Winds of Change – Funerary practices at the dawn of Late Bronze Age in Southeast Hungary

The transition from Middle to Late Bronze Age (~1500-1300 BC) in the Carpathian Basin encompassed a broad range of changes in material culture, settlement, and social organization. This transition was traditionally seen as a short, war-ridden horizon reflecting the arrival of the Tumulus culture population. Recent research, however, emphasizes the complexity of these transformations, and suggests a longer, less abrupt transition, in which existing Middle Bronze Age populations play a significant role in the formation of Late Bronze Age societies. Excavations in the early 1960s unearthed over 600 Bronze Age burials at the site of Tápé –Széntéglaégető. The cemetery is situated at the border zone of earlier Middle Bronze Age cultural groups and dates to the transitional phase. Considering its geographic location and chronological position, the study of this cemetery provides an outstanding opportunity to understand how the interaction between different cultural groups shaped the expression of social identity and how social practices changed at the dawn of a new social, political era. This presentation summarizes the first results of my analysis of the cemetery population, focusing on understanding variation in the use of ornaments among different gender and age groups, and comparing the results to the preceding Maros cultural practices.