The Bodrogkeresztúr culture was a middle

Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

culture which flourished in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

from 4000 to 3600 BC. The Bodrogkeresztúr culture is best known for its seventy cemeteries. Which show clear genetic links with the preceding

Tiszapolgár culture The Tiszapolgár culture or Tiszapolgár-Româneşti culture (4500–4000 BC) was an Eneolithic archaeological culture of the Great Hungarian Plain, the Banat, Eastern Slovakia, and Ukrainian Zakarpattia Oblast in Central Europe. The type site T ...

. Bodrogkeresztúr cemetieres make clear distinctions between males and females, who are buried on their right and left sides respectively. Both sexes are buried with their heads oriented towards the east. Burials contain pottery, stone and copper implements, and copper and gold ornaments. The Bodrogkeresztúr appears to have practiced mixed agriculture and stockbreeding. Although primarily raising

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

, they appear to have raised

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s and

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

s as well. Wild fauna in their territories included

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocen ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

and hare. Bodrogkeresztúr ceramics are similar to those of the preceding Tiszapolgár culture, although a new form" referred to as the "milk jug" appears to have been introduced at this time. Flint and stone tools, copper and gold objects, ornaments and various implements are also inherited from the Tiszapolgár culture, although these objects appear at increasing frequency among the Bodrogkeresztúr culture. The Bodrogkeresztúr people appear to have been living in communities composed of 15-20 closely related people. They appear to have been less

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...

and more egalitarian than people of the preceding Tiszapolgár culture. The physical type of the Bodrogkeresztúr people was of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

type, and is contrasted with the "Proto-

Europoid The Caucasian race (also Caucasoid or Europid, Europoid) is an obsolete racial classification of human beings based on a now-disproven theory of biological race. The ''Caucasian race'' was historically regarded as a biological taxon which, de ...

" type prevalent on the

Eurasian Steppe The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistri ...

. In accordance with the

Kurgan hypothesis The Kurgan hypothesis (also known as the Kurgan theory, Kurgan model, or steppe theory) is the most widely accepted proposal to identify the Proto-Indo-European homeland from which the Indo-European languages spread out throughout Europe and par ...

, the Bodrogkeresztúr people are considered an " Indo-Europeanized" native culture whose structure was altered by invasions of

Indo-European peoples The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

from the east. Others have suggested that the Bodrogkeresztúr was natively Indo-European, and that it, along with the Sălcuţa culture of neighboring

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, migrated southwards and became the Proto-

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

. The population of Bodrogkeresztúr culture partially survived into the Bronze age, and indirectly to the Iron Age. By utilizing the anthropological Penrose method, Bodrogkeresztúr was shown, to have a significant connection with the Bronze age Maros-Perjamos culture, and indirectly through it to the Iron Age Celts of Transdanubia, and the Bosut culture of Vojvodina.

Gallery

File:Tesoro di moigrad, idolo antropomorfo, 4000-3000 a.c..JPG, Moigrad treasure, 31.4cm x 24.1cm, 4000-3600 BC File:Tesoro di moigrad, idoli antropomorfi, 4000-3000 a.c..JPG, Moigrad treasure, 4000-3600 BC

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book , last1=Mallory , first1=J. P. , author-link1=J. P. Mallory , last2=Adams , first2=Douglas Q. , author-link2=Douglas Q. Adams , year=1997 , chapter=Bodrogkeresztúr culture , editor-last= , editor-first= , editor-link= , title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC , series= , language= , volume= , edition= , location= , publisher=

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...

, pages=75–76 , isbn=1884964982 , archive-url= , archive-date= , access-date= , via= , quote= Chalcolithic cultures of Europe Indo-European archaeological cultures Archaeological cultures in Hungary