Journal Article

River networks and funerary metal in the Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin

Duffy, Paul R.

2020

Overview

Archaeologists use differences in metals from burial contexts to identify variation in social inequalities during the European Bronze Age. Many have argued that these social inequalities depended on access to, and control of, trade routes. In this paper, I model critical gateways in the Tisza river-a river system in the Carpathian Basin that might have enabled privileged access to metal in some areas but not others. I then evaluate the concentration of metal on different topological nodes of the river network in an attempt to understand what best explains the distribution of metals across this landscape. I do this by describing Bronze Age metal consumption and display in cemeteries from four micro-regions of the Tisza, and compare them with network 'betweenness centrality' values for locations along the river. I find support for the argument that favourably located river nodes had better access to metal in the earlier part of the Bronze Age.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Anthropological research / Archaeology / Bronze Age / Cemeteries / Computer and Information Sciences / Data models / Earth Sciences / Ecology and Environmental Sciences / Economic aspects / Equality / Geography / Historical metallurgy / Hungary / Inequality / Material culture / Metal concentrations / Metals / Metals (Materials) / Metals - analysis / Mortuary practice / Natural history / Nodes / People and Places / Research and Analysis Methods / River networks / Rivers / Rivers - chemistry / Social aspects / Social Sciences / Trade routes / Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis