Entangled traditions: Lengyel and Tisza ceramic technology in a Late Neolithic settlement in northern Hungary Attila Kreiter a, ⁎, Nándor Kalicz b,c,† , Katalin Kovács d , Zsuzsanna Siklósi c , Orsolya Viktorik a a Hungarian National Museum, H-1113 Budapest, Daróci út 3, Hungary b Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Research Center for the Humanities, Institute of Archaeology, H-1097 Budapest, Tóth Kálmán u. 4, Hungary c Eötvös Loránd University Institute of Archaeological Sciences, H-1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt. 4/B, Hungary d Budavári Ingatlanfejlesztő és Üzemeltető Nonprofit Kft, H-1113 Budapest, Daróci út 3, Hungary abstract article info Article history: Received 30 March 2015 Received in revised form 8 May 2016 Accepted 12 March 2017 Available online xxxx The Late Neolithic period (5000–4500 BCE) of the Carpathian Basin is characterised by two major cultural com- plexes: the Lengyel culture in western Hungary and the Tisza–Herpály–Csőszhalom complex in eastern Hungary. The occupation area of the two cultural complexes had a ‘common border’ along a large area in recent northern Hungary, from the Danube River to the Upper Tisza River region. Their relationships are indicated in the mixed nature of their material culture, settlement types and mortuary practices. The focus of this paper is the site of Aszód-Papi földek, which was situated in the borderlands. A peculiarity of this site is that a considerable number of the ceramic finds represent typological forms and decorations characteristic of both the Lengyel and Tisza cul- tures. Lengyel and Tisza ceramics appear together in the settlement features and graves, and no spatial or chro- nological distinction has been identified between them or the features containing them. The number of Tisza and Lengyel vessels appearing together indicates that this site could have been a meeting point for the cultures. The mixed nature of the ceramic assemblage at Aszód therefore has profound implications concerning the cultural re- lationships in Late Neolithic Hungary. In order to better understand Lengyel and Tisza relationships at Aszód, ce- ramic petrographic analyses were carried out on 68 ceramic samples from the site and on seven local sediment samples. The results indicate that both Lengyel and Tisza vessels were made from locally available raw materials, and there was no technological distinction between them. Only stylistic features can be used to distinguish be- tween Lengyel and Tisza vessels. The similarities between Lengyel and Tisza ceramic technologies could only have existed if there was a more complex social relationship and interaction between the people and communi- ties who produced these two pottery styles than has previously been assumed. The results are also compared with other, previously analysed, sites, showing that the ceramic technology at Aszód corresponds well with tech- nological results from other Late Neolithic sites. The Late Neolithic period witnessed considerable changes in ce- ramic technology, namely a sharp increase in grog tempering and also a sharp decrease in chaff tempering. These changes distinguish this period from the Early and Middle Neolithic in Hungary, which are also represented at Aszód. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ceramic technology Grog temper Late Neolithic Lengyel culture Plant/chaff temper Tisza–Herpály–Csőszhalom culture Tradition 1. Introduction The Late Neolithic period (5000–4500 BCE) of the Carpathian Basin is dominated by two major cultural complexes: the Lengyel culture in west- ern Hungary and the Tisza–Herpály–Csőszhalom complex in eastern Hungary. This period is characterised by the appearance of extensive set- tlement networks; in the case of the Tisza–Herpály–Csőszhalom complex, as well as larger and smaller horizontal settlements; the appearance of the first tell settlements on the Great Hungarian Plain is also attributed to this period (Kalicz and Raczky, 1987, 14–19). On the tells, only a small number of people were buried from the former community, mainly children and men (Siklósi, 2013a, 424–425), while on the horizontal set- tlements inhumations appear scattered or in small groups (Anders and Nagy, 2007; Korek, 1989, 39–45; Sebők, 2012). The Tisza ceramic style is characterised by incised meander decorations organised in panels, black painting and variable appliqué decorations. The most common ves- sel types are mugs, short pedestalled bowls and pedestalled mugs, cylin- drical and rectangular flower-pot shaped vessels and deep bowls. In contrast, in Transdanubia, the territory of the Lengyel culture, ex- tensive (several tens of hectares) large horizontal settlements with en- closures and large timber-framed houses emerged (Bertók and Gáti, 2011; Osztás et al., 2012; Zalai-Gaál, 1982). Their burial practices Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports xxx (2017) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: attila.kreiter@gmail.com (A. Kreiter). † Deceased. JASREP-00864; No of Pages 15 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.03.021 2352-409X/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep Please cite this article as: Kreiter, A., et al., Entangled traditions: Lengyel and Tisza ceramic technology in a Late Neolithic settlement in northern Hungary, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.03.021