340
Documenta Praehistorica XLVIII (2021)
Introduction – the Early Bronze Age site at Ni∫-
ná My∏l’a
The Ni∫ná My∏l’a (hereinafter NM) site, located in
the Ko∏ice Basin, is one of the best archaeologically
recognized elements of the Otomani-Füzesabony
(hereinafter OF) culture settlement network in Slo-
vakia (Fischl, Olexa 2020) and more broadly – in
the vast area where the mentioned phenomenon de-
veloped (Fig. 1) (Fischl, Kienlin 2020).
Archaeological research on the NM site began in the
late 1970s and is still carried out today by a team
Dating the ladies> spatio-temporal development
of the Early Bronze Age cemetery at Ni/ná My[ĺ a (Slovakia)
Mateusz Jaeger 1, Mateusz Stróżyk2, Ladislav Olexa 3, and Tomá[ Nová;ek 4
1 Institute of European Culture, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Gniezno, PL
jaeger@amu.edu.pl
2 Archeological Museum in Poznań, Poznań, PL< mat_stroz@wp.pl
3 Archeologický ústav Slovenskej akadémie vied, Nitra, SK< olexal@saske.sk
4 Hodkovce 109, Ko[ice, SK< tomas2404@gmail.com
ABSTRACT – The cemetery in Ni∫ná My∏l’a is one of the most important funerary sites in Early
Bronze Age Central Europe. Many years of excavations led to the discovery of nearly 800 graves as-
sociated with the Otomani-Füzesabony culture. The presented paper is an attempt to reconstruct the
spatial development of the cemetery, based on statistical analyses of grave goods and using the lat-
est findings concerning the absolute chronology of selected categories of finds. A significant role in
the analyses was played by female burials, in which numerous objects were discovered, which were
evidence of the relatively high status of women in the local community. This provided the authors
with a basis for discussion with regard to the dominant male-oriented narratives concerning the
communities of fortified settlements.
IZVLE∞EK – Grobi∏≠e Ni∫ná My∏l’a je eno od najpomembnej∏ih pogrebnih prostorov iz ≠asa starej∏e
bronaste dobe v Srednji Evropi. Ve≠letna izkopavanja so odkrila ok. 800 grobov, ki so vezani na kul-
turo Otomani-Füzesabony. V na∏em prispevku sku∏amo rekonstruirati prostorski razvoj grobi∏≠a, in
sicer s pomo≠jo statisti≠ne analize grobnih pridatkov in z uporabo najnovej∏ih ugotovitev, ki so ve-
zane na absolutno kronologijo izbranih kategorij najdb. Pomembno vlogo pri analizi imajo ∫enski
grobovi, v katerih so bili odkriti ∏tevilni pridatki, kar ka∫e na vi∏ji dru∫beni status ∫ensk v lokalni
skupnosti. To predstavlja avtorjem tudi osnovo za razpravo o prevladujo≠ih zgodbah, ki so osredoto-
≠ene na mo∏ke, v povezavi s skupnostmi, ki so ∫ivele v utrjenih naselbinah.
KEY WORDS – Otomani-Füzesabony; Early Bronze Age; correspondence analysis; chronology; female
status
KLJU∞NE BESEDE – Otomani-Füzesabony; starej∏a bronasta doba; koresponden≠na analiza; kro-
nologija; status ∫ensk
Datiranje /ensk> prostorsko-;asovni razvoj starej[ega bronastodobnega
grobi[;a Ni/ná My[l á na Slova[kem
DOI> 10.4312\dp.48.21
Dating the ladies> spatio-temporal development of the Early Bronze Age cemetery at Ni/ná My[ĺ a (Slovakia)
341
(BA2/BA3); and (iii) the younger classical horizon
(BA3).
No archaeological sources related to the earliest Ko∏-
tany-Otomani stage of OF development in Slovakia
have been observed in the cemetery. Its decline, on
the other hand, precedes the youngest stage of OF
development in the BB1 period, when a second for-
tified settlement was established, covering the area
of an older settlement and a cemetery (Nová≠ek
2017.16–19).
The typochronological order of the sources from
the cemetery (O.c.) was to be generally reflected in
its specific spatial arrangement. The oldest burials
(BA2) were grouped in the western part of the area,
in the central one artefacts from the ‘transition pe-
riod’ (BA2/BA3) were found, while in the eastern
part the burials with the typologically youngest finds
(BA3) were located.
Generally, it can be said that the burials were arrang-
ed regularly, in linear patterns along the W-E axis.
The linear plan of the cemetery also shows that indi-
vidual burials located closer to each other form sepa-
rate groups in several cases. The lack of a significant
number of graves with a similar relative chronology
remaining in a stratigraphic superposition (only two
cases; O.c.35) allows us to assume that they were ori-
ginally marked on the surface. Their locations were
respected while preparing a new burial place.
led by Ladislav Olexa (Olexa 2003.10–12; Olexa,
Nová≠ek 2015.9–12). As a result of several decades
of research, the complex structure of the site was
identified, consisting of two separate fortified set-
tlements, different in terms of chronology, with a ce-
metery associated with the older one (Olexa 2003;
Olexa, Nová≠ek 2013; 2015; 2017). Both settlements
were surrounded by extensive and massive fortifi-
cations in the form of walls and ditches (Jaeger
2016.113–114). The excavations of their interiors
provided numerous remains of huts (mainly in the
form of partially preserved compacted loess floors
and hearths) and pits with various functions. The
main difference between the two settlements was
the size and space they occupied. The fortifications
of the older settlement covered an area of approx.
50x60m. The younger settlement covered a much
larger area of approx. 7ha (Ga∏aj 2002.27). Its forti-
fications also had larger dimensions and a more
complex structure. They covered not only the layers
and remnants of the buildings of the older settle-
ment, but also the area of the cemetery associated
with it, which is the subject of the current analysis
(Ga∏aj 2002.33; Olexa, Nová≠ek 2015.8). The bur-
ial place related to the younger settlement has not
been discovered so far.
Chronology and space of the cemetery – the
current state of knowledge
Over a long period of research, a total of 792 graves
(including cenotaphs) have
been discovered in the ceme-
tery (Fig. 2) (Olexa, Nová≠ek
2013; 2015; 2017). Most of
the burials were preserved
well enough to determine the
age and sex of the deceased
(Nová≠ek 2017.24). Grave
goods and the forms of buri-
als were thoroughly analysed
by Tomá∏ Nová≠ek as part of
his PhD thesis (Nová≠ek
2017). On the basis of typo-
chronology and the few avai-
lable radiocarbon dates, the
development of the cemetery
was divided into three hori-
zons correlated with the lo-
cal chronological system ba-
sed on the classical scheme by
Paul Reinecke (1924): (i) the
pre-classical horizon (BA2);
(ii) the older classical horizon
Fig. 1. Distribution of Otomani-Füzesabony culture sites in the area of the
Ko∏ice Basin (A): 1 stray finds; 2 cemeteries; 3 hilltop or fortified settle-
ments; 4 open settlements. General distribution of Otomani-Füzesabony
culture sites in the territory of present-day Slovakia (B).
Mateusz Jaeger, Mateusz Stróżyk, Ladislav Olexa, and Tomá[ Nová;ek
342
The chronology and space of the cemetery in
the light of statistical analysis
The small number of radiocarbon dates available, in
the context of the very large number of burials dis-
covered at the site, hinders the spatial and chronolo-
gical debate. However, in order to achieve this goal,
it was decided to apply a set of statistical methods
combined with the current state of knowledge about
the absolute chronology of particular finds regis-
tered on the NM cemetery.
On the one hand, the aim of the analysis was to ve-
rify and possibly clarify the chronological scheme
presented by Nová≠ek (2017)1, and on the other, to
try to recreate the history of the cemetery’s develop-
ment in terms of absolute chronology.
Methods and selection of sources
The choice of grave goods is not accidental, but re-
lated to the existence of cultural and social rules in
a given place and time. In light of the huge amount
of data from the cemetery in NM, it was decided to
use multidimensional statistics. One of the methods
used to reduce and classify data is Correspondence
Analysis (hereinafter CA). The advantage of CA over
other statistical analysis is not only the search for
correlations between data offered by it, but also the
presentation of the actual structure within them,
regardless of the degree of its irregularity (Jensen,
Høilund-Nielsen 1997.3–7). CA has found wide ap-
plication in archaeology, including detailed studies
of burials (O.c.39).
In order to determine the de-
gree of dependence between
individual NM burials, the
finds constituting grave goods
were subjected to statistical
analysis. To avoid the ‘garbage
in/garbage out’ effect, it was
decided to reduce the varia-
bles to those with a relatively
high frequency of occurrence
(more than 10 cases). In this
way, it was possible to detect
significant trends in the ana-
lysed correlation. In addition,
data regarding grave goods
were supplemented with in-
formation about the sex and
age of the deceased. These are
important anthropological categories, practically
without exception culturally valued in prehistory
(Müller 2005) and as such they may constitute fac-
tors significantly influencing the shape of the rela-
tionship of attributes within the set. The results of
the CA helped to establish the chronological and
spatial sequence in the process of shaping the NM
cemetery (Fig. 3). Due to the size of the cemetery
and its complexity, it was decided to perform a two-
stage analysis.
The results of the analysis – chronology
At the first stage, all graves were taken into account
and analysed on the basis of selected variables cha-
racterizing separate statistical trends (Fig. 3.a). The
obtained results clearly show two concentrations of
points. This division largely coincides with the rel-
ative chronology of individual graves in the ceme-
tery. Burials interpreted as older and related to the
A2 period appear on the left side of the chart,
while graves generally dated to the A3 period on its
right side. The boundary between both sets can be
taken as the area running through the centre of the
graph (on the Y axis, approximately between the
values –0.75 and 0). The graph shows a clearly
greater correlation of points and attributes associ-
ated with the A3 phase. This may suggest a greater
unification of the burial rite and a certain standard
existing in the funeral inventory at that time. The
correlation of the variables is also more concentrat-
ed, which strengthens the above-mentioned inter-
pretation. On the basis of the obtained results, it is
possible to indicate the elements of grave invento-
ries which are dominant in the various stages of the
Fig. 2. Ni∫ná My∏l’a. General plan of the cemetery. Metallurgists’ graves
marked in red.
1 In this text, the terminology taken from the cited study is used with regard to ceramic forms.
Dating the ladies> spatio-temporal development of the Early Bronze Age cemetery at Ni/ná My[ĺ a (Slovakia)
343
existence of the cemetery. For the A2 period, this
would be the set consisted of: boar tusk pendants,
arrowhead(s), bone awl, bone needle, Rollenkopf
pin type II, shell, obsidian, DC jug, and PB cup. The
bronze earring and the HA pot were of marginal im-
portance. However, for the A3 period, a characteris-
tic set consisted of: needle-like pins, Rollenkopf type
II pins, Kugelkopf and Hülsenkopf type pins, amber,
faience and more ceramic forms, i.e. DA and DB jugs,
PB cup, HB pot, MB2 bowl and settlement vessel.
Bronze awls and daggers were of less importance
(from a statistical point of view), although their pre-
sence should be noted.
There is a tendency with regard to the sex and age
of the deceased. Namely, men are located in the
centre of the chart, which proves the equivalent oc-
currence of male deceased in both (A2 and A3) pe-
riods of the cemetery’s existence. On the other hand,
women are more correlated with the younger peri-
od (A3). At this stage of the analysis, the relation-
ship between the sex of the deceased and their age
was also documented. The following relationships
are visible: male –> adultus, female –> infans, and
iuvenis. These results prompted the authors to make
the analysis more detailed, and thus in the next stage
separate calculations were made for both sexes of
the deceased (Fig. 3.b-c).
As a result of separate CA analysis of the male and
female burials, the chronological division visible in
the previous analysis was maintained. In the case
of CA of male burials, a smaller correlation of indivi-
dual attributes is noticeable, mainly in the A3 pe-
riod, which may indicate greater diversity (greater
freedom) in the selection of grave goods or a diffe-
rent level of complication of the rules of the burial
rite. For the A2 period, a set of grave goods typical
for a male burial (boar tusk/boar tusk ornaments,
arrowhead(s), PB cup, shell, bronze earring, Rollen-
kopf pin type I, awl and bone needle) on the one
hand clearly refers to the figure of ‘man-hunter’, on
the other hand, to some extent, it corresponds to fe-
male burials, which would indicate a certain stage
of unification of the grave goods in regard to both
sexes (see below). In the A3 period, ceramic forms
appear in a larger number than previously (DA and
DB jugs, MA and MB2 bowls, PA cup, HB pot). On the
other hand, the CA results for female burials indi-
cate a much lower degree of inertia of the attribut-
es taken into account in the analysis, which suggests
a strict set of grave goods for particular chronolo-
gical periods. In the BA2 period, the dominant grave
inventory (bone awl and bone needle, shell, Rollen-
kopf pin type I, PB cup, DC jug) can be partially per-
ceived as related to economic activities within the
household (bone awl and bone needle), moreover,
a modest representation of ornaments is noticeable.
However, in the A3 period, there is a clear change
in this respect. There are numerous items made of
less accessible non-local raw materials and of for-
eign stylistic (amber, faience, Rollenkopf type II, Ku-
gelkopf, Hülsenkopf and needle-like pins) and new
ceramic forms (PA cup, DA and DB jugs). The above
results show that the rules of burial rite vary over
time and, for some time, depend on the sex of the
buried individual (Fig. 4).
In order to detail the chronology of the cemetery in
NM, it was decided to use information from studies
on selected categories of finds carried out for other
areas of Central Europe (Stockhammer et al. 2015;
Erneé 2015; 2020; Brunner et al. 2020; Massy,
Stockhammer 2020). A detailed analysis of the grave
goods from NM burials (Nová≠ek 2017.40–115),
supported by the results of statistical analysis, made
it possible to distinguish chronologically most ‘sen-
sitive’ finds from the available set. They were main-
ly ornaments, i.e. boar tusk pendants and different
types of bronze pins. A total of 277 pieces of bronze
pins were identified in NM burials (Nová≠ek 2017.
81–82). Four types were the most numerous: Rollen-
kopf, needle-like, Hülsenkopf and Kugelkopf pins.
The rest of the finds are mostly fragmentary pre-
served pins that cannot be identified typologically.
Pins are the most numerous group of non-ceramic
items among NM grave goods (Nová≠ek 2017.81).
The vast majority of them were placed in female bu-
rials of all age categories identified at the site.
As mentioned in the introduction, the NM site has
a very complex structure and history of develop-
ment, within which there were two settlements and
probably also two cemeteries. The younger settle-
ment did not respect the funeral space created by
the community previously inhabiting the selected
area, as evidenced by a large number (201 cases) of
graves disturbed while digging pits of various func-
tions (Nová≠ek 2017.36). Unfortunately, there is a
small amount of radiocarbon dates that would allow
us to reconstruct the settlement’s development and
burial rites’ changes at the site. All radiocarbon dat-
ings from the settled area are associated with a later
stage of the younger settlement’s existence (Jaeger
2016.130–131; Nová≠ek 2017.18–20). For the ceme-
tery, we have only two radiocarbon datings, com-
ing from the metallurgists’ graves (Fig. 2) (Olexa
1987; Jaeger, Olexa 2014) and locating them in the
Mateusz Jaeger, Mateusz Stróżyk, Ladislav Olexa, and Tomá[ Nová;ek
344
Fig. 3. Ni∫ná My∏l’a. Results of correspondence analysis of grave goods for: a all graves; b male graves;
c female graves (shown on the 1st and the 2nd eigenvectors).
Dating the ladies> spatio-temporal development of the Early Bronze Age cemetery at Ni/ná My[ĺ a (Slovakia)
345
older stage of the funeral space exis-
tence. However, the age of these
graves is important due to the parti-
cular items that make up their grave
goods. Among them the most signifi-
cant are casting moulds. In grave no.
280, a casting mould for a pin with a
spherical head (Kugelkopf type) was
discovered, a ready-made example of
such a pin (unornamented), and orna-
ments made of boar tusks. These
items have relatively many radiocar-
bon-based analogies that indicate their
location more precisely on the time
scale. The discovery of the casting
mould can be treated in this context
as a chronological reference point (ter-
minus post quem) in the discussion
concerning the age of burials equip-
ped with Kugelkopf pins in the NM
cemetery. In the case of grave no. 133,
the discovered casting mould was
used to produce simple forms of Rollenkopf pins.
Two types of Rollenkopf pins are known from NM
burials and they have a different chronological po-
sition. The first type had a rolled tip (type I) and the
second one had a tip which was first flattened and
afterwards rolled (type II).
The analysis of available radiocarbon dates related
to specific pins also present in NM burials allows for
a new look at the spatial development of the ceme-
tery. In the light of the available dating for the boar
tusk ornaments, bone needles, and following pin
types, the correctness of the general development
trend of space along the W-E axis, determined with
the use of typochronological data, can be indicated
(Fig. 5). In the western part of the site, there are
mostly female burials equipped with simple Rollen-
kopf pins type I. They are typologically the oldest
forms, which in statistical analysis correspond to the
oldest male burials, characterized by the presence
of obsidian arrowheads, bone needles and orna-
ments made of boar tusks (Fig. 5.a-b). Available ra-
diocarbon dates coming from other regions of Cen-
tral Europe dating Rollenkopf pins type I, ornaments
made of boar tusks, and bone needles, allow this
stage of creating a funeral space in NM to be locat-
ed around 2000–1900 cal BC (Stockhammer et al.
2015; Lorenz 2013). In the centre of the cemetery,
the basic forms of pins deposited in graves were Rol-
lenkopf pins type II and large needle-like pins (Fig.
5.c-d). The first of these are the above mentioned
younger variant of the Rollenkopf pin. In turn, pins
in the form of a large, sometimes decorated, needle
are an eminently local form. They are probably or-
naments that had their prototypes in tools – bone
needles, found in numerous burials in the oldest
part of the cemetery2. Their aesthetic function is evi-
denced, on the one hand, by their delicate and non-
functional structure, sometimes with decorations in
the form of grooves placed under the loop, and their
deposition in graves near the head or chest of the
deceased. The bone needles (as well as awls, chisels
and other tools) were located in NM practically with-
out any exception near the feet of the deceased (No-
vá≠ek 2017.83). The remaining pins known from
NM are the Kugelkopf and Hülsenkopf pin types and
are concentrated in the eastern part of the ceme-
tery (Fig. 5.e-f).
Based on the available radiocarbon dated examples
of those pins in other regions of Central Europe, it
can be assumed that the central area of the ceme-
tery was used in a relatively short period of around
1900–1850 cal BC. These dates indicate the older
section of the eastern (younger) part of the area
which was finally covered by the cemetery in NM. As
mentioned above, the pins of the Kugelkopf type
were known and locally produced in the period of
Fig. 4. Idealized grave goods sets for male and female burials in
periods A2 and A3.
2 A similar change of the raw material from bone to bronze was observed in the case of awls. These tools were made of bone in
the early stage of the cemetery’s existence. With time, however, these forms were replaced by examples made of bronze.
Mateusz Jaeger, Mateusz Stróżyk, Ladislav Olexa, and Tomá[ Nová;ek
346
the functioning of the oldest stage of the cemetery
(see the mould and the pin from grave no. 280).
However, there are very few finds of this pin type
in the western part of the cemetery (only three bu-
rials). Their greatest number and concentration are
observed in the most eastern, i.e. much younger,
part of the cemetery (Fig. 5.e). In this context, grave
no. 280 should be treated as a remnant of the initial
stage of production of a new type of ornaments,
which became popular at a later period. Hülsenkopf
pins have a similar location within the cemetery (Fig.
5.f). Burials equipped with pins of both types con-
stitute the group of the youngest objects in the ceme-
tery. Based on the available radiocarbon dated exam-
ples from outside NM, the period of occurrence of
these types of pins should be assumed to be around
1850–1650 cal BC (Brunner et al. 2020; Stockham-
mer et al. 2015).
To sum up, on the basis of the current knowledge
about the absolute chronology of the occurrence of
certain types of pins and boar tusk pendants in fe-
male graves (Fig. 6), the stages of the development
of the funeral space in NM can be determined with-
in the following general framework:
● stage I: BA2 – 2000–1900 cal BC (A1);
Fig. 5. Ni∫ná My∏l’a. Distribution and Kernel Density Estimation results of: A boar tusks ornaments and
bone pins; B Rollenkopf pins type I; C Rollenkopf pins type II; D needle-like pins; E Kugelkopf pins; F Hül-
senkopf pins.
Dating the ladies> spatio-temporal development of the Early Bronze Age cemetery at Ni/ná My[ĺ a (Slovakia)
347
● stage II: BA3/older – 1900–1850 cal BC (A1/A2);
● stage III: BA3/younger – 1850–1650 cal BC (A2).
The results of the analysis – space
As mentioned above, the general layout of the ce-
metery indicates a relatively high regularity and li-
nearity in the location of burials along the W-E axis.
The documented linear burial arrangements are not,
however, the result of constructing a funeral space
starting from an undefined single point as the first
and oldest grave. In the light of the convergent
radiocarbon dating of metallurgists’ burials, which
were located in separate groups, at a large distance
from each other, within the western part of the ce-
metery (Fig. 2), it can be assumed that the observ-
ed arrangement of the cemetery space is instead the
result of creating it simultaneously in several pla-
ces. In other words, the arrangement of individual
groups of burials probably reflects the ties between
the deceased in life, although the chronological di-
mension of this practice can also be grasped to some
extent. Assuming the hypothesis that the burial pla-
ces of families appeared as spatially separate groups
of graves, the methodology used in spatial statistics
Fig. 6. Plot of dates from Central European sites with pin and bone finds analogous to those from Ni∫ná
My∏l’a cemetery.
Mateusz Jaeger, Mateusz Stróżyk, Ladislav Olexa, and Tomá[ Nová;ek
348
was applied (Kri∏tuf, πvejcar 2015). Kernel Den-
sity Estimation (hereinafter KDE) and Nearest Neigh-
bour Distance (hereinafter NND) analysis were used
to identify these burial groups. In the case of KDE,
the radius of analysis was arbitrarily assumed to be
5m (Fig. 7).
The KDE results revealed that the eastern part of the
cemetery showed a much greater dispersion of the
graves. Only one concentration of graves, located in
the north-west of the area, was recorded there. How-
ever, in the eastern zone there are five concentra-
tions, sometimes with a linear course, the largest of
which is located near the eastern edge. The dis-
tances between the centres of all locations were
then calculated based on the centroid of each burial.
In the case of the NM cemetery, the average closest
distance was approximately 2.9m. All points were
then connected at a distance of 3m (Fig. 8). It is as-
sumed that families in the Neolithic and Bronze Age
were rather small, consisting of four to six members
(Neustupný 1983). Taking the above into account,
the described systems indicate potential family lin-
eages. Smaller clusters of two or three graves could
reflect a different kind of family lineage. Groups of
seven or more burials should be interpreted as re-
flecting other categories of social relationships and
ties. In the further analysis, the obtained results were
correlated with information on the sex and age of
the buried people.
The aforementioned typological findings by Nova-
≠ek assume full reflection of the three horizons of
relative chronology in the space of the cemetery.
Statistical analysis of all grave goods and a separate
analysis of female burials furnished with pins made
it possible to propose a more complex process of the
formation of the funeral space in NM. First of all, it
is necessary to point to another specificity of the
staged history of the place where the deceased are
buried. The area documented as a result of archae-
ological research did not immediately function as a
funeral space. First it covered the westernmost part
of the area. Burials were located there in a relatively
short period of about 100 years (2000–1900 cal BC).
In this part of the cemetery, relatives (two or three
individuals – 26 groupings) and family lineages
(four to six individuals – 18 groupings) clearly do-
minated. Groupings of more than seven individuals
per series occurred only in seven cases (Fig. 8). The
results of the NND also indicate that in the linear
systems representing four to six graves only 6% had
individuals of one sex, with 20% having two to
three individuals. However, with regard to the divi-
sion into older individuals (adultus/maturus) and
younger (infans/iuvenis), burials from one age ca-
tegory account for only about 20% of the total.
In the light of statistical analysis, the central part of
the cemetery is not characterized by the presence of
burials with a significantly different set of grave
goods (characterized as ‘transition period’ A1/A2).
The grave goods placed in these burials are instead
related to the next, younger stage of burying the de-
ceased at the site, covering the period around 1900–
1650 cal BC. During this period, the creation of a
new spatial arrangement of the younger part of the
cemetery begins. The graves are again located in li-
near systems. The individual groups of burials in
lines, however, remained in general spatial agree-
ment with the older arrange-
ments, probably marked on
the surface.
In the eastern, younger part
of the site the ratio of the dif-
ferent types of lineages be-
come more equal. Small sys-
tems of two to three graves
predominate, with a total of
17. The number of family li-
neages is significantly reduc-
ed and amounts to 11, while
there are nearly half as many
more long groupings, often
including much more than se-
ven individuals in a sequence
(12 groupings) (Fig. 8). Re-
garding sex, in groupings of
Fig. 7. Ni∫ná My∏l’a. Kernel Density Estimation results of grave locations
within the cemetery.
Dating the ladies> spatio-temporal development of the Early Bronze Age cemetery at Ni/ná My[ĺ a (Slovakia)
349
two or three individuals 35% of them were same-
sex. In family lineages, groupings with one sex ac-
counted for 18% of the total.
Status of female burials
The issue of the Bronze Age fortified settlements’
societies has been presented for many decades in a
very specific way. It is discussed primarily in the
context of hypothetical long-distance relations be-
tween Central Europe and the Aegean zone (Vladár
1973; Kristiansen, Larsson 2005; Przybyła 2016;
cf. Jaeger 2014; 2017; Kienlin 2015), or as evidence
of the intensification of warfare. In both cases, the
key role is assigned to the figure of a male warrior.
With regard to Central Europe, the idealized image
of a Bronze Age warrior was developed largely as a
parallel of figures known from sources related pri-
marily to the Early Mycenaean culture. This mecha-
nism is well presented by the concept of warriors on
the move (Kristiansen 2004; Kristiansen, Larsson
2005; 2007). As reconstructed
by Kristian Kristiansen, the
dense network of exchange and
trade that surrounded Bronze
Age Europe (and existed even
beyond the borders of the con-
tinent) was to lead to the crea-
tion of a specific model of soci-
eties in which a belligerent ari-
stocracy played a leading role
(Kristiansen 1999).
In Kristiansen’s view, its repre-
sentatives were the organizers
and beneficiaries of long-dis-
tance contacts, in fact being
their fullest ‘product’. Warrior-
hood understood and describ-
ed not only as a phenomenon
of a military nature, but above
all as a social phenomenon
(Kristiansen 1999.181), was to
appear in a fairly short time as
an element common to the My-
cenaean culture, the Carpathian
Basin and the Nordic zone so-
cieties (Kristiansen, Larsson
2007; Vandkilde 2014). The
starting point for the phenome-
non of the elite aristocratic war-
rior was to be “(...) empires
and palace cultures of the Near
East and the Eastern Mediter-
ranean (...)” (Kristiansen 1999.177). In the thus
outlined history of the development of the Bronze
Age societies, little space was left for consideration
of the status and role of women in the promotion
and development of specific cultural patterns and
behaviours. The case studies presented in recent
years (Stockhammer et al. 2015; Massy et al. 2020)
show that in addition to the rarely questioned mo-
del of the spread of innovation by mobile male war-
riors, scenarios in which women played the main
role should also be considered. The above-described
appearance of a new type of personal ornaments –
a pin of the Kugelkopf and Hülsenkopf types – in fe-
male burials of the younger phase of the NM ceme-
tery, is in our opinion likely evidence of exogamy.
Taking into account the presence of prestigious and
non-local raw materials, such as gold, faience and
amber, as well as a larger amount of bronze (or cop-
per and tin), it is possible to point to a potentially
multidirectional exchange of ideas, goods and peo-
ple. As a result, innovations (e.g., new elements of
Fig. 8. Ni∫ná My∏l’a. Nearest Neighbour Analysis results of grave loca-
tions with regard to (A) sex and (B) age of deceased: A links up to 3m
distance; 2 empty graves; 3 male burials; 4 female burials. B links up
to 3m distance; 2 empty graves; 3 infans/juvenis; 4 adultus/maturus.
Mateusz Jaeger, Mateusz Stróżyk, Ladislav Olexa, and Tomá[ Nová;ek
350
clothes and new ornaments) appeared in NM not
only thanks to warriors on the move, but also
through women. In this context, we treat women
not as an object of exchange, but as an equal subject
(next to men) of particular activities, endowed with
agency. This is evidenced by the imperceptible dif-
ference in the richness of the burials of both sexes
and large number of female burials equipped with
unique items and those made of gold, amber and
faience.
In the NM cemetery, female graves constitute 49%
(387) of all burials for which the sex of the deceased
was determined (Nová≠ek 2017.24). However, not
all age categories were present in this collection.
The burials of children (infans I and infans II, 129
burials) as well as adult women (adultus, 134 buri-
als) and adolescents (juvenis, 87 burials) predomi-
nated. Absolute exceptions are graves in which ma-
ture people were buried (maturus, 5 burials). More-
over, there is a complete lack of burials of elderly
people (senilis). The age structure of women buried
in the NM cemetery does not differ significantly
from that of men. In the case of the latter, attention
is drawn to the dominance of adult burials (adultus,
150 burials), the almost complete lack of burials of
mature people (two burials) and again the absence
of the deceased in old age. At the same time, it
should be noted that there are no statistically sig-
nificant differences in the quality of equipment be-
tween representatives of specific age groups of the
deceased of both sexes. In the light of this informa-
tion, it seems reasonable to conclude that both wo-
men and men had the right to the same burial rites.
These rights were obtained at birth, but probably
lost in adulthood3. The statistical analysis revealed
the existence of certain permanent patterns of equip-
ping the deceased, both in the older and younger
section of the cemetery. Within these sets there
were mainly the following types of ceramic vessels:
● women BA2 (A1): PB cup, DC jug;
● men BA2 (A1): PB cup;
● women BA3 (A2): PA cup, DA and DB jugs;
● men BA3 (A2): DA and DB jugs, MA and MB2
bowls, PA cup, HB pot.
It is worth noting that the burials equipped with
weapons (daggers) were not accompanied by other
items that could emphasize the special status of
men. The vast majority of items made of non-local
or rare raw materials, such as amber and gold, were
put together as equipment for female burials.
Discussion
Due to the scale of research and the number of dis-
covered burials, the NM cemetery undoubtedly of-
fers unique analytical possibilities in the framework
of Early Bronze Age studies in Central Europe. The
combination of statistical methods and contextual
data on the absolute chronology of selected finds
made it possible to create a spatial-temporal model
of the formation and development of the cemetery
in question. Its area is divided into two parts which,
in the light of the results of the analysis of grave
goods, reflect the chronological sequence. Radiocar-
bon dating of particular finds of selected types of
bronze pins and ornaments made of boar tusks from
Central Europe allow us to define the stages of the
cemetery’s functioning as: older (A1), lasting approx.
2100/2000–1900 cal BC, and younger (A2), lasting
approx. 1900–1650/1550 cal BC (Brunner et al.
2020). The chronological sequence is reflected in the
structure of the separate phases of the cemetery.
The analytical procedures applied resulted in a num-
ber of significant conclusions regarding the spatial
and temporal development of the cemetery:
● Differences were identified in the arrangement of
the funeral space and the choice of the location of
graves in individual parts of the cemetery; in the
older, western part (A1) of the cemetery, small lin-
ear layouts of graves dominate, interpreted as rela-
tives or family lineages. On the other hand, in the
eastern part, the younger one (A2), there is a no-
table predominance of long linear layouts, often
exceeding seven burials. The graves in the western
part are more scattered, in the eastern part they are
more aggregated; this fact can be interpreted as an
increase in the number of burials (and thus popula-
tion growth) within a relatively small available space.
● A clear quantitative and qualitative differentiation
of grave goods was observed in both chronological
periods. During the A1 period, there was a limited
set of objects. In turn, the A2 period was characte-
rized by a more extensive range of objects consti-
tuting the burial items. In the A1 period, some of the
grave goods suggest a connection with strictly de-
3 We treat a small number of burials of mature women and men (maturus) as those which, from the point of view of the existing
ritual rules, were related to a group of adults (adultus). The age limit separating both categories is conventional and is the as-
sumption of modern science. As a consequence, we accept the thesis according to which people in mature and old age (maturus
and senilis) were not buried in the form documented in the cemetery.
Dating the ladies> spatio-temporal development of the Early Bronze Age cemetery at Ni/ná My[ĺ a (Slovakia)
351
fined economic activities and
crafts – different in the case of
the female burials (awls and
needles = weaving, leather/
fur processing) and men (ar-
rowheads, ornaments made
of boar tusks = hunting); this
observation does not apply
to burials from the younger
part of the cemetery (A2).
● In the light of the above ob-
servations, it can be conclud-
ed that the analysed collec-
tion of sources reflects a num-
ber of changes that the local
community underwent in a
period lasting about three
centuries. These changes, vi-
sible in the ways of creating a
funeral space, suggest trans-
formations of existing social
institutions. It seems that fa-
mily/kinship ties were initially the basic and at the
same time the main factor creating the relations.
Gradually, more complex structures emerged, pro-
bably related to the satisfaction of new common
needs, of an undefined nature (religious, social or
political). While we consider the importance of fa-
mily/kinship ties to be a local tradition, we perceive
the complication of community structure (reflected
in a new, more extensive, linear burial system) as a
likely result of an influx of a new population group.
Their material contribution is probably the more
present amber ornaments and the new, non-local
types of bronze pins of the Hülsenkopf and Kugel-
kopf types, predominant in female burials. These are
the forms that dominate in the analysed period of
the Early Bronze Age in the area of today’s southern
Germany, Czechia, Moravia and Austria, i.e. in the
region constituting the core of the settlement of the
Únětice culture (Fig. 9) (Bartelheim 1998; David-
Elbiali 2000; Krenn-Leeb 2011). The probable ap-
pearance of new population groups (‘Fremdefra-
uen?’, Jockenhövel 1991) can be associated with an
increase in the population size, reflected in the pro-
portion of the number of burials to the duration of
the funeral space: A1 – 490 graves over a period of
around 200 years, A2 – 302 graves over a period of
around 100 years (Nova≠ek 2017.23).
The results presented above should be treated as an
attempt to recreate the changes taking place in a
specific local community of the Early Bronze Age,
based solely on the sources from the cemetery. The
potential of these sources, even taking into account
their large number, cannot be fully used at present.
As the authors, we are aware that some of the pre-
sented hypotheses can be verified and completed
only with the use of long series of 14C dating and
with the use of new methods, with DNA and isotope
analyses at the forefront.
Fig. 9. Distribution and Kernel Density Estimation results of selected
artefacts in Central Europe: 1 gold finds; 2 amber finds; 3 Kugelkopf pins;
4 Hülsenkopf pins; 5 location of Ni∫ná My∏l’a cemetery.
This article was written within the frames of grant
no. 2015/17/D/HS3/00704, financed by the National
Science Centre (Poland) and grant VEGA no. 2/0084/
18 (“Vývoj a premeny sídliskových ∏truktúr horného
Potisia v praveku a v rannej dobe dejinnej”).
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