Under the direction of Dr. William Parkinson, Hanneke Hoekman-Sites will examine early dairying practices on the Great Hungarian Plain during the Neolithic and Copper Age (6000-3000 cal BC) to identify how milk product use changed through time. This study advances the study of economic intensification by examining archaeological residues from prehistoric Hungary. The results of this analysis will yield information about patterns of dairy residue distribution across individual sites and in various vessel types. The impact of this project reaches beyond the confines of residue analysis. By providing information about general trends of animal product use over time, our knowledge about the process of economic intensification in Eastern Europe will be greatly expanded.
Hoekman-Sites's project investigates a question with immediate effects on our understanding of the Great Hungarian Plain and with broad archaeological implications for the interpretation of social organization and the development of residue analysis methodology. The complex social systems in place across Europe during the Bronze Age grew out of the Neolithic and Copper Age societies through periods of economic intensification and differential exploitation of faunal resources. Understanding the role of animals and animal products in this intensification is crucial to understanding how social stratification developed in this region.
The presence of animal adipose and dairy fat will be identified directly in ceramic vessels using residue analysis. Residues from past use have been shown to remain in unglazed ceramic vessels long after the vessel falls out of use and is deposited into the archaeological record. The ceramic samples were collected from materials excavated by the Körös Regional Archaeological Project and from three local museum collections in eastern Hungary. In all, 339 samples were collected from 10 Neolithic and Copper Age sites. At least 50 samples were collected from each time period. After extracting the residues from each ceramic sherd the samples will be analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine if animal fat is present. After the samples are tested, those that contain animal fat residue will be tested further to determine the type of animal fat present. The second round of testing will differentiate between dairy fat, adipose fat, and porcine fat using compound specific isotopic analysis, which will bring a higher degree of data resolution than the animal fat presence testing alone.
This project will result in valuable knowledge on eastern European economic intensification. It will provide opportunities for future collaboration by illustrating to Hungarian archaeologists how residue studies can be used to further their own research goals. The results of the project will be disseminated broadly. Initially the research will be published in dissertation form, followed by several articles on theoretical, methodological, and broader geographical aspects in peer-reviewed journals. The data will also be available online, which will add to the database of residue studies.
