Arago, Bilzingsleben, Vértesszöllös, c. 400,000 BP / g)vart

Microlithic ‘pebbletools’ ('Buda tradition') from Vértesszöllös, Hungary, excavated Dr. Lazlo Vértes 1963-1968. (Site dating is not secure as various dating techniques yield OIS 7, 9 or 11). The assemblage is comparable to Arago and Bilzingsleben.

Dijkstra (1990) describes the authors visit to the original Vértesszöllös area where he conducted a field survey and obtained new artifacts on a par with materials collected at the original excavation. After cleaning of the artifacts Dijkstra identified representational stone sculptures (this and next slide). Sculpture subjects included: head/profile/mask; zoomorphs; female figurine; and 'micro-workbenches' stylized as waterbirds and primate-like heads. Dijkstra compares these subjects to the Boukoulian tradition of the Netherlands. Sculptures of horse and elephant correspond to bones found at the excavation. [Dijkstra, T. (1990). Vértesszöllös: The abode of Homo palaeohungaricus. Archaeologische Berichten 20:72-77. Elst, NL].

Illustration © Th. Dijkstra. Dijkstra, T. (1990). Vértesszöllös: The abode of Homo palaeohungaricus. Archaeologische Berichten 20:77.