basins of Barcău, Crasna and Someș rivers, gives us a starting point in specifying the settlement patterns and refining the chronology of the Neolithic and the Early Eneolithic.
Satu Mare Studii si comunicari, seria arheologie, 2015
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyze the funeral inventory (especially artifacts mad... more Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyze the funeral inventory (especially artifacts made of hard animal materials) deriving from the grave 79 of the Eneolithic necropolis of Urziceni (Vamă). A 40–50-year-old man was buried in this grave placed in a crouched position. Eight artifacts made of three types of hard animal materials were deposited next to the skeleton (Sus sp. canines, long bones diaphyses and Cervus elaphus antler). Typological categories are not varied: scrapers and projectile points. The methodology we have used aimed not just to identify the operational schemes used for the manufacture of different typological categories but also to determine if the pieces were used before they became a funeral inventory. Our conclusion is that all the items belong to the hunting domain and that they have been used throughout the life of the owner. The fact that such an inventory accompanied a man reflects the types of religious beliefs of the community: the extension beyond death of the same activities, implicitly of the social status.
BEAUTY AND THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. Personal adornments across the millennia, 2020
The Eneolithic necropolis from Urziceni-Vamă is located in the free zone of the Romanian- Hungari... more The Eneolithic necropolis from Urziceni-Vamă is located in the free zone of the Romanian- Hungarian border at Urziceni – Vállaj, on a small terrace in the marshy valley of the Negru Brook. The necropolis is dated between 4300-4000 cal BC. Inhumation is the norm in burials, with individuals placed in crouched position on the left or the right side, oriented E-W, with the head pointing either W or E. A general-valid observation (but there are exceptions) is that the placement of the individuals on their right or left sides is determined by the biological sex of the deceased, respectively women were placed on the left and men on the right side. The differences between the sexes is also reflected in the grave goods. Women are accompanied by vessels and impressive quantities of personal adornments. Men's graves contain items related to specific activities: stone and copper tools, antler and bone projectile points, tooth scrapers etc. Our study focuses on the ornamental objects discovered in 22 graves. We have tried to reconstitute both the technological transformation schemes of the raw materials and determine if the items preserve use-wear marks indicating whether they had been worn prior to their deposition. By far, the most numerous are the ornaments made of Spondylus, some of the graves containing hundreds of beads. What is interesting, however, is the fact that a single typological category has been used: the small cylindrical beads. Other types of ornaments - copper spirals, Glycymeris valves, belt elements (?) or hairpins - appear only in one tomb. The cylindrical beads show a particular uniformity at the technological level indicative of a serial production of small items.
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Papers by Cristian Virag
20 complexes may be included in Tiszapolgár Culture. They were discovered in A sector, on the smooth terrace of the Barcău river. The storage pits represent the biggest percentage, 65%, the deepened houses 15%, the postholes 15%, the complexes with the indeterminate functionality 5%. The postholes ware dated using the pottery materials which were discovered in the complex, without connections with other archeological contexts, as houses or annexes.
The inventory of the complexes contains handmade pottery, decorated with perforated beak, clay with hall-mark, abraded stone, hand-mill, mica-schist, and unprocessed animal bones. As pottery shapes, we identified bowls, cups with leg, deep bowls. The pottery is wicked persuasion, in the most cases without slip, because of the soil acidity. We could identify just the plastic ornament, as the beak entire perforated or half-perforated.
The archeological resource from Suplacu de Barcău, Lapis, reveals the periphery of Tiszapolgár settlement, on top of the hill situating the settlement center. 3 houses with their annexes were discovered, respectively the supplies pits, without information of the intern structure of the settlement.
recent excavation which took place in 2014 provided a pit containing ceramic and lithic materials dating
to the Middle Neolithic Pișcolt cultural group. The pottery material is fragmented and poorly preserved.
Two main categories of pots are present: coarse pottery (24%) and semi-fine pottery (76%). The semi-fine
pottery is painted in a proportion of 26% with linear motifs made with black bitumen. The lithic inventory
consists of 11 chipped stone pieces, of which 10 are made of obsidian and one of Prut-Volhynia flint.
o săpătură arheologică în situl neolitic timpuriu de la Tășnad-Sere în colaborare cu Ciprian Astaloș și
Cristian Virag (Muzeul Județean Satu Mare). Săpăturile s-au încheiat în 2019 după opt campanii de săpături a câte șase săptămâni. Cu cca. 17000 obiecte descoperite și înregistrate tridimensional, evaluarea finală a cercetărilor va mai lua timp. În prezentul articol sunt raportate complexele descoperite și oferim o scurtă descriere a obiectivelor cercetării și a metodelor de săpătură.
20 complexes may be included in Tiszapolgár Culture. They were discovered in A sector, on the smooth terrace of the Barcău river. The storage pits represent the biggest percentage, 65%, the deepened houses 15%, the postholes 15%, the complexes with the indeterminate functionality 5%. The postholes ware dated using the pottery materials which were discovered in the complex, without connections with other archeological contexts, as houses or annexes.
The inventory of the complexes contains handmade pottery, decorated with perforated beak, clay with hall-mark, abraded stone, hand-mill, mica-schist, and unprocessed animal bones. As pottery shapes, we identified bowls, cups with leg, deep bowls. The pottery is wicked persuasion, in the most cases without slip, because of the soil acidity. We could identify just the plastic ornament, as the beak entire perforated or half-perforated.
The archeological resource from Suplacu de Barcău, Lapis, reveals the periphery of Tiszapolgár settlement, on top of the hill situating the settlement center. 3 houses with their annexes were discovered, respectively the supplies pits, without information of the intern structure of the settlement.
recent excavation which took place in 2014 provided a pit containing ceramic and lithic materials dating
to the Middle Neolithic Pișcolt cultural group. The pottery material is fragmented and poorly preserved.
Two main categories of pots are present: coarse pottery (24%) and semi-fine pottery (76%). The semi-fine
pottery is painted in a proportion of 26% with linear motifs made with black bitumen. The lithic inventory
consists of 11 chipped stone pieces, of which 10 are made of obsidian and one of Prut-Volhynia flint.
o săpătură arheologică în situl neolitic timpuriu de la Tășnad-Sere în colaborare cu Ciprian Astaloș și
Cristian Virag (Muzeul Județean Satu Mare). Săpăturile s-au încheiat în 2019 după opt campanii de săpături a câte șase săptămâni. Cu cca. 17000 obiecte descoperite și înregistrate tridimensional, evaluarea finală a cercetărilor va mai lua timp. În prezentul articol sunt raportate complexele descoperite și oferim o scurtă descriere a obiectivelor cercetării și a metodelor de săpătură.
Satu Mare region, ranging in age from Early Neolithic (late Starčevo‐Criș culture) to Late Copper Age. The results reveal the origin of the obsidian to
be the Carpathian 1 source area in eastern Slovakia, reinforcing the pattern documented elsewhere in Romania and in northern Bulgaria which
indicates a clear preference for Carpathian 1 obsidian throughout the period from the later stages of the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
New research on sites from the territories of Sălaj and Satu Mare counties, on the basins of Barcău, Crasna and Someș rivers, gives us a starting point in specifying the settlement patterns and refining the chronology of the Neolithic and the Early Eneolithic.
hard animal materials) deriving from the grave 79 of the Eneolithic necropolis of Urziceni (Vamă). A
40–50-year-old man was buried in this grave placed in a crouched position. Eight artifacts made of three
types of hard animal materials were deposited next to the skeleton (Sus sp. canines, long bones diaphyses
and Cervus elaphus antler). Typological categories are not varied: scrapers and projectile points. The
methodology we have used aimed not just to identify the operational schemes used for the manufacture of
different typological categories but also to determine if the pieces were used before they became a funeral
inventory. Our conclusion is that all the items belong to the hunting domain and that they have been used
throughout the life of the owner. The fact that such an inventory accompanied a man reflects the types
of religious beliefs of the community: the extension beyond death of the same activities, implicitly of the
social status.