Peeling Back the ‘Overburden’: Collaborative Projects Studying Middle Bronze Age Societies in the Körös-Region, Southeast Hungary

Summary

The transition to the Middle Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin encompassed a broad range of changes in material culture, settlement and social organization. Upon first glance, the Körös-Region was no different from its neighbours. Tell sites emerged, population increased, farming intensified, and people engaged in long distance trade. The international Bronze Age Körös Off-Tell Archaeology (BAKOTA) project has studied this area through settlements and mortuary archaeology for over 11 years. Our research reveals that despite expectations, the Körös-Region followed a path quite different from its neighbours during the Middle Bronze Age: it did not experience the emergence of social inequality typical of societies just dozens of kilometers away. In this paper, we address how collaboration between North-American and European researchers shaped our questions, and how our project culture and language--("Hunglish")—have built on the successes and legacy of the Körös Regional Archaeological Project. We highlight our process of discovery, our continued interaction with KRAP, and the unexpected lessons to come from the deposits that superimpose the Copper Age layers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21395