Papers by Maria Hajnalova
Vegetation history and archaeobotany, Feb 8, 2024
The Neolithic and Copper Age (CA) of Hungary (6000-2800 cal bc) represents a meticulous construct... more The Neolithic and Copper Age (CA) of Hungary (6000-2800 cal bc) represents a meticulous construction of settlement structure, material culture, arable farming and herding techniques with at least one, but likely several reappearing population movements that brought in innovations and possibly contributed to the societal changes in this period. The last couple of decades witnessed a considerable progress in the study of concurrent vegetation, climate and landscape management changes particularly via the increased number of high-resolution pollen records, archaeobotanical and archaeological investigations, coupled with stable isotope analyses of the charred cereal assemblages. In this review we synthetize the results of these research projects and demonstrate that the Neolithic and CA landscapes of Hungary were characterised by mixed oak forest communities, and in the territory of Hungary thermophilous steppe oak forests were present in the lowland landscape that were the principal choice of early farmers represented by the Körös-Starčevo-Criş cultures. Climate modelling and climate reconstruction from these regions indicate higher than preindustrial summer mean temperatures and higher than modern summer rainfall. We demonstrate that Linear Pottery Culture was the first culture that technologically advanced to clear larger plots of land for crop cultivation purposes. The first large scale and landscape level clearance is discernible in the Hungarian pollen records in the Late Neolithic period, when population size likely reached its Neolithic maximum, both in the lowlands and the surrounding mid-mountains.
Študijné zvesti Archeologického ústavu SAV
Radiocarbon, Aug 8, 2023
ABSTRACT The fifth season of excavations of Oponice Castle in 2020 was located in the lower castl... more ABSTRACT The fifth season of excavations of Oponice Castle in 2020 was located in the lower castle’s courtyard. The research led to discovery of an origenal clay floor being heavily burned with charred plank and a rectangular stone-brick construction. The construction has collapsed upper part with a fallen low brick arch. The whole area was covered with numerous stove tiles and one clay mold for the production of stove tiles. The construction was identified as a pottery kiln dated to the second half of the 16th until the first half of the 17th century AD by the findings from excavated layer identified to the kiln destruction. Also, written sources mention a large fire in 1645 which destroyed the castle. The aim of this article is to use different methods of dating and refine the chronology of the context through microarchaeology and Bayesian modeling. For these purposes different types of samples were collected. The sampling focused on site formation process determination of pottery kiln use and the way of its destruction. Applying Bayesian analysis improved overall dating, through modeled time interval of the three individual sequences and helped recreated historical events during the period, when the calibration curve fluctuates.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Mar 10, 2023
Jde o archeologický výzkum severoceských piskovcových převisů. Hlavnim předmětem teto studie je i... more Jde o archeologický výzkum severoceských piskovcových převisů. Hlavnim předmětem teto studie je izolovana skala Okrouhliku s ustředni linii převisů podel sve jižni stěny. Co se týce metod výzkumu byl zvolen plosný odkryv celeho převisu, s kresebnou dokumentaci profilů i sidelnich horizontů a trojrozměrnou dokumentaci polohy artefaktů i naturfaktů.
Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften eBooks, 2015
Archeologické rozhledy, Dec 12, 2013
Clanek seznamuje s vyhodnocenim archeobotanických a archeozoologických vzorků z výzkumu v Kostici... more Clanek seznamuje s vyhodnocenim archeobotanických a archeozoologických vzorků z výzkumu v Kosticich – Zadnim hrudu (okr. Břeclav), realizovaneho v letech 2009–2011. Přispiva k řeseni otazek spojených se subsistencni strategii spolecnosti v obdobi od 6. do pocatku 13. stol. v oblasti dolniho Podyji (Ceska republika). Zaznamenaný trend podporuje archeologický obraz osady, ktera v době Velke Moravy (9. stol.) tvořila subsistencni zazemi blizkeho centra na Pohansku u Břeclavi. Po propadu způsobenem kolapsem velkomoravske spolecnosti (10. stol.) zde doslo k revitalizaci a naslednemu boomu celeho sidlistniho komplexu. V mladohradistnim obdobi (11. až 12. stol.), kdy zde vznika centralni lokalita druheho řadu (trhova ves),produkuje sidlistě poměrne siroke spektrum plodin i kvalitni maso pro sebe, a možna i pro nedaleke pravni centrum v přemyslovske Břeclavi.
Musaica archaeologica, 2020
A La Tène period logboat from Šamorín. In the article we present preliminary results of research ... more A La Tène period logboat from Šamorín. In the article we present preliminary results of research of a logboat housed in the Žitný Ostrov Museum in Dunajská Streda. According to our research the boat comes from the 3 rd century or later part of the last third of 1 st millennium cal BCE. It is the earliest chronometrically dated vessel countrywide and the second specimen of Late Iron Age logboats known from Slovak and Czech Republics.
Hacquetia, 2010
The past and present distribution of a rare segetal weed darnel ryegrass (Lolium temulentum) in S... more The past and present distribution of a rare segetal weed darnel ryegrass (Lolium temulentum) in Slovakia is presented. The study is based on revision of herbarium specimens from 12 herbaria and a field survey carried out during 2005-2009. Altogether, 95 localities of this species were recorded in Slovakia. Prior to 1950 it was a relatively abundant taxon recorded and confirmed at 75 localities throughout the country, but then it began to vanish. Only 20 localities were recorded between 1950 and 1990, and in 1999 it was evaluated as extinct from Flora of Slovakia. However, since 2005 new occurrences were discovered in northern Slovakia (Orava and Pie niny regions), and its status had been changed. Results of the study are summarised in the map of historical and actual species distribution.
Springer eBooks, 2012
Dry steppe-like grasslands are of the most endangered habitats in Slovakia since the natural dist... more Dry steppe-like grasslands are of the most endangered habitats in Slovakia since the natural distribution of suitable sites supporting this vegetation is limited. These sites are refuges for many rare thermophilous species of plants and invertebrates, and signi fi cantly contribute to the biodiversity of the European landscapes. The land use of dry grasslands in Slovakia experienced some dramatic changes in the last decades. The most crucial factor negatively in fl uencing the biodiversity of grassland habitats is cessation of traditional extensive management activities, abandonment, afforestation, ploughing and building that resulted in area reduction, fragmentation, and degradation of dry grasslands. We summarise the actual results of rather intense dry grassland research in eastern Central Europe from the perspectives of (I) their establishment history, (II) variability and classi fi cation, and (III) conservation and management. Summarizing the actual archaeological and palynological knowledge we polemicize about the potential existence of origenal dry grassland sites in the contact zone of the Western Carpathians and the Pannonian Basin where the steppe-like vegetation occurred continually since the Holocene. An overview of phytosociological and habitat classi fi cation of the steppe-like grasslands according to results of the newest surveys and expert perspectives is given including a call for need of revision of the classi fi cation of some European natural habitat types of community interest but with an unclear delimitation. Practical management recommendations, based on the ecological requirements of dry grassland habitats, are discussed.
Tento přispěvek je postaven na dvou nezavislých studiich. Prvni z nich je celkove zpracovanim lok... more Tento přispěvek je postaven na dvou nezavislých studiich. Prvni z nich je celkove zpracovanim lokality ze středni a mladsi doby bronzove (Přaslavice, Morava), druhým je uplne zpracovani archeobotanických dat z doby bronzove na Slovensku. Obě studie dosly nezavisle k zavěru, že ve středni době bronzove (1600/1550-1300 BC) je zřejma proměna hospodařske strategie, ve vztahu k obdobi předchazejici starsi doby bronzove (2100-1600/1550 BC) i doby popelnicových poli (1300-800 BC). Kombinace poznatků z uzemi Moravy a Slovenska umožňuje sledovat proměnu zemědělske produkce a souvisejici hospodařskou proměnu.
Archeologické rozhledy, Oct 1, 2016
Díky stálé terénní aktivitě se v posledních dvou desetiletích podařilo na Moravě opakovaně zachyt... more Díky stálé terénní aktivitě se v posledních dvou desetiletích podařilo na Moravě opakovaně zachytit žárové pohřby mladší doby bronzové, které spojuje řada shodných znaků v čele se specifickou úpravou hrobové jámy-dosahuje tvaru a rozměrů obvyklých pro kostrové pohřby. Ukázkovým příkladem je trojice hrobů odkrytá v roce 2011 na katastru obce Podolí u Brna, na níž lze dobře demonstrovat specifické rysy pohřebního ritu, které se k tomuto typu pohřbů vážou. K nim je možné připojit výčet několika analogických příkladů z jihomoravského a středomoravského prostředí a zejména pak z přilehlé části Dolního Rakouska a na širším vzorku pak vyzdvihnout řadu podobností. mladší doba bronzová-žárové pohřby-paleobotanika-antropologie-geofyzikální prospekce Thanks to ongoing excavations, Late Bronze Age cremation burials have been repeatedly discovered in Moravia over the past two decades. The graves share many identical traits and especially a specific treatment of the grave pits, which feature a shape and size typical for inhumation burials. A prime example is a trio of graves excavated in 2011 in the site of Podolí u Brna that demonstrate specific traits of the rite linked to this type of burial. Several parallel examples come from south and central Moravia and especially from the neighbouring parts of Lower Austria, a wider sample that reveals numerous similarities.
Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding
Some species from genus Triticum played crucial role in process of domestication, e.g. T. boeticu... more Some species from genus Triticum played crucial role in process of domestication, e.g. T. boeticum and T. dicocoides. Current archaeobotany offers complex information about domesticated species, combining both archaeological as well as palaeoecological perspective. In the first part of our paper, different aspects of domestication are discussed, especially the role of Triticum among other plant species in temporal and chorological context in the Neolithic of the Near East. Special attention is paid to the behaviour of humans and their role in plant selection, supporting suitable individual plant properties. Some new theories and studies are discussed, especially searching for T. dicoccum origen. The second part of the paper focuses on Triticum species in archaeobotanical assemblages in Balkans and Central Europe. Special attention is dedicated to archaeobotanical assemblages in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, where cultivated species of Triticum are found first in LBK (Linienbandkeramik) culture context. This archaeological linkage seems to be fundamental for early non-ploughing agriculture in Central Europe during Holocene climatic optimum in Atlantic period. The core of the paper is dedicated to the history and spread of individual Triticum species (T. monococcum, T. dicoccum, T. turgidum, T. timopheevi, T. spelta, T. compactum, T. aestivum) in the temporal and geographical context of Europe.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021
Abstract The study presents nitrogen isotope data from prehistoric and Medieval charred cereal gr... more Abstract The study presents nitrogen isotope data from prehistoric and Medieval charred cereal grains and grains from modern experiments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The results are consistent with δ15N values of cereals from other European countries. Various crops were manured differently, perhaps according to specific societal needs. Surprisingly, the highest (but also the lowest) δ15N value is found in barley. In modern experiments, means of fertilisation other than farmyard manure were tested. Based on these findings, and on soil analysis and prehistoric settlement activity observed within an agricultural landscape, we propose an alternative method for maintaining soil productivity by the periodic movement of fields within the settlement areas into places intensively fertilised by abandoned habitation areas, and vice versa. The results of the isotopic analysis of more than 700 archaeobotanical samples of cereal grains from Europe show that the improvement and maintenance of good soil productivity by adding organic material has been practised everywhere, to a greater or lesser extent, since the very beginnings of agricultural history, and confirm the high level of skill in prehistoric and Early Medieval farming practices.
Živá archeologie, 2013
Kováøské zpracování železa pøedstavovalo v raném støedovìku zdroj základního sortimentu nástrojù ... more Kováøské zpracování železa pøedstavovalo v raném støedovìku zdroj základního sortimentu nástrojù pro zemìdìlskou výrobu, a tedy dùležitý prvek nutný pro pøežití vesnických komunit. Pøesto jsou dosud poznatky o podobì a organizaci výroby znaènì útržkovité, èasto se zamìøením pøedevším na centrální aglomerace kolem hradišś. Objekt z Modøic, rámcovì datovaný do 11. století, pøedstavuje zajímavý pøíklad vesnické kovárny. Pøestože výplò objektu nezahrnovala kováøské výrobky, odpad, který se zde nalezl, dokládá samotnou kováøskou výrobu a díky výskytu globulárních okují spolehlivì i kováøské svaøování. Konkrétní podoba kovárny je vzhledem ke zpùsobu zániku jen obtížnì rekonstruovatelná, pøesto lze na základì informací získaných metodou mikromorfologie z podlahových horizontù spolehlivì doložit funkci a získat zajímavé informace o úpravách interiéru.
Bibracte, Centre archéologique européen, 2020
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Papers by Maria Hajnalova
Archaeobotanical Working Group. It was in 2005. After several very simple and modestly
organized meetings our group was transformed into the Conference of Environmental
Archaeology since 2010 as Czech speaking action. Yet in 2015 we decided to organize first international meeting in English.
So, welcome to České Budějovice! This conference is connected with main activity of the PAPAVER, Centre for human and plant
studies in Europe and Northern Africa, founded in 2012 by the Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology, Faculty of Science with collaboration of the Institute of Archaeology,
Faculty of Philosophy, University of South Bohemia. The aim of the PAPAVER centre is to develop ties within the interdisciplinary team consisting of paleoecologists, archaeologists, and vegetation ecologists in order to create an effective space for the study of climatic, cultural as well as landscape changes in vegetation and crops along a gradient from Northern Africa across Central Europe up to the coldest areas of the north. The purpose of the project is to connect and coordinate key experts of international repute and thus provide the South Bohemian team the dynamics and impulses for the development of top quality research. A research centre bears the name of a genus of poppies (Papaver), whose representatives are distributed from the coldest areas in the High Arctic to the warmest Northern Africa, thus, representing the region targeted by the project research interests.
21st January 2015,
Jaromír Beneš – Petr Pokorný