In this study, we present osteological and strontium isotope data of 29 individuals
(26 cremations and 3 inhumations) from Szigetszentmiklós-Ürgehegy, one of the largest
Middle Bronze Age cemeteries in Hungary. The site is located in the northern part
of the Csepel Island (a few kilometres south of Budapest) and was in use between c.
2150 and 1500 BC, a period that saw the rise, the apogee, and, ultimately, the collapse
of the Vatya culture in the plains of Central Hungary. The main aim of our study was
to identify variation in mobility patterns among individuals of different sex/age/social
status and among individuals treated with different burial rites using strontium isotope
analysis. Changes in funerary rituals in Hungary have traditionally been associated
with the crises of the tell cultures and the introgression of newcomers from the area
of the Tumulus Culture in Central Europe around 1500 BC. Our results show only slight
discrepancies between inhumations and cremations, as well as differences between adult
males and females. The case of the richly furnished grave n. 241 is of particular
interest. The urn contains the cremated bones of an adult woman and two 7 to 8-month-old
foetuses, as well as remarkably prestigious goods. Using 87Sr/86Sr analysis of different
dental and skeletal remains, which form in different life stages, we were able to
reconstruct the potential movements of this high-status woman over almost her entire
lifetime, from birth to her final days. Our study confirms the informative potential
of strontium isotopes analyses performed on different cremated tissues. From a more
general, historical perspective, our results reinforce the idea that exogamic practices
were common in Bronze Age Central Europe and that kinship ties among high-rank individuals
were probably functional in establishing or strengthening interconnections, alliances,
and economic partnerships.
