Bone Color as a Tool to Interpret Differing Cremation Patterns in Bronze Age Eastern Hungary

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Bronze Age Körös Off-Tell Archaeology Project (BAKOTA) has excavated 84 burials from a Bronze Age cemetery (Békés 103) located in the Lower Körös Basin in Eastern Hungary. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the cemetery was used for several hundred years, with the most active phase between 1600 and 1280 cal BC, a time that has been associated with the abandonment of tells in the region at the end of the Middle Bronze Age. Most of the burials were cremated and placed in ceramic urns. While cremation is a common mortuary practice in Hungary during the Bronze Age, grave good and body placement patterns differ by region, and little is known about the specifics of how bodies were prepared and processed prior to burial. Bone color, as a reflection of cremation temperature, has been assessed in 30 of the cremation burials at Békés 103 to explore whether mortuary treatment differed by age, sex, grave goods, or over time. Earlier research on the site with a smaller sample found that bone calcination was more common in nonadults between the ages of six and 12. Here, we assess whether this pattern remains when more of the burials are examined.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40413.0