Archaeobotanical Sources in Investigating the Diet of Conquering Hungarians

Archaeobotanical Sources in Investigating the Diet
of Conquering Hungarians
Fe renc 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
the amount of information and facilitate the clarification of lifeways pursued
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 reconstructing 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
identifying 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 representations
of plants and utilizes data on plants gathered by various branches
of social 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 influence.
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. In
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 (refuse layers
and pits, cess-pits etc.) uncovered at archaeological sites. These include, for
example, cereal grain and remains of the associated weed flora, 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 useful 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 fruits) becomes especially significant when no or minimal
archaeological, written or iconographic evidence is available for the
purposes of research. Plant cultivation by conquering Hungarians is such a
topic. Prior to discussing this period, therefore, it is worth briefly
summarizing the history of this long period in light of the hundred years of
archaeobotanical investigations in Hungary.
1 Hartyänyi, Noväk.i and Patay 1 967/68, Hartyänyi and Noväk.i 1974.
2 Füzes 1 990.
1 2 1
2. Short history of cultivated plants in the Carpathian Basin
The domestication of plants 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 useful from the viewpoint of society. The first
domesticated forms of wheat and barley first 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 6th millennium BC. Plant cultivation during the
Körös-Starcevo culture (beginning around 6000 BC) is best characterized
by the preponderance of chaffed wbeat species (einkom and emmer) as weil
as barley. The first agricultural population in Centrat Europe was that of the
Linearband culture. Their most important domestic plants also included
einkom, emmer and barley. Archaeological finds 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 satisfied 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 carne 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 Zohary and Hopf 1988.
4 Z6Iyomi 1980.
122
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 environrnental change and a cultural environment
emerged. The subsequent spread of metallurgy further accelerated this
process. Under the influence 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 purposes of
cremation should not be 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 anthropogenic
influence resulted in an increase of wasteland areas.
Archaeobotanical finds from 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 fruits. 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 of various 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 Gyulai 1993.
123
Ievel of animal husbandry, 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 of cereals, legumes, grapes and fruits, as weil
as the keeping and even conscious breeding of animals are weil known from
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 significantly more sophisticated agricultural
technology. Rye and millet also were found in significant 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.
124
Ievel of fruit and grapevine cultivation was pursued in the orchards and
vineyards of 3rd_4th century AD Roman villas.
Thanks to the highly developed Roman trade network, one must also
reckon in this period with remains of imported fruits such as figs, olives and
dates.
In order to make their diets more varied and satisfy their daily
requirements of vitamins, inhabitants of the Carpathian Basin also
consumed wild fruits 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 modern day Hungary were
established during the Roman Period. People were increasingly separated
from their natural environment.
Archaeological sites from the areas that were separated from the
Roman Empire by the Danubian Iimes are significantly poorer in botanical
finds. 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 settled east of the Tisza river,
were a semi-nomadic people engaged in both animal keeping and land
cultivation.
During the Migration Period (4th to 9th 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 irnmigrants 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 from earlier periods remained in cultivation, their
importance seems to have decreased. Millet, a cereal typical of nomadic
pastoral comrnunities characterized by high mobility, assumed a leading
roJe. Slavic comrnunities in the westem region of Transdanubia pursued a
more sedentary form of agriculture.
Although the storms of the Migration Period caused significant
darnage to Roman-type villa farming, it survived in a fragmentary manner,
and the continuity of expertise can be detected. This is easiest to observe in
125
the case of viniculture and fruit growing traditions which survived the
troublesome centuries following the fall of the 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 Carpathian Basin became
similar by the end of the Migration Period (9th century AD). Archaeobotanical
finds are also characteristic of a sedentary population with
homogeneaus agricultural practices. On the basis of 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 concerned,
their economy may be best characterized as „serni-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 comrnon
people who pursued a more sedentary way of life. There are very 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 from 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 (flax,
hemp and cotton) but were also familiar with their manufacture.
Although among the animal remains the bones of sheep and cattle,
characteristic of mobile lifeways, dominate, this phenomenon does not
contradict the possibility that conquering Hungarians arrived in the
Carpathian Basin with considerable agricultural expertise that included
plant cultivation. According to Bälint Z6lyomi, pollen samples available for
analysis from the Period of the Hungarian Conquest in the Balaton region
contained increasing proportians of grains and seeds from plowland weeds,
8 Györffy 1977.
126
a phenomenon that seems to be closely correlated with an increase in the
nurober of Settlements. Increasing settlement activity is also shown by the
increasing presence of ruderalia and fat-hen in palynological samples. The
contribution of birch 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 12th_
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 -13th 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 turned to sedentism as weil by the 12th -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 modern times. Archaeobotanical assemblages from
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
127
who conquered the Carpathian Basin. The adoption of Christianity also
favored the distribution of fruit cultivation and viniculture. Only a few
centuries after the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, the earliest known
documents written in Latin already give accounts of orchards and a
flourishing 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
proportians during the 1 3lh century, the quantities of barley, common wheat
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 Period ofthe Arpad Dynasty.
During the heyday of the Middle Ages, agricultural innovations
(burrow plow, horse neck-harness, the three-field rotation system) and the
secondary exploitation of several domestic animals for draught power
became increasingly efficient. 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 of species actually increased as a result
of Turkish horticultural traditions. Numerous Balkanic cultigens were
introduced into Hungary at that time. These included vegetables (e. g.
128
Smima melons), fruits (e. g. Macaria pears) as well as decorative plants and
flowers (e. g. tulips).9
3 . Conditions preceding the Period of the Hungarian Conquest
Although the stormy times of the Migration Period seriously damaged
villa-farming based on Roman tradition, some fragmentary knowledge
originating from that tradition survived these tumultuous centuries. It is not
surprising, therefore, that several Migration Period grape finds have been
identified from the region of Lake Balaton. Grain from common wheat was
found together with grape seeds in one of the graves of the 6th -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 identified among the wall
remains of a bumt down house at the 91h century settlement of Fönyed –
Szegerdö. The walnut shell recovered at the site of Keszthely – Halaszcsarda
also dates to the 91h century.
The most important archaeobotanical assemblage of the Late
Migration Period in Hungary comes from 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 clarify the ethnic affiliations of the artifactual material, the
archaeobotanical finds are given special significance by the fact that they
form the largest such assemblage in Hungary, which is also extremely rich
in species. On the basis of these finds 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), fruits (apricot, peach, cherries and plum) as well as
grape. This may be interpreted as a sign of a self-sufficient economy. The
high number of weed species identified 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 functioned.
9 Rapaics 1 940.
10 Gyu1ai, Hertelendi and Szab6 1 992.
129
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. 1 1 According to currently held
hypotheses they settled in the Carpathian Basin in three waves. The first 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, significant 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 clarified. Artifactual materials from their
settlements and cemeteries are not always sufficiently distinguishable from
those of the Avar population. In fact, very often this does not even seem to
be possible. Excavations in the Zalavär area have significantly 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 fruits 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 influenced
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 agriculturalists
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
1 1 Erdelyi 1982. 12 Cs. S6s 1985, Vändor 1986, Müller 1989. 13 Müller 1982.
130
4. Were conquering Hungarians nomads?
The general image of conquering Hungarians has been considerably
modified under the influence 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 modern
excavations of settlements and cemeteries dated to the Period of the
Hungarian Conquest have gradually modified our general view on the Jives
conquering Hungarians must have Iead.
Preceding the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, Hungarians Iived in
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 defined 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 SaltovoMayack
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:
köles (millet), ed (cereal), kenyer (meal, kasha),flu (border, hedge), csegely
(wedge-shaped plowland), fort (bunch of grapes), meggy (sour cherry), fii
(grass), ag (branch),fa/u (village), haz (house), nyomat (field pressing), vag
(cut), ter (field?). 15
14 Füzes 1987.
15 Gombocz 1960, Lak 1967-1978, Makkai 1980, Moor 1943.
1 3 1
Bulgar-Turkic loanwords preceding the Period of the Hungarian
Conquest include eke (plow), arpa (barley), buza (wheat), arat (harvest),
sar/6 (?, sickle), boglya (haystack), gügyü (handful of reed or straw), tar/6
(stubble), oröl (grind), kölyü (cereal grain mortar), sz6r (grain cleaning),
dara (farina), ocsu (tailing), gyümölcs (fruit), alma (apple), körte (pear),
mogyor6 (hazel nut), di6 (walnut), kökeny (blackthom), som (dogwood),
szolö (grape), kar6 (stick), kocsany (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), gyom
(weed), gyertyan (hombeam), gyüriifa (ringwood), kOris (ash tree), tatorjan
(Tartarian sea-kale), bojtorjan (burdock), kalok6ny (water-soldier), katang
(chicory), gyopar (cudweed), gyekeny (reedmace), kökörcsin (wind-flower),
kikirics (crocus), k6ka (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, Csanact 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.17 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 horneland (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 of life. Common people, on the
other hand, preferred the silty-loessy, often forested floodplain areas on the
Jeft bank of the Tisza River (eastem Hungary) and areas in Transdanubia
16 Gombocz 1960, Ligeti 1 986, Moor 1943, Zichy 1923.
11 Bälint 1 980.
132
(western Hungary), since in addition to animal keeping, land cultivation
could also be successfully practiced there.
During the Period of the Hungarian Conquest approximately 118 of
historically defined Hungary was either temporarily or permanently covered
by water. This area corresponds to one quarter of modern day Hungary. 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 flora and
fauna in waters, swarnps and wet meadows served as a continuous source of
food for both people and their livestock Waves of inundation left 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 3111
century.18
5. Archaeobotanical finds from the Period of the Hungarian
Conquest
Only a few seed remains indicative of plant cultivation are available
from the Period of the 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 of the few exceptions is
represented by the grave of a conquering Hungarian of high social status in
Zemplen which lies beyond the border of modern day Hungary. Tbis burial
contained grain from millet. Migration Period plant remains from the Great
Hungarian Plain, as weil as from the rest of Eastern 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 kasha, must have been among tbe most important foods
ofthese peoples.20
18 Räcz 1993.
19 Hartyänyi, Novälei and Patay 1 967/68.
20 Wasylikowa et al. 1991.
133
To date, the only archaeobotanical assemblage connected to a Settlement
once inhabited by conquering Hungarians comes from Lebeny –
Billedomb, a site near the city of Györ in the Small Hungarian Plain of
Western Hungary?1 Ubeny – Billedomb may be considered absolutely the
earliest archaeobotanical material from the Period of the Hungarian
Conquest ( 1 0th century). The entire site was systematically sampled for
plant remains. During the course of fieldwork 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 typified by unsubstantiated
hypotheses or often contradicting opinions, the compositions of four
archaeobotanical samples that represent the earliest period at the Settlement
are of outstanding significance. Considering the unusual importance of this
find 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.
F onns of chaffed 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
identified. 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 finds 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 all the important species. It
seems likely that six-row barley, which was represented by the greatest
nurober of individual finds in the material, was grown as animal fodder.
Millet, common wheat and rye, on the other hand, must indisputably bave
served as human food.
21 Excavations directed by MikJ6s Takäcs, 1993.
22 Miklös Takacs, personal communication.
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 flora 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 from 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 influences ( 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 finds from times following the Period
of the Hungarian Conquest
Somewhat more archaeobotanical finds are known from the 1 Olh – 1 1 lh
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 Hartyänyi, Noväki and Patay 1 967/68, Hartyänyi and Noväki 1974.
135
Great Hungarian Plain even after the Period ofthe Hungarian Conquest. The
plant remains recovered from houses and pits from the Period of the Arpact
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
chaffed einkorn, 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 significant at that time.
Archaeobotanical finds from Keszthely – Haläszcsärda in Western
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 of cerealia recovered at these sites are identical to
those observed at coeval sites in Western Europe. Archaeobotanical finds
similar to the aforementioned plant remains were also found in centers that
represent the consolidation of the feudal political order and economic
systern, such as the bailiffs castles of Sopron and Hont that represent an
early phase of the Period of the Arpad Dynasty. 24
Cereal finds from excavations on the Great Hungarian Plain (for
example at Cegled – Madaräszhalom) show that approximately a hundred
years later, during the 1 2th – 1 3th century, the species composition of archaeobotanical
samples from this area becomes increasingly similar to 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 modern times. Archaeobotanical assemblages from
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 Hartyänyi 1981/83.
136
written documents, its importance increased only from the 1 3th 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 finds originating from the excavations carried out at the 9th-1 1th century
settlement of Visegräd – V ärkert dlilö which brought to light sherds from 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 fiber analyses, textile remains brought to light at the 1 Oth century
cemetery of Szabadkigy6s – Pälliget were made from flax, 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 sedentary 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 identified during
the course of archaeobotanical investigations, but seeds from the associated
weed flora as weil. Sporadically, vegetation elements of the coeval natural
flora (palaeo-biocoenosis associations) may also be also encountered. The
studies of such human induced palaeo-biocoenoses provide an opportunity
to clarify the lifeways and agricultural knowledge of ancient cultures.
Recently, reconstruction attempts concerning coeval environments have also
gained momentum. Thanatocoenology, 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 flora 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 finds 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 sufficiently potent to remove these
elements from cereal stocks. Seeds of comcockle are especially common.
When ground into the flour, these seeds could cause serious poisoning. The
seeds of other weeds may occur in smaller numbers, however, must
occasionally have added up to significant quantities. These species include
cleavers, rye brome, field cow-wheat, knotgrass, redshank, field bindweed,
annual woundwort, spring wild-oat, and fat-hen. The presence of seeds
representing these weeds reconfirms the local cultivation of auturnn 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 different 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 first 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 and Sägi 1968, Sägi and Füzes 1 967.
138
military Ieaders of Hungarians sacrificed a fat horse on Tarcal hill and held
a great feast („magnum aldamas fecerunt“). Following the adoption of
Christianity, both viniculture and fruit production started prospering and
reached a high Ievel never seen before. Only a century after the Period of
the Hungarian Conquest, documents written already give accounts of
orchards and a flourishing viniculture.
The first vineyards and orchards were adjacent to monasteries or early
feudal latifundia. Since the hills and slopes best suited to grape cultivation
were covered by woods at that time, the new vineyards were created
predominantly in forest clearings. Having been guaranteed royal privileges,
German, French and ltalian hospes also settled in sparsely populated regions
of the country. Similarly to ever expanding religious orders they not only
brought expertise but also highly bred forms of grape from their own
countries.
Early food production was Iargely limited to gathering wild fruits in
the forests and preserving them for later consumption. Walnuts and wild
sour cherry for example, grow easily in our woods without human
intervention, similarly to crab apple or wild pear, blackthom, hawthom,
wild strawberry, dogwood and hazelnut. This trend is also reflected in the
early names of some coeval locations. Household-bound gardening that was
connected to the establishment of orchards in peasant homes only started
around the 13’h century. Sporadic fruit finds from the Period of the Arpäd
Dynasty include a carbonized peach stone recovered from a grave near the
Romanesque church of Esztergom – Koväcsi, and the small fragments of
walnut shell found in one of the houses excavated at the 1 o•h – l l lh century
site of Keszthely – Haläszcsärda. These prove that even if sporadically,
more improved forms of fruits were also cultivated.
The occurrences of seeds from field bindweed found in one of the
graves of the Käl cemetery, as well as the masses of spurge seeds identified
in the sample (in the company of additional seeds from Saint John’s-wort)
found in another grave excavated in the cemetery of HajdUdorog – Katidülö,
may be explained by mortuary rituals of the Period of the Hungarian
Conquest. It is possible that these seeds were placed around the head of the
deceased as a protection against Evil. Spurge, an herb known from
ethnopharmacology accelerated digestion, while Saint John’s-wort is known
for its tranquilizing, digestive and wound-healing effects. Thus these
archaeobotanical remains may be interpreted as a proof that Hungarians
were familiar with medical plants as weil.
139
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 influenced 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 of knowledge. 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 nurober of
questions that could not be answered by other means of research. The
identification of these finds 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 flour and
meal finds, 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 mumrnies 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 of such
occasionally recovered food remains. lt is exactly the sporadic occurrence,
specific 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 burnt onto the
inner sides of vessels is most reminiscent of the work of criminologists and
forensie experts.
Instrument aided analytical chemical investigations offer additional
possibilities in the evaluation of food remains. Results of such sturlies
permit conclusions concerning the composition of macro- and microelements
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 sturlies are of help in identifying the type offood
and the ingredients used in it, as weil as additives and modes of food
preparation.
In spite of the fact that rapid burning Ieads to structural darnage and
Iasting change in organic materials, it may also conserve certain features.
Often nothing but the phytolith (small crystals of silicium dioxide) rieb
chaff remains survive for the purposes of microscopic studies.29 If the
material available for study is not completely carbonized, the burnt 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 rieb plant tissue
remains visible under a light microscope, embedding in a material with a
high light refraction 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 after the
29 Netolitzky 1926.
30 Pipemo 1 987.
141
millennia spent in archaeological deposits.3 1 The methodology of
microscopic analysis of food remains recovered from 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 specific 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
prehistoric peoples.
Instrument aided analytical chemical investigations offer 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.
Already Maurizio35 investigated the origins of flat breads recovered
from prehistoric pile dwellings using the analysis of ash. However, it was
only the procedure of modern analytical chemistry (atom emission and atom
absorption spectrophotometry) which made the analysis of the main
components and trace elements in food remains possible. Research in this
direction showed that although part of the elements is preserved in
archaeological food remains, several factors must also be taken into
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, free 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; Gassner 1973, 1989;
Mehlhorn 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 effects 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 turns
brown. This is why it is not possible to detect starch and sugar exposed to
effects of heat. Proteins are also easily denatured. At a temperature of 200-
2 1 0°C the peptide bindings decompose and turn 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 Archaeochernical Laboratory 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 is possible to determine the age of organic
materials.41 Initial results show that amino acid racemization used in the
36 Rottländer 1 983a.
37 Jänos Csap6, personal communication.
38 Gyulai 1996.
39 Rottländer 1983b.
4° Csap6, T6th-P6sfai and Csap6-Kiss 1985.
4 1 Rottländer 1983a; Csap6, T6th-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 finds.42
The gas-chromatographic analysis of fatty acids relatively irrsensitive
to the influences of heat, is a suitable method in identifying the sources of
organic materials ofboth plant and animal origins.43
9. Archaeological food remains in Hungary
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 kashalbread.
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 identified as some
sort of a kasha-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 identification of archaeobotanical
materials from the Middle Bronze Age settlement of Szäzhalombatta.
Having water-sieved the samples taken from the floor Ievel of a burnt down
Ottomany culture house at the Bronze Age tell site of Turkeve – Terehalom
( 1600 BC), carbonized remains of kashalbread were discovered as weil. The
secrets of prehistoric housewives are revealed by a few solid pieces of food
remains wbich were found in themselves (i. e. not burnt 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 finds recovered from one of
the refuse pits associated with the Late Bronze Age Tumulus culture ( 1 200
BC) are undoubtedly of the greatest significance. 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
chiekle vetch) the remains of millet kasha were also found. They consisted
of a few, polished grains that had stuck together in lumps. Another
mysterious, porous and hard, carbonized piece of some substance came to
light at the same site. Following macro- and microscopic investigations as
weil as chemical analyses (the identification of macro- and micro elements,
analyses of amino- and fatty acids) it was concluded that this fragment
originated from a „cake“, made with high quality flour, lard and eggs. Two
thirds of the flour originated from millet, while one third was ground from
chaffed wheat. This sponge-cake like delicacy was filled with strawberry
jam, as was evidenced by the seeds found within the dough. This piece of
fine pastry is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe and is an important
memento of our cultural history. It offers us a glimpse of everyday life in
prehistoric times and gives the long-forgotten past a human face.
During the course of the 1980 excavations at Keszthely –
Fenekpuszta, a pit dated to the Celtic period yielded a 60 cm thick, black,
ashy layer. The late lstvän Takäcs, archaeozologist, gathered a significant
number of animal bones as weil as some l/2 I of black, ashy sediment from
this feature. The identification of animal remains was subsequently carried
by Läszlo Bartosiewicz. Archaeozoological, macro- and microscopic
investigations carried out in the Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian
Academy of Seiences as weil as chemical analyses (macro- and rnicro
elements, amino acid and fatty acid analyses 1 98911990) performed in the
Centrat Labaratory of the Faculty of Anima! Seiences at the Pannon
University of Kaposvär permit us to conclude that the blackish deposit full
of fish bone were indeed the remains of food.
Finally, the first results of work carried out on an unparalleled
assemblage deserve mention here. Carbonized fragrnents of some solid food
(bread!kasha) originating from the Settlement of Lebeny – Billedomb, dated
to the Period of the Hungarian Conquest, will contribute significant data to
gastronomic history. These small, porous pieces apparently belong to each
other and in all probability are fragments from organic material that
occurred in major amounts. Sirnilar remains are known from the settlement
of Endröd, dated to the early phase of the Period of the Arpad Dynasty and
from another feature of the MO ringroad on the border of Budapest. This
latter sample was also dated to the Period ofthe Arpad Dynasty.
145
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‚ I •
Fig. 1 a, b: Hordeum vulgare subsp. hexastichum (six-rowed bar1ey)
Lebeny-Billedomb, 1Oth-11th century
!50
I I I I I I II I I I U_J .. l
Fig. 2 a, b: Triticum aestivum subsp. vulgare (common wheat)
Ubeny-Billedomb, 1 O’h – l l ‚h century
1 5 1
‚
I I I I I I I I 1 · .1 I I I I _
Fig. 3 a, b: Secale cereale (rye)
Ubeny-Billedomb, l01h- l l 1h century
!52
I i I I i I I I I f I i I I
Fig. 4 a,b: Ch enopodium album (white goosefoot)
Lebeny-Billedomb, 1Oth-11th century . ·
153
I I i i I I I i I I
I
.Fig. 5 a, b: Fa/lopia convolvulus (black bindweed)
Ubeny-Billedomb, 1 Oth- 1 1 th century
154
—- ——-· – – ·—
Fig. 6 a, b: Panicum miliaceum (true millet)
Lebeny-Billedomb, 10th- 1 1th century
!55
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Fig. 7: Bread- or gruelfragment
Lebeny-Billedomb, 1 O’h – 1 1th century .
156
Tender Meat under the Saddle
Customs of Eating, Drinking and Hospitality
among Conquering Hungarians and Nomadic Peoples
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, Drinking and Hospitality
among Conquering Hungarians and Nomadic Peoples
In Memory of
GyulaUszl6
(1910- 1998)
Edited by J6zsef Laszlovszky
Krems 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 Archaeology, Eötvös
Lorand University, Budapest (October 1 0- l l , 1 996).
Translated from Hungarian
by Alice M. Choyke and Läszl6 Bartosiewicz
Cover illustration: The seven chiefs of the Hungarians (detail),
J. Thur6czi, Chronica Hungarorum, Brünn 1486.
Alle Rechte vorbehalten
– ISBN 3-90 1094 1 0 5
Herausgeber: Medium Aevum Quotidianum. Gesellschaft zur Erforschung
der materiellen Kultur des Mittelalters, Körnermarkt 1 3 , A – 3500 Krems,
Österreich. – Druck: KOPITU Ges. m. b. H., Wiedner Hauptstraße 8 – I 0,
A – 1 050 Wien.
Table of Contents
Preface …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Istvän Fodor, The Culture ofConquering Hungarians ……………………………. 9
J6zsef Laszlovszky, Research Possibilities into the History
and Material Culture of Eating, Drinking and Hospitality
during the Period of Hungarian Conquest …………………………………. 44
Gabor Vekony, Feasting and Hospitality
among Eastem Nomadic Peoples ……………………………………………… 6 1
Peter Tomka, Customs of Eating and Hospitality
among Nomadic Peoples of the Migration Period …………………….. 75
Mik16s Takacs, How Did Conquering Hungarians Prepare and Serve
their Food? …………………………………………………………… ……………….. 98
Ferenc Gyulai, Archaeobotanical Sources in Investigating the Diet
of Conquering Hungarians . . . .. . . . . . . ….. …………. . . . . ……………………….. 120
Laszl6 Bartosiewicz, Mobile Pastoralism and Meat Consumption:
an Archaeozoological Perspective ………………….. ……………………… 1 57
5
Preface
1996 was the year of millecentennial celebrations of the Hungarian
conquest. Many scholarly conferences and popular programmes 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
first 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 every day
life and material culture. Thus, the study of archaeological food remains and
the research on the culture of conquest period Hungarians were relevant
contributions for the organisers to the 1 996 millecentenary celebrations in
Hungary. The conference was not only lirnited to the 9th- 1 0th century
conquering Hungarians, but also was concemed with the pastoral nomads
from the Migration period and the Middle Ages. 1
The scholarly programrne of the conference was followed by an
exhibition on the archaeological food remains and finds, on the objects of
nomadic peoples from early modern period and on modern art objects
inspired by these ancient cultures.
The most exotic part of the programme was the dinner organised by
the college. This was an attempt to help this institution to create standards
for historical tourism and experimental programmes. 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 (known from historical sources and
1 The first version of some of the papers presented at this conference was published in
Hungarian. „Nyereg alatt puhitjuk“. Vendeglatizsi es etkezesi szolaisok a honfog/a/6
magyaroknal es a rokon kultUraju lovasnepeknel. Szerk. Laszlovszky, J. 6magyar
Ku1tUra 10 (1997) különszarn. = Tudomänyos Közlemenyek II. Kereskedelrni,
Vendeglät6ipari es ldegenforgalmi Föiskola, Budapest 1997.
7
archaeological evidence), while the modes of preparation and serving were
obviously suited to modern equipment, conditions and contemporary tastes.
We regarded this experiment as 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 often present
day, understanding of the customs of „barbars“ or nomadic peoples which
has also influenced scholarly studies for a long time. Ammianus Marcellinus
from the 4th century wrote: „the Huns . . . eat meat from all sorts 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 figure in Hungarian archaeology
to introduce a new approach: to see the people and their life in the
archaeological finds 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.
J6zsef Laszlovszky
8