The transition from the Neolithic period to the Copper Age in the
northern Balkans and the Carpathian Basin was marked by significant
changes in material culture, settlement layout and organization, and
mortuary practices that indicate fundamental social transformations in
the middle of the fifth millennium BC. Prior research into the Late
Neolithic of the region focused almost exclusively on fortified 'tell'
settlements. The Early Copper Age, by contrast, was known primarily from
cemeteries such as the type site of Tiszapolgar-Basatanya. This edited
book describes the multi-disciplinary research conducted by the Koros
Regional Archaeological Project in southeastern Hungary from 2000-2007.
Centered around two Early Copper Age Tiszapolgar culture villages in the
Koros Region of the Great Hungarian Plain, Veszto-Bikeri and
Korosladany-Bikeri, our research incorporated excavation, surface
collection, geophysical survey and soil chemistry to investigate
settlement layout and organization. Our results yielded the first
extensive, systematically collected datasets from Early Copper Age
settlements on the Great Hungarian Plain. The two adjacent villages at
Bikeri, located only 70 m apart, were similar in size, and both were
protected with fortifications. Relative and absolute dates demonstrate
that they were occupied sequentially during the Early Copper Age, from
ca. 4600-4200 cal B.C. The excavated assemblages from the sites are
strikingly similar, suggesting that both were occupied by the same
community. This process of settlement relocation after only a few
generations breaks from the longer-lasting settlement pattern that are
typical of the Late Neolithic, but other aspects of the villages
continue traditions that were established during the preceding period,
including the construction of enclosure systems and longhouses.
