INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN DIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION Special Issue: Focus on the lithics: raw materials and their utilisation during the Stone Age in Central Europe Guest Editors: Antonín Přichystal, Anne Hauzeur, Gerhard Trnka ANTHROPOLOGIE • LV/1–2 • pp. 207–230 • 2017 PAVEL BAČO, ĽUBOMÍRA KAMINSKÁ, JAROSLAV LEXA, ZOLTÁN PÉCSKAY, ZUZANA BAČOVÁ, VLASTIMIL KONEČNÝ OCCURRENCES OF NEOGENE VOLCANIC GLASS IN THE EASTERN SLOVAKIA – RAW MATERIAL SOURCE FOR THE STONE INDUSTRY ABSTRACT: In Eastern Slovakia obsidians were used most extensively during the Late Palaeolithic and Neolithic. Natural occurrences of obsidian are linked with products of rhyolite/rhyodacite volcanism, where they associate with perlite. Viničky, Malá Bara and Brehov are the known natural occurrences. Considering the present state of knowledge, the Brehov locality is a primary source of secondary obsidian accumulations in Quaternary deluvial/fluvial deposits, partially covered by eolian sands, in the area of Brehov and Cejkov. Some of the macroscopic attributes, especially surface sculpture, of the obsidian cores from archeological sites resemble more those from the secondary accumulations. Conventional K/Ar dating of obsidians from natural occurrences and archeological sites implies multiple ages of natural sources. However, dating of obsidians at archeological sites points rather to a single source, or yet unknown source in addition to the secondary accumulations. Obsidians from at least two phases of rhyolite volcanic activity have been utilized for production of obsidian industry. Obsidians from the secondary accumulations in the area of Brehov and Cejkov apparently dominate at archeological sites and probably are equivalent to the subgroup C1a of the Carpathian obsidians. KEY WORDS: Eastern Slovakia ‒ Miocene rhyolites ‒ Sources of obsidian ‒ Isotope dating – Utilization of obsidian INTRODUCTION least since the works of M. Roska (1934) and Š. Janšák (1935). Naturally, archeologists alone were not able to Obsidian was one of the most important raw material recognize natural occurrences of obsidian. This has of superior quality for a production of stone tools in changed when archeologists started to cooperate with prehistory of Central Europe, including Slovakia (Biró geologists who knew natural and man-made outcrops 2006, Kaminská 1991). It incited attention of with obsidian in Tokaj Mountain range and the archeologists and provoked a search of its sources at southern part of Zemplínske vrchy Mts. (Williams- Received 17 May 2016; accepted 12 October 2016. © 2017 Moravian Museum, Anthropos Institute, Brno. All rights reserved. 207 Pavel Bačo, Ľubomíra Kaminská, Jaroslav Lexa, Zoltán Pécskay, Zuzana Bačová, Vlastimil Konečný Thorpe et al. 1984, Kaminská, Ďuďa 1985). However, during technical works related to ore deposit among glassy rhyolitic rocks in Eastern Slovakia, exploration. One of the boreholes crossed glassy obsidian was not the main object of geologist's interest. rhyolite and rhyolite volcanic glass underneath an Their studies concentrated especially on resources of andesite extrusive body (Bacsó et al . 1995a). These perlite, pumice and tuffs as industrial minerals (Šalát, finds and a frequent surficial sculpture on obsidian Ončáková 1964, Ivan 1962, 1964, Grecula, Együd artifacts lead Bačo et al. (2003) to conclude that the 1981). Obsidian was later recognized as suitable Brehov natural occurrence is another possible source material for a production of jewellery and ornaments of obsidian for artifacts at archeological sites beside (Ďuďa a kol. 1985). It was obvious from older already known Viničky locality. Based on results of the geological works that the main occurrences of obsidian latest instrumental geochemical analyses T. Biró and are those in Zemplínske vrchy Mts. and further Z. Kasztovszky (2013) and Z. Kasztovszky et al. (2014) southward in the Tokaj Mountain range. Geochemical divided the group C1 obsidians into the subgroup C1a analyses (18 elements, including REE, determined by represented by the Kašov and Cejkov workshops with INAA) of obsidians from natural outcrops as well as yet unknown natural source and the less frequent cores and artifacts at archeological sites demonstrated subgroup C1b with natural source at the Viničky differences in trace element and REE contents among locality. Using results of older works (Janšák 1935, obsidians from localities in Zemplínske vrchy Mts. of Bačo et al. 2003, Bačo, Bačová 2014) as well as own Eastern Slovakia (Cejkov, Viničky, Streda nad field work A. Přichystal and P. Škrdla (2014) came to Bodrogom), designated as the Carpathian 1 group a conclusion that secondary occurrences of obsidian (C1) and those from the Tokaj Mountain range of in deluvial/fluvial deposits along the river Ošva among Northeastern Hungary (surroundings of Mád – villages Brehov, Cejkov and Zemplín were the main Erdőbénye – Olaszliszka and Tolcsva – Erdőbénye- source of obsidian for the archeological sites. Based on Abaujszántó), designated as the Carpathian 2 group the work of Bacsó e t al. (1995a); Bačo and Bačová with subgroups 2a and 2b (Williams-Thorpe et al. (2014) they considered the Brehov area also as 1984). From 279 analyzed cores and artifacts 242 was a probable primary source of obsidian in secondary assigned to the group C1 with Viničky as a probable deposits. natural source. Such the conclusion was supported by the work of Ľ. Kaminská and R. Ďuďa (1985) as well Utilization of obsidian by Palaeolithic to Neolithic as by geological mapping for the published regional cultures in the territory of Slovakia geological map in the scale 1 : 50 000 (Baňacký et al. Obsidian artifacts with primary natural source in 1989). Ever since, several series of analytical studies the Zemplínske vrchy Mts. of Eastern Slovakia have by different methods (OES, NAA, EDS, XRF, FTD, been found over most of the Central Europe (Biró PIXE-PIGE and most recently, PGAA) confirmed that 2006, Dobosi 2011, Kaminská et al. 2014). With grouping and probable natural sources (Biró 2006). increasing distance the proportion of obsidian artifacts The first doubts about a single source of the C1 generally decreases at the expense of local rocks of obsidians at the Viničky occurrence were brought by lesser quality. Extent of obsidian utilization by results of their fission track (FT) dating. While individual cultures of Paleolithic to Neolithic was obsidian from the Viničky natural occurrence provided variable. In the territory of Slovakia obsidian was not the age 11.1±0.5 million years (Repčok 1977), obsidian utilized until beginning of Upper Palaeolithic. In the from the archeological site Hraň provided the age Aurignacian culture of the Upper Palaeolithic its use 14.2±0.5 million years (Repčok et al. 1988). FT dating was marginal. Obsidian occurrence was recorded at the of obsidians from natural outcrops and archeological archeological sites Košice-Barca I, Košice-Barca II, sites in NE Hungary and Eastern Slovakia by G. Kechnec I (Bánesz 1968) and Čečejovce (Kaminská Bigazzi et al. (1990) shows also two age groups of 1990). Limnosilicite (fresh-water chert) was obsidians that cluster around 10 million years (Tokaj a dominant raw material of the Aurignacian in the area) and 15 million years (Zemplínske vrchy Mts. and Košice basin area (Kaminská 1991). A larger majority of artifacts from the Tokaj area), however, proportion of obsidian artifacts (19%) was present only results do not differentiate clearly among localities in at the site Tibava (Bánesz 1960), however, at this case the Zemplínske vrchy Mts. area. Later a layer of the obsidian was of the Hungarian provenance (group reworked loamy clays with obsidian cores covered by 2a, Williams-Thorpe et al. 1984: 195). A more extensive eolian sands was discovered close to the village Brehov utilization of obsidian came with the Gravettian and 208 Occurrences of Neogene volcanic glass in the Eastern Slovakia – raw material source for the stone industry Epigravettian cultures, especially in surroundings of the Želiezovce group in Western Slovakia and in Southern Zemplínske vrchy Mts. in Eastern Slovakia. Sporadic Poland (Šiška 1998). Obsidian started to expand to obsidian occurrences are known also from the late Western and Central Slovakia already during the Gravettian in Western Slovakia – archeological sites younger stage of the Linear Pottery culture (along with Trenčianske Bohuslavice (Bárta 1988) and Nitra I – pieces of Tiszadob ceramics) and its expansion Čermáň (Kaminská, Kozłowski 2011) and multiplied during the Bükk culture time. According to Epigravettian at the sites Nitra III (Bárta 1980a, Šiška (1995) it mirrors a reality that bearers of the Kaminská, Nemergut 2014) and in the surroundings of Bükk culture moved westward and northward on the the river Ipeľ (Bárta, Petrovský-Šichman 1962). verge of the Middle and Late Neolithic, perhaps owing Obsidian artifacts occur also in the Świderian sites in to a change in climatic conditions. Even higher the Spiš area of Northern Slovakia – e.g. Veľký Slavkov demand for obsidian was recorded during Late (Bárta 1980b) and Lučivná/Svit (Soják 2002). Neolithic (following a fall of the Bükk culture), during They dominated at other late Palaeolithic to beginning of the Lengyel culture, when thanks to Mesolithic sites in the Spiš area (Bánesz 1962, a chain exchange of raw material, semiproducts and Kaminská, Javorský 1996, Soják 2002, Valde-Nowak, finished products obsidian has reached the central Soják 2009). Obsidian was present also in finds of the Danubian region