U.S.-Hungary Koros Regional Archaeological Research Project: Understanding the Neolithic-Copper Age Transition in the Southeastern Carpathian Basin

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This U.S.-Hungarian archaeological research project involves William Parkinson and Richard Yerkes of Ohio State University and Attila Gyucha of the Munkacsy Mihaly Museum in Bekescsaba. Their intent is to examine socioeconomic organization and change that occurred during the late Neolithic to Early Copper Age period on the Great Hungarian Plain. The collaborative work involves excavations at two Early Copper Age settlements (Veszto 20 and Korosladany 14) located in the Koros River Valley. Results are expected to contribute to our basic understanding of social organization in "middle range" or "tribal" societies and to anthropological models for comparing development of pastoral economic systems. Together the Hungarian-U.S. team plans to explore the organization of specific sites within their local context to gain a regional framework for interpreting findings in the Carpathian Basin. Efforts at each site will feature: 1) size and spatial organization of settlement sites, 2) economic organization, 3) paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and 4) chronology and social interaction. The insights gained should add to a specific body of multi-disciplinary regional work that can be applied to models for trajectories of social change in the later prehistory of the Great Hungarian Plain. While regionally specific, the results of this research are also expected to help refine models for small-scale, semi-sedentary agricultural, autonomous village societies elsewhere in the world.This international archaeological research project fulfills the program objective of advancing scientific knowledge by enabling experts in the Untied States and Central Europe to combine complementary talents and share research resources in areas of strong mutual interest and competence.