Archaeobotanical Sources in Investigating the Diet of Conquering Hungarians

Archaeobotanical Sources in Investigating the Diet of Conquering Hungarians

Ferenc Gyulai

1 . Introduction

In recent decades, interdisciplinary cooperation between various areas of research has produced new results in archaeology as weiL Scientific methods applied during the course of archaeological excavations increase t h e a m o u n t o f i n fo r m a t i o n a n d fa c i l i t a t e t h e c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f l i fe w a y s p u r s u e d in ancient cultures. They also provide an opportunity for reconstructing the former environment of the excavated settlements.

Under the soil conditions prevailing Hungary, it is predominantly cereal grain and remains of weeds that may be found in quantities that provide a basis for meaningful conclusions. The known environmental requirements of cereals are of help in reconst cting agricultural knowledge and Ievels of plant cultivation characteristic of various archaeological periods and cultures.

Archaeobotany is a discipline concemed with the evaluation of seeds and fruit remains brought to light during the course of archaeological excavations. The research scope of this science includes the history of vegetation and plant cultivation. It observes the connection between humans and the plant world, as well as human economic activity. In addition to identi ing the remains of cultigens, archaeobotany also documents the domestication of wild plant species and the distributions of agriculture and land cultivation. In addition, archaeobotany evaluates pictorial repre­ sentations of plants and utilizes data on plants gathered by various branches ofsocial sciences.

Archaeobotany is also a sub-discipline in botany. All basic elements of botany, such as morphology, systematics, anatomy and geobotany are

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applied in the analysis of samples brought to light during the course of archaeological excavations. At the same time archaeobotany, being tightly linked with archaeology, bridges a gap between natural and economic/social sciences.

As opposed to palynology, the analysis of pellen remains, archaeobotany deals with macrofossilia (seeds and fruit), and concentrates on the study of plant materials deposited in the soil under human in uence. lt should be clear that excavated assemblages do not represent each and every species that were available in the natural vegetation. Sometimes even species characteristic of entire plant associations may be missing. I n addition, various diasporae accumulated in the soil are preserved selectively relative to each other. It is above all the remains of species characteristic of past plowland associations that can be encountered in features (re se layers and pits, cess-pits etc.) uncovered at archaeological sites. These include, for example, cereal grain and remains of the associated weed ora, and especially in the case of wells and canals, elements of the natural vegetation from the studied period. Most results in recent decades have been produced by pellen analysis. Today, however, the study of seeds and fruits has increasingly produced use l results.

Plant cultivation has been practiced in the Carpathian Basin for 8000 years. 1 The majority of cultigens entered the Carpathian Basin together with neolithic agriculturalists.Z In terms of the plant species cultivated, however, no continuity can be observed between the sequence of archaeological periods until the Middle Ages (Table 1). This means that populations who moved into the Carpathian Basin brought their own selection of cultigens with them and carried on with their cultivation. Agriculture expanded at the expense of the natural vegetation. In addition to the way of life pursued by the inhabitants of the Carpathian Basin, the relationship between plant cultivation and natural flora was also defined by climatic conditions.

The importance of archaeobotanical studies of plant macrofossilia (seeds and uits) becomes especially significant when no o r minimal archaeological, written or iconographic evidence i s available for the purposes of research. Plant cultivation by conquering Hungarians is such a topic. Prior to discussing this period, therefore, it i s worth briefly summarizing the history of this long period in light of the hundred years of archaeobotanical investigations in Hungary.

1 Harty yi, Nov d Patay 1 967/68, Harty yi d Nov 1974. 2 Füzes 1990.

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2. Short history of cultivated plants in the Carpathian Basin

The domestication ofplants Started in Southwest Asia some 12,000- 10,000 years ago. The beginnings in Europe date to approximately 8000- 6000 years ago.3 Domestication may be defined as human control over

plants that may be considered use l from the viewpoint of society. The rst domesticated forms of wheat and barley rst occurred in the Near East about 8000-7000 years ago during the so-called Neolithic Revolution. People at that time acquired the most useful species by multiple selection from the wild populations ofplants and animals.

Cultigens and domestic animals had already spread over to the Balkans by the end of the 6 millennium BC. Plant cultivation during the Körös-Starcevo culture (beginning around 6000 BC) is best characterized by the preponderance of cha ed wbeat species (einkom and emmer) weil as barley. The rst agricultural population in Centrat Europe was that of the Linearband culture. Their most important domestic plants also included einkom, emmer and barley. Archaeological nds from the tell Settlements of the Middle Neolithic Tisza culture are indicative of a hard working population engaged in plowland cultivation of einkom, emmer and two- as weil as six-row barley as weil as gardening (lentils, Indian pea, peas).

By the end of the Neolithic, the previously warm, humid climate free of extremes started to gradually deteriorate. A change occurred in the species composition of large oak mixed forests (oak, elm, lime, and ash with hazelnut in the bushy undergrowth) that had formed on the loessy soils of Centrat Europe perfectly suited for cultivation. Pollen analyses by Balint Z6lyomi of the sediment gathered in the Lake Balaton showed that the maximum of forest cover since 8200 BC occurred during this phase in the Carpathian Basin.4 A process resulted in the opposite to this phenomenon around the beginning of the Copper Age (approximately 4700 BC) when new human populations moving into the Carpathian Basin satis ed their needs for arable land by !arge scale forest clearing.

Based on the distribution of ceramic styles it has been hypothesized that around 2900 BC (at the beginning of the Bronze Age in Hungary) pastoral steppe peoples arrived in the Carpathian Basin from the East. Meanwhile, people practicing land cultivation ca e from the south. Following the merger ofthese two different styles, the mobile pastoralism of the Copper and the Early Bronze Ages was replaced by sedentary

3 Zoh y d Hopf 1988. 4 Z6Iyomi 1980.

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agriculturalism by the Middle Bronze Age. This process may also have been stimulated by environmental change, that is, a climate that had become cooler and was characterized by increasing precipitation.5

Culture bearing strata recovered during the course of excavations became thicker than in previous periods, evidence of plant production is increasingly visible and pedological changes (in plowlands, storage pits etc.) can also be recorded. Crop cultivation that guaranteed stable subsistence Iead to enviro ental change and a cultural environment emerged. The subsequent spread of metallurgy further accelerated this process. Under the in uence of plant cultivation and animal keeping cultures natural vegetation was suppressed in the Great Hungarian Plain. As a result of decreasing precipitation beach forests declined. This decline was especially dramatic in the Tatar maple-oak associations on loess elevations ofthe forested peripheral zones and in the lily ofthe valley-oak associations growing on sandy plains. The amount of wood bumt up for the pu oses of cremation should not b e underestimated either. The natural vegetation

remained unchanged only in areas permanently covered by water. The general reduction of vegetation that was largely brought about by anthro­ pogenic influence resulted in an increase of wasteland areas.

Archaeobotanical finds om the settlement layers of stratified Middle Bronze Age sites is indicative of a high Ievel of skills both in agriculture and animal husbandry. In addition to the cultivation of cereals and peas, inhabitants of these probably fortified Settlements were also engaged in gathering wild uits. Following sporadic occurrences during the Neolithic Period, it is at this time that millet becomes an important cereal grain. Cereal supplies were also complemented by seeds ofvarious plants in the fat-hen genus. in addition to lentils and peas, legumes cultivated during the Early Bronze Age included new species such as chick peas, Indian pea, chickling vetch and fava beans. By this time, flax was not the only source of oil. Gold of pleasure was also cultivated.

Stratified tell Settlements gradually ceased to exist in the wake of the Bronze Age, approximately around 1300 BC. The Tumulus culture reached the territory of present day Hungary from a westem direction. They built fortified settlements on the higher points of the area. The emergence of this form of settlement as well as changes in the way of life may be related to increasing precipitation as weil as fear of attacks by other peoples. According to the evidence of archaeobiological finds, in addition to the high

5 G lai 1993.

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Ievel of animal husband , these people also practiced a similarly weil developed form of plant cultivation.

During the so-called Subatlantic phase, that Iasted from the Iron Age (900 BC to 0) until the present, another climatic change followed. Greater extremes began to characterize the climate, whose continental character became somewhat more pronounced. In Hungary, the Early Iron Age is represented by the Hallstatt culture, while the La Tene culture appeared during the Late Iron Age. This latter may be associated with Celtic

settlement in the Carpathian Basin. Archaeobotanical finds are relatively few from the Iron Age in Hungary.7 In comparison to the Early Iron Age, the proportion between cereal grains cultivated during the La Tene Period changed. Common wheat assumed a leading roJe. Although einkom also remairred in cultivation, its significance decreased. The same holds true for barley. Millet occurs as weil although sporadically. Flax served both as a source of fiber and oil. Of the garden plants, lentils, peas, poppies and cucumbers were cultivated. In this period, fruit remains are occasionally found which already show signs of being cultivars (plum, peach). Grapes are also present.

The Roman Period is characterized by the appearance of new plant cultivation equipment and technologies in the Carpathian Basin. Above all, however, it is the appearance and spread of previously unknown cultivars that is most characteristic of the Roman Period (in Pannonia c. 0 to c. 300/400 AD). The cultivation ofcereals, legumes, grapes and fruits, as weil as the keeping and even conscious breeding of animals are weil known om classical Roman written sources (Columella, Cato, Pliny, Varro). This weil developed agriculture merged with local indigenous traditions in Pannonia.

Chaffed species of wheat (einkom and emmer), cultivated in earlier periods, occur but sporadically during this period. They were almost completely replaced by „naked“ common wheat and its associate, dwarf wheat which required a signi cantly more sophisticated agricultural technology. Rye and millet also were found in signi cant quantities. Barley, however, is not particularly common. The most important legumes included peas, lentils and fava beans.

Today’s cultivation of walnuts, plums, apricot, peach and grape is based on Roman foundations. Following the fall ofthe Roman Empire these fruits, imported by the Romans, survived within the area of Pannonia. Both archaeological and archaeobotanical evidence show that an unusually high

6 Gyulai 1996a. 1 Gyulai 1996b.

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Ievel of uit and grapevine cultivation was pursued in the orchards and vineyards of 3rd_4 century AD Roman villas.

Thanks to the highly developed Roman trade network, one must also reckon in this period with remains of imported uits such as gs, olives and dates.

In order to make their diets more varied and satis their daily requirements of vitamins, inhabitants of the Carpathian Basin also consumed wild its gathered in their natural environment.

In the animal stocks, primitive forms and highly improved breeds coexisted. The spread of imported breeds was greatly facilitated by the well developed road system and animal trading.

The first urban Settlements in the area of mode day Hungary were established during the Roman Period. People were increasingly separated om their natural environment.

Archaeological sites om the areas that were separated om the Roman Empire by the Danubian Iimes are significantly poorer in botanical nds. Nevertheless, it may be clearly seen that the agriculture of peoples who lived in these regions was significantly poorer than that of the Roman province. No major changes bad occurred in these latter areas since prehistoric times. Although detailed artifactual evidence is still scarce, it can already be seen that Sarmatians who chiefly settl east of the Tisza river, were a semi-nomadic people engaged in both animal keeping and land cultivation.

During the Migration Period (4 to 9 centuries) several groups passed through the Carpathian Basin. It has also been hypothesized that climatic motivations Jay behind the great migration of these masses of peoples. Eastem i migrants who arrived in several waves brought with them agricultural practices typical ofnomadic peoples (In addition to animal keeping, there is evidence that both Huns and Avars cultivated millet and barley as weil). During the Migration Period, Roman agriculture was replaced by significantly more modest land cultivation practices. Although all cultigens known om earlier periods remained in cultivation, their importance seems to have decreased. Millet, a cereal typical of nomadic pastoral co unities characterized by high mobility, assumed a leading roJe. Slavic com unities in the westem region of Transdanubia pursued a more sedentary form of agriculture.

Although the storms of the Migration Period caused signi cant da age to Roman-type villa farming, it su ived in a agmentary manner, and the continuity of expertise can be detected. This is easiest to observe in

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the case of viniculture and fruit growing traditions which survived the troublesome centuries following the fall ofthe Roman Empire. It should not be considered surprising, therefore, that several finds of grape are known from the Migration Period.

According to the evidence from archaeological finds, the mundane artifacts of Avars and Slavs who lived in the Ca athian Basin became similar by the end of the Migration Period (9 century AD). Archaeo­ botanical finds are also characteristic of a sedentary population with homogeneaus ag cultural practices. On the basis o f archaeobotanical evidence and archaeological artifacts related to land cultivation one may say that Hungarians conquering the Carpathian Basin encountered an impoverished group of pastoral agriculturalists whose plant cultivation traditions were mixed, and who lived a rather non-characteristic way of life.8

As far as the conquering Hungarians themselves were conce ed, their economy may be best characterized as „se -nomadic“. This may equally include mobile pastoralism and a limited extent of tillage and plant cultivation.

In the beginning, the leading strata of Hungarian society must have practiced mobile pastoralism of a fundamentally Turkic character. One may presume that plant cultivation was the occupation assigned to co on people who pursued a more sedenta way of life. There are ve few seed remains directly relevant to the Period of the Hungarian Conquest. They include the grave finds of a high ranking conqueror discovered in the Zemplen region. This burial assemblage contained grain om millet as weil. Knowing the eating habits of pastoral, semi-nomadic peoples this is not surprising, since millet is a fast growing cereal with a short reproduction cycle that does not need meticulous cultivation and is therefore a typical crop of mobile communities. Remains of textile found in the same grave show that our conquering ancestors not only knew fiber rich plants ( , hemp and cotton) but were also familiar with their manufacture.

Although among the animal remains the bones of sheep and cattle, characteristic o f mobile l i feways, dominate, this phenomenon does not contradict the possibility that conquering Hungarians arrived in the Ca athian Basin with considerable agri cultural expertise that included plant cultivation. According to Bälint Z6lyomi, pollen samples available for analysis om the Period of the Hungarian Conquest in the Balaton region contained increasing proportians of grains and seeds om plowland weeds,

8 Gyö 1977.

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a phenomenon that seems to be closely correlated with an increase in the nu ber of Settlements. Increasing settlement activity is also shown by the increasing presence of ruderalia and fat-hen in palynological samples. The contribution ofbirch pollen also became significant which may be related to the degradation of the natural flora brought about by progressive deforestation. The occurrences of all these phenomena are the direct consequence of forest clearing and the concomitant formation of secondary steppe habitats.

Agricultural development displays an undisturbed, straight trend of improvement between the Period of the Hungarian Conquest and the 1 2th_ 13th century. Although during the time the Hungarians settled the region, the undoubtedly strong influence of Moravian-Frankish agricultural knowledge should be reckoned with; this cannot be detected in the find material. On the other hand, one must hypothesize that Late Avar Period cultivation skills were incorporated into early Hungarian agricultural know-how. With the emergence of the feudal state, these skills (similarly to the peoples who embodied them) gradually merged. Various services, trading, foreign expertise and the centralization of royal power helped in the distribution of sowing material, plant cultivation skills and dynamically developing agricultural equipment in all parts of the country. The formation of latifundia, religious customs and the spread of literacy also played a vital

role in this process.

Cereal finds from the excavations of 12th- 1 3th century settlements in the Great Hungarian Plain start displaying species compositions similar to those of Transdanubian assemblages. That is, inhabitants of the Great Hungarian Plain bad tu ed to sedentism as weil by the 1 2th- 1 3th century. The change of sowing materials, which had marked a qualitative leap in plant cultivation, had been 1arge1y accomplished by that time. The cultivation of common wheat and rye, cereals with high nutritional values, became widespread and commonplace. Millet assumed on1y secondary importance, although it remairred in cu1tivation in Europe as a basic ingredient of kasha unti1 mode times. Archaeobotanical assemblages om times following the Period of the Hungarian Conquest contain no oat grain, although it should not be ruled out that this cereal may have been known at

that time. Even if oats were grown, however, it could not have been very significant. According to written documents, its significance increased only from the 1 3th century onwards.

Even if Roman knowledge of fruit and grape cultivation survived, they were quickly incorporated into the agricultural skills of Hungarians

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who conquered the Carpathian Basin. The adoption of Christianity also favored the distribution of it cultivation and viniculture. Only a few centuries a er the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, the earliest known documents written in Latin already give accounts of orchards and a ourishing viniculture.

The 14’h-16’h centuries marked a prosperous period in the development of Hungarian agriculture. The provisioning of developing urban centers created a demand for the cultivation of cereals, vegetables and fruits. It is at this time that meat and wine production also started supplying export markets.

Although cereal production had not yet grown to significant proportiansdu ngthe13lh century,thequantitiesofbarley,commonwheat and rye produced were comparable. Dwarf wheat, six-row barley and oats were added to this Iist during the 15’h-l 61h centuries. The combined cultivation of wheat and rye (Triticum mixtum, „double“ grain or abaydoc) was already known during the Pe od ofthe Arpad Dynasty.

During the heyday of the Middle Ages, agricultural innovations (burrow plow, horse neck-ha ess, the three- eld rotation system) and the secondary exploitation of several domestic animals for draught power became increasingly e icient. Extensive plowlands and pastures surrounded the ever-enlarging settlements with their frequently urban character.

The prosperity of cereal cultivation was brought to a halt by the Ottoman Turkish occupation of the Carpathian Basin. The country was divided into tbree regions, and incessant warfare did not favor agricultural activity. Areas were abandoned as fallowing increased and production became uneven. The cultivation of wheat and six row barley declined, and millet as weil as oats, cereals with shorter reproduction cycles were more commonly grown. This shows that the cultivation of fast growing spring cereals was preferred since they required less work and could be more safely harvested. lt is also possible that this trend was enhanced by higher taxes imposed on autumn cereals.

In spite of all the destruction that occurred during the 150 years of Ottoman Turkish occupation, agriculture may be considered to have been continuous during that period. All previously cultivated plants occur in archaeological samples. The nurober ofspecies actually increased as a result of Turkish horticultural traditions. Numerous Balkanic cultigens were introduced into Hunga at that time. These included vegetables (e. g.

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Smima melons), fruits (e. g. Macaria pears) as well as decorative plants and owers (e. g. tulips).9

3 . Conditions preceding the Period of the Hungarian Conquest

Although the stormy times of the Migration Period seriously damaged villa- rming based on Roman tradition, some fragmentary knowledge originating om that tradition survived these tumultuous centuries. It is not surprising, therefore, that several Migration Period grape nds have been identi ed from the region of Lake Balaton. Grain from common wheat was found together with grape seeds in one of the graves of the 6 -7th century cemetery at Keszthely – Fenekpuszta. Another grave in the 9th century cemetery of Balatonszentgyörgy contained an apricot stone in addition to grape seeds. A piece of woody grape stem was identi ed among the wall remains of a bumt down house at the 91h century settlement of Fönyed – Szegerdö. The walnut shell recovered the site of Keszthely – Halasz­ csarda also dates to the 91h century.

The most important archaeobotanical assemblage o f the Late Migration Period in Hungary comes om the site of Fony6d Belatelep.10 According to radiocarbon dates this settlement may be dated to between the second half ofthe 7th and the end ofthe 9th century. Although it has not yet been possible to clari the ethnic a iliations of the artifactual material, the archaeobotanical nds are given special signi cance by the fact that they form the largest such assemblage in Hungary, which is also extremely rich in species. On the basis ofthese nds it may be said that the inhabitants of this Settlement were engaged in vigorous agricultural activity. They were not specialized in growing a single or only a few crops but cultivated a broad range of cereals (two- and six-row barley, common wheat, rye, oats), legumes (peas, lentils), its (apricot, peach, cherries and plum) as well as grape. This may be interpreted as a sign of a self-suf cient economy. The high number of weed species identi ed may also be connected with cereal cultivation. Medical plant must also have been cultivated. The seeds and fruits of plants that formed the original flora at the time were recovered as weil. Studying these natural vegetation elements (areal types) it could be ascertained that the climate was somewhat warmer at the time when this settlement nctioned.

9 Rapaics 1 940.
10 G 1ai, He elendi and Szab6 1 992.

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Slavs are considered the most important ethnic group during the Migration Period of the Carpathian Basin both in terms of the size of their populations and their agricultural traditions.11 According to currently held hypotheses they settled in the Carpathian Basin in three waves. The rst of these arrived to Transdanubia, Transylvania and the Banat region during the third decade of the 6’h century AD. The second wave coincided with the arrival of Avars, while the third Slavic immigration may have taken place around 680 AD. Slavic groups practicing both land cultivation and animal busbandry lived within the Avar Khanate. When that empire fell, the culturally and linguistically different Slavic group occupied a broad area up until the time of the Hungarian conquest. To date, the ethnic proportions between immigrants and local populations, as well as the possibly differential possession of agricultural knowledge and stocks remain unknown.

Following the 830’s, signi cant concentrations of Christian Slavic populations lived in the southem areas of Somogy and Zala counties in the hilly, forested Balaton region.12 The role of 9’h century Slavs in the Carpathian Basin is far from being clari ed. Artifactual materials from their settlements and cemeteries are not always su iciently distinguishable from those of the Avar population. In fact, ve o en this does not even seem to be possible. Excavations in the Zalavär area have signi cantly contributed to increasing what we do know of early Slavic lifeways. It seems likely that the Slavs who inhabited this area practiced pasture rotation and plow agriculture. Although the evaluation of seeds and uits recovered from this region has just begun, evidence for the cultivation of common wheat, rye and six-row barley could be established with great probability. Remains of fruit stones (peach and plum) indicate that this population was also familiar with the horti- as weil as vinicultural heritage of the Roman Period. Undoubtedly, the achievements of antique agricultural traditions in uenced Slavic land cultivation practices indirectly as weiL Their agriculture also developed under stimuli by Avar and Bulgar-Turkic peoples and they had connections with Greek as weil as Frankish-Bavarian sedentary agri­ culturalists and missionaries. Proof of their plow cultivation practices exists in the form of a Symmetrie iron share that was once part of a simple walking plow (ra/6).13

11 Erdel 1982.
12 Cs. S6s 1985, V dor 1986, Müller 1989. 13 Müller 1982.

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4. Were conquering Hungarians nomads?

The general image of conquering Hungarians has been considerably modi ed under the in uence of research results accumulated during recent decades. Even today, however, we are still haunted by the mytb that the conquering Hungarians Iead a „Turkic-style“, equestrian pastoral nomadic way of Iife while the duty of land cultivation, alien to this culture, was delegated to the conquered peoples. However, linguistic evidence, the analysis of Byzantine and Arabic written sources as well as the mode excavations of settlements and cemeteries dated to the Period of the Hungarian Conquest have gradually modi ed our general view on the Jives conquering Hungarians must have Iead.

Preceding the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, Hungarians Iived i n the area of Levedia and were for at least three centuries exposed to the cultural tradition of the Saltovo-Mayack culture. Tbis culture area was bordered by the upper reaches of the Don River to the north, the Caspian Sea and the Volga River to the east and the Crimea and Kuban to the south. Adjacent to this region to the west was tbe huge plain de ned by the Doniec river and the Azov Sea. The Saltovo-Mayack culture cannot be associated with a single ethnic group but should rather be seen as a culture-historical trend. Based on the arcbaeological artifacts, and especially the botanical remains from tbe „Mayackoe Gorodische“ (fort), the peoples ofthe Saltovo­ Mayack culture were not nomads but practiced sedentary land cultivation. 14 The dominant political power behind tbe Saltovo-Mayack culture was the Khazar Khanate. Hungarians in this area Iived in an economical-political alliance with the Khazar Khanate for a Iong time. Bulgar-Turkic peoples of the Khazar Khanate exerted a strong intluence on the culture of ancient Hungarians. lt was during this time period tbat Turkic Ioan-words relevant to farming entered the Hungarian language. They complemented and sometimes replaced words relevant to farming in the original Finno-Ugric vocabulary of Hungarians.

The most important Finno-Ugric words related to agriculture in Hungarian predating the Period of the Hungarian Conquest are as follows: les (millet), ed (cereal), kenyer (meal, kasha), u (border, hedge), csegely (wedge-shaped plowland), fort (bunch of grapes), meg (sour cherry), i (grass), ag (branch),fa/u (village), haz (house), nyomat ( eld pressing), vag (cut), ter (field?).15

14 Füzes 1987.
15 Gombocz 1960, 1967-1978, Ma ai 1980, Moor 1943.

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Bulgar-Turkic loanwords preceding the Period of the Hungarian Conquest include eke (plow), arpa (barley), buza (wheat), arat (harvest), sar/6 (?, sickle), boglya (haystack), gü ü (handful of reed or straw), tar/6 (stubble), oröl (grind), lyü (cereal grain mortar), sz6r (grain cleaning), dara (farina), ocsu (tailing), ümölcs (fruit), alma (apple), rte (pear), mo or6 (hazel nut), di6 (walnut), ny (blackthom), som (dogwood), szolö (grape), kar6 (stick), csany (stem of fruit/flower), sziir (feit cloak), bor (wine), bors6 (pea), bors (pepper), kender (hemp), k6r6 (weed stalk), ti/6 (swingler), csepü (tow), ors6 (spindle), torma (horse-radish), üröm (wormwood), kabak (squash fruit), kom/6 (hop), csaüin (nettle), om (weed), er an (hombeam), üriifa (ringwood), kOris (ash tree), tatorjan (Tartarian sea-kale), bojtorjan (burdock), lok6ny (water-soldier), tang (chicory), opar (cudweed), ekeny (reedmace), rcsin (wind-flower), kikirics (crocus), (club-rush). 16

If the agriculture of the ethnically rather heterogeneaus conquering Hungarians must be characterized in a single term, „semi-nomadic“ seems to be the most appropriate adjective. This description can accommodate not only mobile animal keeping but a limited extent of land cultivation and agriculture as weil.

In the beginning, conquering Hungarians occupied those areas of the Carpathian Basin which were most similar to their former habitation areas. These included sandy plains in the Nyirseg region and between the Danube and Tisza Rivers. This territory also corresponds to the westemmost comer of their original natural environment, the parkland steppe region. Studying the geographical distribution pattems of hurials from the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, Csan Bälint made the following observation: While graves of the leading and middle strata of society were predominately Jocated in the sandy regions of the Carpathian Basin, the hurials of common people were concentrated in silty-loessy areas. 1 7 That is, the Ieaders of conquering Hungarians settled in the Nyirseg region, the Mezöföld Plain and the sandy quarters of the Small Hungarian Plain because these were most similar to their ancient ho eland (the transitional zone between the steppe and parkland steppe). This is where they could best carry on with their original pastoral and military-style way oflife. Common people, on the other hand, preferred the silty-loessy, o en forested oodplain areas on the Je bank of the Tisza River (eastem Hungary) and areas in Transdanubia

16 Gombocz 1960, Ligeti 1986, Moor 1943, Zichy 1923. 11 Bälint 1980.

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(weste Hungary), since in addition to animal p ing, land cultivation could also be successfully practiced there.

During the Period of the Hungarian Conquest approximately 118 of historically de ned Hungary was either temporarily or permanently covered by water. This area corresponds to one quarter of mode day Hunga . As a result of periodical flooding, the Tisza River and its tributaries were surrounded by swamps and marshland. Settlement was possible only on various elevations and the periphery of such wetland areas. The ora and fauna in waters, swa ps and wet meadows served as a continuous source of food for both people and their livestock Waves of inundation le behind fertile layers of mud on which rich pastures grew. These excellent grazing areas contributed to animal keeping. In addition, the climate was favorable in those days, since the so-called „small climatic optimum“ between approximately 800 and 1200 was probably the warmest period within the last 2000 years. Although the climate began to grow increasingly humid around the year 1 000, this trend became more pronounced only by the 1 3 century. 1 8

5. Archaeobotanical finds from the Period ofthe Hungarian Conquest

Only a few seed remains indicative of plant cultivation are available om the Period ofthe Hungarian Conquest.19 This in part may be explained by the fact that it is predominantly cemeteries that are known from the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, and hurials are not the most typical features in which plant remains may be found. One ofthe few exceptions is represented by the grave of a conquering Hungarian of high social status in Zemplen which lies beyond the border of mode day Hungary. Tbis burial contained grain from millet. Migration Period plant remains from the Great Hungarian Plain, as weil as om the rest of Easte Europe show that the most important cereal cultivated by nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples was millet, whose cultivation requires relatively little attention. Consequently, millet meal, tbat is sha, must have been among tbe most important foods ofthese peoples.20

18 Räcz 1993.
1 9 Ha yänyi, Nov i and Patay 1 967/68.

20 Wasylikowa et . 1991.

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To date, the only archaeobotanical assemblage connected to a Settle­ ment once inhabited by conquering Hungarians comes from Lebeny – Billedomb, a site near the city of Györ in the Small Hungarian Plain of Weste Hunga ?1 Ubeny – Billedomb may be considered absolutely the earliest archaeobotanical material from the Period of the Hungarian Conquest (10 century). The entire site was systematically sampled for plant remains. During the course of eldwork in 1993, considerable numbers of soil samples were gathered from settlement features associated with the conquering Hungarians?2 The evaluation oftbis material, therefore, offers information of vital importance conceming agricultural practices characterizing the Period of the Hungarian Conquest. Since infonnation on plant cultivation in this period was previously typi ed by unsubstantiated hypotheses or o en contradicting opinions, the compositions of four archaeobotanical samples that represent the earliest period at the Settlement are of outstanding signi cance. Considering the unusual importance of this nd material, results from the recently completed analysis are presented here.

The preservation of carbonized seeds is good, each being coeval with the culture bearing layer in which they were found. The material is taxonomically rich even in comparison with earlier periods: the approximately 2,000 seeds recovered originate from 30 plant species.

Fonns of cha ed wheat, so characteristic of prehistoric sites, have not been found at all. lt seems that more improved fonns of naked common wheat were cultivated at this site. In addition to grain from six-row barley, remains of the two-row and naked varieties of this species were also identi ed. Both millet and rye also occur. This latter may have been grown by itself, but the combined cultivation of wheat and rye („double“ grain or abaydoc) may also have been practiced. It is also possible that millet was sown as a second crop.

Sub-dividing the macrobotanical nds into anthropogenic categories, a picture of variable agricultural activity emerges. Inhabitants at this settlement were not specialized in growing a single or only a few crops but cultivated a broad range of cereals that included the important species. It seems likely that six-row barley, which was represented by the greatest nu ber of individual nds in the material, was grown as animal fodder. Millet, common wheat and e, on the other hand, must indisputably bave served as human food.

21 Excavations directed by MikJ6s Takäcs, 1993. 22 Miklös Takacs, personal co unication.

134

As a generat observation, it is worth mentioning that a high Ievel of cereal cultivation usually coincides with the cultivation of vegetables. This phenomenon is manifested at this site as weil: In addition to cereal grain, peas were also identified.

Weed remains also confirm the cultivation of cultigens. The majority (7 species) in this group are spring cereal weeds or characteristic species of garden weed associations (Polygeno-Chenopodietalia). A smaller group (4 species) represent typical associations of autumn cereals or cereals in general (Secalietea).

Plant species representing the natural ora in these samples are indicative of a rieb and variable environment. When species are grouped by their ecological preferences, a balance, even distribution may be observed. The reed association of marsbland is represented by common bulrush. Vitamin-rieb crab apple must have been gathered in nearby forests. Small, acom-like seeds from wall germander are indicative of mixed and light, parkland-type forests. Seeds of creeping cinquefoil and cypress spurge must originate om meadows in the area. Arable land was expanded by deforestation. The presence of elderberry seeds may be explained with this activity.

Ruderalia (that is weed species resistant to trampling) are found in all areas exposed to human in uences (ditches, roadsides, artificial slopes, fallows, the proximity of buildings, etc.). Soil in such areas tends to be unusually rieb in nitrogen or may even have been manured. The presence of weed species from ruderaHa (Chenopodietea) indicate significant human interference, i. e. the !arge size of the settlement. Species representing ruderalia in this find material include white melilot, knotgrass, creeping buttercup and wild mignonette. These plant remains indicate that the human habitation area was neither too humid nor too dry, that is, it represented an area of average cultivation capacity.

6. Archaeobotanical nds om times following the Period of the Hungarian Conquest

Somewhat more archaeobotanical nds are known om the 1O -11 centuries that followed the Period of the Hungarian Conquest.23 Millet remains found in Kardoskllt and Tiszaörveny also support the hypothesis that, possibly in a limited form, nomadic lifeways were maintained in the

23 Ha y yi, Nov i d Patay 1 967/68, Ha y yi d Nov i 1974. 135

Great Hungarian Plain even a er the Period ofthe Hungarian Conquest. The plant remains recovered from houses and pits from the Period of the Dynasty excavated at the site of Endröd, show that plowland cultivation also began that time. In addition, naked common wheat was cultivated, a form that requires more sophisticated agricultural technologies. The cultivation of cha ed einko , a typical bread cereal species from earlier periods, was in decline. Barley, on the other hand, remained important possibly as an animal fodder. On the basis of the nurober of grains recovered it may be concluded that the cultivation of rye was not yet signi cant at that time.

Archaeobotanical nds om Keszthely – Haläszcsärda in Weste Hungary and the l l’h century site of Esztergom – Koväcsi in Northem Hungary are indicative of valuable cereal varieties characterized by a long growing season. These typically include common wheat and rye. These cereal species require a high Ievel of agrarian technology and continuous care which can be guaranteed only by a sedentary way of life. In addition, the species compositions ofcerealia recovered at these sites are identical to those observed at coeval sites in Weste Europe. Archaeobotanical nds similar to the aforementioned plant remains were also found in centers that represent the consolidation of the feudal political order and economic syste , such as the bailiffs castles of Sopron and Hont that represent an early phase of the Period of the ad Dynasty.24

Cereal nds from excavations on the Great Hungarian Plain (for example at Cegled – Madaräszhalom) show that approximately a hundred years later, during the 12 -13 century, the species composition ofarchaeo­ botanical samples from this area becomes increasingly similar t o those studied in Transdanubia. This means that the change in sowing materials had taken place in this region as weil. Moreover, from these Observations one may conclude that sedentary lifeways were also adopted by the populations of the Great Hungarian Plain by the lth-13’h century. Common wheat and rye, cereal species that are characterized by a high nutritive value but also require continuous care assumed a leading role. Millet largely lost its importance, although it remained in cultivation as a secondarily-sown crop for kasha until mode times. Archaeobotanical assemblages om times following the Period of the Hungarian Conquest contain no oat grain. Nevertheless, on the basis of linguistic evidence, it should not be ruled out that this cereal may have been known at that time. Even if oats were grown, however, this cereal could not have been very significant. According to

24 H 1981/83.

136

written documents, its importance increased only from the 13th century onwards.

It is well known that a high Ievel of cereal cultivation usually coincides with the cultivation of vegetables, including legumes with their high protein content. This highly developed horticulture is clearly illustrated by nds originating from the excavations carried out at the 9th-1 1th century settlement of Visegräd – Värkert dlilö which brought to light sherds om a bowl that contained a lentil brew mixed with chickling vetch. Lentil and pea seeds found at the Endröd settlement and dated to the early phase of the Period of the Arpäd Dynasty are also indicative of the local cultivaion of these plants.

Archaeobotanical evidence is available that the conquering Hungarians knew fiber crops and their uses as weil. According to the results of ber analyses, textile remains brought to light at the 1Oth century cemetery of Szabadkigy6s – Pälliget were made from ax, hemp and cotton. Naturally, the places of cultivation as well as manufacture in this case remain unknown. Hemp was also one of the most important fibrous plants. Hoards of small, acom-shaped hemp seeds came to light during the course of excavations carried out at the 91h- 1 1 th century settlement of Visegräd – Värkert dülö and the Endröd Settlement dated to the early phase of the Period ofthe Arpäd Dynasty.

1t may be hypothesized that at the beginning of the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, newly arriving Hungarians cultivated seeds brought from the East. Once they had adopted s entary agriculture, however, they may have tumed to using sowing material acquired from local, sedentary populations or hospes land cultivators who settled the Carpathian Basin from the West.

It is not only the remains of cereal grain that can be identi ed during the course of archaeobotanical investigations, but seeds from the associated weed ora as weil. Sporadically, vegetation elements of the coeval natural ora alaeo-biocoenosis associations) may also be also encountered. The studies of such human induced palaeo-biocoenoses provide an opportunity to clari the lifeways and agricultural knowledge of ancient cultures. Recently, reconstruction attempts conce ing coeval environments have also gained momentum. Thanatocoenolo , a discipline devoted to the analysis of ecological relations between archaeobotanical finds brought to light during the course of excavations, can be used in drawing conclusions conceming ancient biotopes, and reconstructing the ora and plant

137

associations. In short, it can be used in describing the botanical conditions in the environment of the archaeological site being studied.25

Evidence from plant nds show us that the life of plant cultivators during the Period of the Hungarian Conquest and the Period of the Arpad Dynasty was made hell by the multitudinous weeds. Cereal grain deposits found in houses and pits excavated by archaeologists usually contain cleaned and stored material that was in a state directly preceding consumption. Nevertheless, a surprisingly high proportion of such samples is made up of seeds from various weeds. Using coeval methods of cleaning, which must have been Iimited to tossing in the air, winnowing and perhaps hand separation, were obviously not su ciently potent to remove these elements from cereal stocks. Seeds of comcockle are especially common. When ground into the our, these seeds could cause serious poisoning. The seeds of other weeds may occur in smaller numbers, however, must occasionally have added up to signi cant quantities. These species include cleavers, rye brome, eld cow-wheat, knotgrass, redshank, eld bindweed, annual woundwort, spring wild-oat, and fat-hen. The presence of seeds representing these weeds reconfirms the local cultivation of autu n cereals, thereby providing important additional evidence for sedentary agriculture. Meanwhile, these weed seeds also show that harvesting was carried out by cutting the cereals close to the ground.

7. The earliest evidence for Hungarian fruit production and viniculture

Most terms related to viniculture and fruit cultivation in Hungarian are of Bulgar-Turkic origins.26 These came into the Hungarian language during the time spent in contact with the Khazar Khanate. According to the most recent views, the viniculture of Hungarians bad two di erent roots. Conquering Hungarians imported the knowledge of viniculture from the East which was complemented by Roman grape production in Pannonia.27 It is possible that Hungarians rst encountered this plant in their former habitation area in Levedia and in all probability cultivated grapes in Etelköz. This is indicated by the comment made by Anonymus, the notary of King Bela, who described how, within the framework of a pagan ritual, the

25 Willerding 1986.
26 Gombocz 1960.
27 Füzes 1 970, Füzes d Sägi 1968, Sägi d Füzes 1 967.

138

In summary: Hungarian plant cultivation between the Period of the Hungarian Conquest and the 1 2’h- l 31h century appears to have followed a straight, continuous trend, a development with no setbacks. Although it must have been strongly in uenced by the plant cultivation skills of peoples who inhabited the Carpathian Basin prior to the Period of the Hungarian Conquest (Moravians and Franks), such an effect remains invisible. One should also reckon with the integration of Late Avar agriculture into their body ofknowledge. This information, similarly to the peoples who mediated them to the Hungarians must have been rapidly tumed into a homogeneous unit as a feudal state was established. This means that centralized royal power, the emergence of a Iatifundium system, the adoption of Christianity as a state religion and the spread of literacy ensured that both know-how imported from abroad as weil as dynamically developing agricultural equipment were distributed even in the most remote parts ofthe country.

8. The aims and methods of studying food remains

Studying food remains can provide responses to a nu ber of questions that could not be answered by other means of research. The identi cation of these nds is of help in the reconstruction of ancient cultures and the history of food habits and contributes to the elucidation of the Iong road that led to the production of pies and leavened bread, thereby enriching our knowledge of prehistoric gastronomic culture and food consumption habits.

Food remains may occur in and of themselves (for example our and meal nds, pieces of bread) or in association with other archaeological artifacts (for example on the surface of meta! objects or stuck to the inside of sherds). The analysis of stomach contents from mu ies as weil as moor and glacier victims, and scatological studies must also be mentioned here?8

It is only in recent decades that tbe application of highly developed methods of microscopy and technically advanced analytical procedures in chemistry have permitted the appropriately precise study o f such occasionally recovered food remains. lt is exactly the sporadic occurrence, speci c character and the differential nature of these finds that, although ancient food materials carry a Iot of infonnation, no standardized methodology has yet been developed for the comprehensive body of examinations referred to as the analysis of food remains. In addition to food

28 Richter 1988.

140

remains one must also reckon with the presence of dyes, drugs and poisons. The microscopic study of remains from soups and meals bu t onto the inner sides of vessels is most reminiscent of the work of criminologists and forensie experts.

Instrument aided analytical chemical investigations o er additional possibilities in the evaluation of food remains. Results of such sturlies permit conclusions conce ing the composition of macro- and micro­ elements in food remains. Such investigations reveal that some of the elements survive in the archaeological food remains. The partial presence or absence of mobil elements which may be easily washed away does not mean that these components were absent from the original food. It has not yet been possible, for example, to detect sodium in prehistoric food remains. This fact is more attributable to bleaching than to the actual Iack of salt in the diet. Due to the aforementioned moderate carbonization caused by charring, only a limited group of compounds may be expected to survive. It is for this reason that prehistoric food remains usually do not contain starch, sugar and protein any more. On the other band, free amino acids, cholesterol as weil as fatty acids may sometimes be detected. Results of macroscopic, microscopic and analytical stu ies are of help in identi ing the type o f food and the ingredients used in it, as weil as additives and modes of food preparation.

In spite of the fact that rapid bu ing Ieads to structural d age and Iasting change in organic materials, it may also conserve certain features. O en nothing but the phytolith (small crystals of silicium dioxide) eb chaff remains survive for the purposes of microscopic studies.29 If the material available for study is not completely carbonized, the bu t segment may be removed using a variety of chemical procedures. Thus certain intact tissues of the remaining parts may become available for microscopic studies. Naturally, the possibility of such analyses is always determined by the state of preservation. In order to make the phytolith eb plant tissue remains visible under a light microscope, embedding in a material with a high light re action index must be applied.30

As a result of sophisticated microscopic investigations that require special chemical preparations, morphological details of plant remains (tissues, fragments of the plant vascular system, phytolith, pollens, sporae, hair, colors/pigments, cocon etc.) may become recognizable even a er the

29 Netolitz 1926. 30 Pip o 1987.

141

millennia spent in archaeological deposits.3 1 The methodology of microscopic analysis of food remains recovered om the inside of sherds (traces of soups, meals and stews) may be compared to the scientific techniques used in criminal and forensie investigations.

Pioneering work by Netolitzky2 in the microscopic evaluation of food remains deserves particular attention. It is precisely the speci c nature of these procedures that they are being applied by only a few researchers. Results by Richter33 and Schlichterle,34 however, have already provided important insight into the consumption habits and gastronomic culture of prehisto c peoples.

Instrument aided analytical chemical investigations o er additional possibilities in the evaluation of food remains. Results of such investigation are indicative of the kind of food, ingredients used as weil as additives and methods ofpreparation. 35

Already Maurizio investigated the o gins of flat breads recovered from prehistoric pile dwellings using the analysis of ash. However, it was only the procedure of mode analytical chemistry (atom emission and atom absorption spectrophotometry) which made the analysis of the main components and trace elements in food mains possible. Research in this direction showed that although part of the elements is preserved in a r c h a e o l o g i c a l fo o d r e m a i n s , s e v e r a l fa c t o r s m u s t a l s o b e t a k e n i n t o consideration.

Under the climatic conditions prevalent in the Carpathian Basin, food remains are usually preserved in a carbonized form, probably as a result of exposure to relatively mild heat in an anaerobic or at least oxygen poor environment.

Due to the moderate carbonization caused by charring, only a limited group of compounds may be expected to survive. lt is for this reason that prehistoric food remains usually do not contain starch, sugar and protein any more. On the other hand, ee amino acids, cholesterol as weil as fatty acids may sometimes be detected.

The study of food remains poses a great challenge. During the course of such analysis botanical, chemical and gastronomic expertise are all

31 Netolitzky 1926; Lochte 1951, 1954; Feindt 1989; Richter 1987; Gassn 1973, 1989; Mehlho and Piekarski 1989.
32 Netolitzky 1927.
33 Richter 1987, 1988.

34 Schlichterle 1983. 35 Maurizio 1916.

142

equally required. In contrast to recent food remains, the number of identifiable compounds is very small in archaeological food remains, which may chiefly be explained by the e cts of heat and Iong deposition.36 Starch may be interpreted as a polymer sugar, since starch may be transformed into sugar by hydrolysis. It loses water by a temperature of 190°C and tu s brown. This is why it is not possible to detect starch and sugar exposed to e ects o f heat. Proteins are also easily denatured. At a temperature of 200- 210°Cthepeptidebindingsdecomposeandtu brownish-black. Thus, they can no Ionger be detected. The only exception is the group of free amino acids which are fairly resistant to both heat and chronological time. For example, it was possible to extract amino acids from the 50,000 years old bone remains of a woolly rhinoceros.37 Moreover, amino acids also occurred in the apparently carbonized grain representing several archaeological periods in the Balaton Region.38 Since amino acids decompose at different rates relative to each other, it is not possible to draw conclusions from their concentrations conceming their original proportions. heat resistant. Neither animal nor plant hormones therefore decompose very easily. Cholesterol, for example, can withstand a three hours long exposure to a heat of 250°C. Detecting cholesterol is very important, since on the basis of its analysis it may be decided whether certain food remains originate from plants or animals. In terms of detection, however, fats are most stable. Using the fatty acid tests developed in the Archaeoche ical Laborato of the Institute of Prehistory it is possible to simultaneously determine the origins and types of food remains.39

The differential decomposition times of various amino acids result in proportions between these compounds that change through time.40 It is for this reason that it is not possible to draw conclusions from their mere presence conceming the type of protein, their original concentrations or proportions to each other. On the basis of the so-called amino acid racemization, however, it i s possible to determine the age of organic materials.41 Initial results show that amino acid racemization used in the

36 Ro länder 1983a.
37 Jänos Csap6, personal communica on.
38 Gyulai 1996.
39 Ro länder 1983b.
Csap6, T6 -P6sfai and Csap6-Kiss 1985.
4 1 Ro länder 1983a; Csap6, T6 -P6sfai and Csap6-Kiss 1 986.

143

determination of chronological age of bones could also be applied for similar purposes in the evaluation of archaeobotanical nds.42

The gas-chromatographic analysis of fatty acids relatively i sensitive to the in uences of heat, is a suitable method in identi ing the sources of organic materials ofboth plant and animal origins.43

9. Archaeological food remains in Hunga

As a result of the increasingly interdisciplinary character of recent archaeological investigations, some results of research into archaeological food remains can also be reported here.

Sampies from the Middle Neolithic settlement of Tiszapolgar – Csöszhalom yield carbonized remains of shalbread.

Carbonized spots observed on tbe surfaces of sherds found at the Copper Age settlement of Zalaszentbaläzs – Szölöhegyi mezö were studied both macro- and microscopically. These remains were identi ed as some sort of a sha-type dish made from ground chaffed wheat. According to Anna Endrödi,44 another fragment of carbonized food remains recovered from one of the features that bad been excavated prior to the construction of the Rakospalota section of the MO ringroad surrounding Budapest can also be dated to the Middle Copper Age on the basis of its artifactual context.

Carbonized fragments of food remains possibly originating from kashalbread were recognized during the identi cation of archaeobotanical materials from the Middle Bronze Age settlement of Szäzhalombatta. Having water-sieved the samples taken from the oor Ievel of a bu t down Ottomany culture house at the Bronze Age tell site ofTurkeve – Terehalom (1600 BC), carbonized remains ofkashalbread were discovered as weil. The secrets ofprehistoric housewives are revealed by a few solid pieces of food remains wbich were found in themselves (i. e. not bu t onto pottery fragments) during the course of excavations at the Late Bronze Age settlement of Gor – Kapolnahalom. They also seem to originate from kashalbread.

Among tbe prehistoric food remains, the nds recovered from one of the re se pits associated with the Late Bronze Age Tumulus culture ( 1 200 BC) are undoubtedly of the greatest signi cance. In addition to the seeds of legumes that had been so popular during prebistoric times (pea, Indian pea,

42 Janos Csap6, personal communication.
43 Rottländer 1983; Rottländer and Schlichterle 1980. 44 Anna Endrödi, personal communication.

144

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Fig. 1 a, b: Hordeum vulgare subsp. hexastichum (six-rowed bar1ey) Lebeny-Billedomb, 1O -11 cen

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Fig. 2 a, b: Triticum aestivum subsp. vulgare (common wheat) Ubeny-Billedomb, 1O’h-ll’hcentury

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.Fig. 5 a, b: Fa/lopia convolvulus (black bindweed) Ubeny-Billedomb, 1Oth-11thcen

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Fig. 7: Bread- or g el agment Lebeny-Billedomb, 1O’h-11thcentury.

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Tender Meat under the Saddle

Customs of Eating, i ing d Hospitality among Conqu ing Hung ians d Nomadic P pl

MEDIUM AEVUM QUOTIDIANUM

HERAUSGEGEBEN VON GERHARD JARITZ

SONDERBAND VII

=

STAMRA

(Studia archaeologica mediae recentisque aevorum Universitatis Scientiarum de Rolando Eötvös nominatae)

ED ITED BY JOZSEF LASZLOVSZKY

VOLUME II

Tender Meat under the Saddle

Customs of Eating, Dri ing and Hospitality among Conquering Hungarians and Nomadic Peoples

In Memo of G laUszl6 (1910- 1998)

Edited by J6zsef Laszlovsz

ems 1998

The articles have been part of a conference organized by the College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism, the Society of Old-Hungarian Culture, and the Department of Medieval and Postmedieval Archa logy, Eötvös

Lorand University, Budapest (October 1 0- l l , 1 996). Translated om Hungarian

by Alice M. Choyke and Läszl6 Ba osiewicz
Cover illustration: The seven chiefs of the Hungarians (detail),

J. Thur6czi, Chronica Hungarorum, Brünn 1486.

Alle Rechte vorbehalten – ISBN3-901094105

Herausgeber: Medium Ae m Quotidianum. Gesellscha zur Erforschung der materiellen Kultur des Mittelalters, Kö ermarkt 13, A – 3500 Krems, Österreich. – Druck: KOPITU Ges. m. b. H., Wiedner Hauptstraße 8 – I0, A -1050 Wien.

Table ofContents

Preface …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Istvän Fodor, The Culture ofConquering Hungarians ……………………………. 9

J6zsefLaszlovszky, Research Possibilities into the History

and Material Culture ofEating, Drinking and Hospitality

during the Period of Hungarian Conquest …………………………………. Gabor Vekony, Feasting and Hospitality

among Eastem Nomadic Peoples ……………………………………………… Peter Tomka, Customs of Eating and Hospitality

among Nomadic Peoples of the Migration Period …………………….. Mik16s Takacs, How Did Conquering Hungarians Prepare and Serve

their Food? …………………………………………………………………………….. Ferenc Gyulai, Archaeobotanical Sources in Investigating the Diet

44

6 1

75

98

ofConqueringHungarians . . . …….. ….. ………………………………………. 120 Laszl6 Bartosiewicz, Mobile Pastoralism and Meat Consumption:

an Archa zoological Perspective ………………….. ……………………… 1 57

5

Preface

1996 was the year of millecentennial celebrations of the Hungarian conquest. Many scholarly conferences and popular progr e s were organised for this occasion. The theme of this volume was the topic of a programme organised by the College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism, The Society for Old-Hungarian Culture and by the Department of Medieval and Postmedieval Archaeology, Eötvös Loränd University, Budapest. The rst part of the programme was the conference on the archaeological, historical and natural scientific researches on the customs of food consumption of the Hungarian conquest period. These papers are representing a new approach as weil an upswing in the study of eve day life and material culture. Thus, the study of archa logical food remains and the research on the culture of conquest period Hungarians were relevant contributions for the organisers to the 1996 millecentenary celebrations in Hunga . The conference was not only li ted to the 9 – 1 0 century conquering Hungarians, but also was concemed with the pastoral nomads om the Migration period and the Middle Ages.1

The scholarly progra e of the conference was followed by an exhibition on the archaeological food remains and nds, on the objects of nomadic peoples from early mode period and on mode art objects inspired by these ancient cultures.

The most exotic part of the programme was the dinner organis by the college. This was an attempt to help this institution to create standards for historical tourism and experimental pro ammes. The special feature of this dinner was the cooperation between scholars of historical studies and specialists of catering and tourism. Particular attention was paid to the authenticity of ingredients nown from historical sources and

1 The rst version of some of the papers presented at this conference w published in Hunga an. „Nyereg alatt puhi uk“. Vendeglat i es et zesi szo sok a honfog/a/6 ma aro al es a rokon kultUraju lovasnepeknel. Szerk. szlovszky, J. 6magyar Ku1tUra 10 (1997) különsz . = Tudomänyos Közlemenyek II. Keresk e , Vendeglät6ipari ldegenforgalmi Föiskola, Budapest 1997.

7

archaeological evidence), while the modes of preparation and se ing were obviously suited to mode equipment, conditions and contemporary tastes. We regarded this experiment an important step in the cooparation between scholars and specialists of historical tourism, since dilettant reconstructions of conquest period every day life were also present in the programmes of 1996.

The title of this volume refers to that strange ancient, but o en present day, understanding of the customs of „barbars“ or nomadic peoples which has also influenced scholarly studies for a long time. Ammianus Marcellinus om the 4 century wrote: „the Huns . . . eat meat om all so s of animals, which they place on their horse’s back under their thighs thereby making it tender and warm.“ A part of this observation is interesting for the ancient history of food consumption or animal husbandry, either reflecting the practice that horsemen took some sort of dried meat with them on long rides, or recording another practice to eure the horses‘ back with pieces of raw meat. The other part of this sentence is just an example for the topoi of „civilised people“ as they misinterpreted some customs of the „barbars“.

We dedicate this volume to the memory of Gyula Laszl6, professor of archaeology, who was the most important gure in Hungarian archaeology to introduce a new approach: to see the people and their life in the archaeological nds and objects. His pioneer work The Life of the Conquering Hungarian People is regarded by the authors of this volume as a Standard for those who want to reconstruct the past.

8

J6zsef Laszlovszky