Human mobility in a Bronze Age Vatya 'urnfield' and the life history of a high-status woman

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 28;16(7):e0254360. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254360. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

In this study, we present osteological and strontium isotope data of 29 individuals (26 cremations and 3 inhumations) from Szigetszentmiklós-Ürgehegy, one of the largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries in Hungary. The site is located in the northern part of the Csepel Island (a few kilometres south of Budapest) and was in use between c. 2150 and 1500 BC, a period that saw the rise, the apogee, and, ultimately, the collapse of the Vatya culture in the plains of Central Hungary. The main aim of our study was to identify variation in mobility patterns among individuals of different sex/age/social status and among individuals treated with different burial rites using strontium isotope analysis. Changes in funerary rituals in Hungary have traditionally been associated with the crises of the tell cultures and the introgression of newcomers from the area of the Tumulus Culture in Central Europe around 1500 BC. Our results show only slight discrepancies between inhumations and cremations, as well as differences between adult males and females. The case of the richly furnished grave n. 241 is of particular interest. The urn contains the cremated bones of an adult woman and two 7 to 8-month-old foetuses, as well as remarkably prestigious goods. Using 87Sr/86Sr analysis of different dental and skeletal remains, which form in different life stages, we were able to reconstruct the potential movements of this high-status woman over almost her entire lifetime, from birth to her final days. Our study confirms the informative potential of strontium isotopes analyses performed on different cremated tissues. From a more general, historical perspective, our results reinforce the idea that exogamic practices were common in Bronze Age Central Europe and that kinship ties among high-rank individuals were probably functional in establishing or strengthening interconnections, alliances, and economic partnerships.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Body Remains / chemistry
  • Burial / history*
  • Dental Enamel / chemistry
  • Female
  • History, Ancient
  • Humans
  • Hungary
  • Male
  • Social Class
  • Strontium Isotopes / analysis

Substances

  • Strontium Isotopes
  • Strontium-86
  • Strontium-87

Grants and funding

This paper was supported by the Guest Researcher Fellowship granted by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; by the Momentum Mobility research project hosted by the Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence (Principal Investigator: Viktória Kiss) and by the grant from Hungarian Research, Development and Innovation Office, project number: FK128013 (Principal Investigator: Hajdu Tamás). The 14C measurements, conducted by the Atomki Laboratory, Debrecen were supported by the European Union and the State of Hungary, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the project of GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009 ‘ICER’.