Immigration and transhumance in the

Early Bronze Age Carpathian Basin: the

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occupants of a kurgan
Claudia Gerling1,2 , Eszter Bánffy3 , János Dani4 , Kitti Köhler3 ,
Gabriella Kulcsár3 , Alistair W.G. Pike2 , Vajk Szeverényi5 &
∗
Volker Heyd2

You never know until you look. The authors

deconstruct a kurgan burial mound in the
Great Hungarian Plain designated to the
Yamnaya culture, to find it was actually
shared by a number of different peoples.
The Yamnaya were an influential immigrant
group of the Late Copper Age/Early Bronze
Age transition. The burials, already charac-
terised by their grave goods, were radiocarbon
dated and further examined using stable
isotope analysis on the human teeth. The
revealing sequence began with a young person
of likely local origin buried around or even
before the late fourth millennium BC—a few
centuries before the arrival of the Yamnaya.
It ended around 500 years later with a group
of different immigrants, apparently from the eastern mountains. These are explained as contacts
built up between the mountains and the plain through the practice of transhumance.
Keywords: Hungary, Hungarian Plain, Carpathians, Early Bronze Age, kurgans, Yamnaya,
stable isotopes, transhumance

Introduction
The transformation from Late Copper to Early Bronze Age societies in the Carpathian
Basin, from the final fourth to the mid third millennium BC, and the roles of locals and
incomers, remains controversial. Traditionally, the period is characterised by a number of
1
Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 15, Berlin 14195, Germany
2
Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK
3
Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Uri u. 49,
Budapest 1014, Hungary
4
Déri Múzeum Debrecen, Déri tér 1, Debrecen 4026, Hungary
5
Móra Ferenc Múzeum, 1–3 Roosevelt tér, Szeged, Hungary
*
Author for correspondence (Email: volker.heyd@bristol.ac.uk)

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 Immigration and transhumance in the Early Bronze Age Carpathian Basin

Figure 1. Cultural geography of the Carpathian Basin in the first half of the third millennium BC (in black: archaeological
cultures and groups dating roughly to the first quarter; in red: those dating to the second quarter). Indicated also are regions
and sites mentioned in the text.
partly-overlapping ‘cultures’, ‘groups’ or ‘stylistic areas’ (Figure 1). Although these map
onto different landscapes and environments, their definitions stem primarily from pottery
inventories and burial customs, so they do not necessarily represent prehistoric social and
economic communities. Moreover, there are clear physical interactions between local and
intrusive individuals and population groups, as seen in the case of the contemporary late
Baden, late Coţofeni, early Makó, Livezile and Yamnaya groups. No doubt the decisive
element in this transformation was the appearance of Yamnaya people in the central and
eastern part of the Carpathian Basin. These people originated in the steppes north-east
of the Black Sea, subsequently spreading westwards up to the Great Hungarian Plain and
the Tisza Valley. One explanation of this event lies in an economic strategy based on
mobility—such as pastoralism and nomadism—or transhumance, where livestock move in
an annual cycle from their permanent home to seasonal pastures. Here, we present a study
in which the combined use of cemetery archaeology, pottery typology, absolute chronology
and geochemical methods point to a specialised mobility, practised by transhumant herders.

The archaeological setting

The western Yamnaya
The society and economy of the northern Pontic zone were reorganised radically in the later
fourth millennium BC. Here the Yamnaya cultural complex emerges, defined by its single

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burials under kurgans (burial mounds), grave pits arranged like rooms, supine body position
with flexed legs, ochre staining of bodies, and occasionally single prestige items. The lower
Don region seems to be the early nucleus for this formation (Merpert 1974; Rassamakin
1999; Anthony 2007). From there, between c. 3100 and 2400 BC, it expanded across the

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steppe in all directions. From 3000 BC, similar kurgans and burials appear in a wide zone
further to the west, in the modern countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary.
Of the many thousands of known kurgans, about 600 have been opened, and they share
notable similarities (Heyd 2011).
Our knowledge of the Yamnaya economy comes mostly from these kurgans and burials,
which occasionally feature cattle and domesticated horses. Additional proxy data may be
found in the distribution pattern and site location of the new burial mounds, which indicate
a deeper exploitation of the open steppe, and the probable coexistence of a nomadic lifestyle
for some segments of the Yamnaya society (e.g. Shishlina 2008). This is where the organised
movement of human beings—in one (or many) migratory events—embedded in a range
of socially induced strategies based on mobility, herding practices and horsemanship, took
place. We know from burials at Taraklya in Moldova and Sofievka in Ukraine that Yamnaya
people lived in the Carpathian Basin and the Lower Danube, since they were buried with
genuine pots of Coţofeni and Makó styles (Dergačev 1998: fig. 20.2; Anthony 2007: 366;
Rassamakin & Nikolova 2008: pl. 1.3–4). There is also a climatic change affecting pasture
quality and abundance, as rainfall declines, which may have motivated herders to seek better
pastures in south-east Europe (e.g. Mackay et al. 2005; Shishlina et al. 2009).

Local inhabitants and newcomers on the Great Hungarian Plain

There were forerunners to the Yamnaya migration dated as early as c. 4200 BC, in the form
of a few individual graves, such as that from Csongrád-Kettőshalom (Ecsedy 1979), and
others likely to continue throughout the fourth millennium BC (e.g. the supine burials from
Tiszavasvári-Deákhalom; Dani 2011), which coincidentally may be linked to the bones of
the first domesticated horses in Baden settlements (Heyd in press). The subsequent material
record shows exchange between the local groups and incoming Yamnaya people, seen in
the transmission of a package of innovations (Harrison & Heyd 2007; Heyd 2011). East
of the Tisza River, there seems to be a structured distribution pattern to the Yamnaya
kurgans (Ecsedy 1979; Figure 1). By contrast, there are no settlements of late Baden (IV),
Coţofeni (II/III) or (early) Makó type from this core Yamnaya zone, defined by the tumulus
cemeteries at Kétegyháza, Hajdúnánás and Sárrétudvari (Sava 2008; Kulcsár 2009; Dani
2011; Horváth 2011). However, a larger Makó settlement site 35km away has been excavated
at Berettyóújfalu-Nagy-Bócs-dűlő and radiocarbon dated to the twenty-sixth/twenty-fifth
century BC (Dani & Kisjuhász in press), contemporary with a later Yamnaya occupation.
This could point plausibly to coexistence of peoples in different settlement areas and activity
zones, possibly practising different economic strategies.

Rescue excavations at the Sárrétudvari-Orhalom kurgan
To investigate the complex relationship between the local and the incomer, and infer the role
of mobility, we can use the example of a rich kurgan from eastern Hungary. This mound, c.

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Figure 2. The Sárrétudvari-Orhalom kurgan: outline of the kurgan, sections, position of graves, and plans of burials.


50m in diameter, was excavated at Sárrétudvari-Orhalom (Figure 2) by Ibolya M. Nepper
in the 1980s (Dani & Nepper 2006; Dani 2011). There were two construction phases:
a smaller (c. 35m) mound covered the primary grave (no. 12), dug into the old ground
surface; and a later mound above it first received graves nos. 8, 10 and then nos. 4, 7/7a, 9
and 11. Radiocarbon dates show the burials were made intermittently for several centuries
(Kulcsár 2009: 355; Dani 2011: 48–49; Table 1).

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Table 1. The Sárrétudvari-Orhalom kurgan: summary of archaeological, anthropological and
radiocarbon (2σ calibration results using Oxcal 4.0 and IntCal09) data. See also Figure 2.
Age at Grave Flexed Radicarbon
Burial Sex death Sample goods position Orientation dates

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4 male old adult maxilla ceramic vessel left side ENE−WSW 2886–2503
(maturus) M3 2 Lockenringe (95.4%) cal
(40–59 y) animal bone BC (deb-7182,
hide? 4135+−60 BP)
7/7a 7a ? child infans M1 ceramic vessel ? NE−SW –
II (5–7 y) 2 Lockenringe
copper axe
copper dagger
ochre lump
7 male old adult mandibula supine? NE−SW –
(maturus) M2(?)
(40–59 y)
8 ? young adult M1 mat hide? ? NW−SE or –
SE−NW
9 male young adult mandibula ceramic vessel ‘frog NNW−SSE 2861−2472
(23–30 y) M3(?) dog tooth in fork’ (95.4%) cal
grave fill BC (deb-6871,
4060+−50 BP)
10 male old adult maxilla grinding stone right side W−E 3090−2894
(maturus) M2 horse & cattle (95.4%) cal
(44–50 y) bones in grave BC (deb-6639,
fill 4350+−40 BP)
11 male? adult maxilla P2 ceramic vessel ? NW−SE? –
(23–39 y) cattle bones in
grave fill
12 female? juvenile maxilla P2 / left side NW–SE 3361−3097
(15–17 y) (?) (95.4%) cal
BC (deb-6869,
4520+−40 BP)

The earliest burial (grave 12), dated to 3361–3097 cal BC (Table 1), was a juvenile lying
on its left side in a strongly contracted position. This does not follow a Yamnaya burial
custom, and it can be dated to the preceding Late Copper Age. The next burial is grave
10 (3090–2894 cal BC), the inhumation of a mature man on his right side in a slightly
contracted position. Besides traces of ochre on the bones, the grave goods include a grinding
stone, and there were bones of horse and cattle in the grave fill. Grave 8 was disturbed. The
body was laid on a mat and covered by a hide, of which traces remained.
The second group of later graves (nos. 4, 7/7a, 9 and 11) were found in the upper structure
of the kurgan. Following the traditional Hungarian terminology, these belong to the Early
Bronze Age. In grave 4 (2886–2503 cal BC) there was a mature male skeleton, lightly
contracted on his left side. The skeleton was probably covered by a hide, and accompanied
by a globular pot, two silver/electrum Lockenringe, and an animal bone. Grave 7/7a contained
a mature man (perhaps in a supine position), and a child of five to seven years. In addition,
the bottom of the grave was covered in an organic substance. The grave goods included a
pot, two identical silver/electrum Lockenringe, a copper axe, a copper dagger, and an ochre

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amulet. Grave 9 (2861–2472 cal BC) was disturbed, but showed evidence for an adult man
laid on his back, and an organic substance covered the bottom of the grave. In the grave there
was a handled pot, and a dog’s tooth in the fill. Grave 11 was disturbed so that the skeleton
remained only approximately in the NW–SE(?) position, while the grave fill contained an
amphora-like pot and cattle bones.

On the face of it, Sárrétudvari-Orhalom is a Yamnaya kurgan, typical for the Great
Hungarian Plain. Its chronology begins, however, before the arrival of the Yamnaya, and
the later graves date to the end of the western Yamnaya occupation. The later group buried
there have metal finds with international parallels, confirming the dating to the first half
of the third millennium BC (Dani 2011; and see below), yet their pottery is related more
regionally to the Romanian Livezile and Hungarian Makó groups (Kulcsár 2009; Ciugudean
2011: 29). The task of the new research was to identify the communities making use of
the ‘Yamnaya’ kurgan, by determining the provenance of the buried persons through stable
isotope analysis.

Isotope analyses
Isotopic studies with 87 Sr/86 Sr and δ 18 O analyses can distinguish individuals using differing
drinking water sources, their displacement from the original catchments often interpreted as
the result of immigration (e.g. Bentley 2006; Knipper 2009). Only a few such studies have
so far targeted the Carpathian Basin. A recent study by Julia I. Giblin (2009) used 87 Sr/86 Sr
analyses from human and animal teeth to explore the Neolithic/Copper Age transition in
the Great Hungarian Plain, but it relates to a period 1500 years earlier than the Yamnaya.
The data to be presented here derive from two new international and interdisciplinary

projects. In Hungary, the samples came from the kurgan of Sárrétudvari-Orhalom (eight
individuals), and eight other Yamnaya kurgan sites, providing twelve more individuals from
the Carpathian Basin (Ecsedy 1979; Table 2).

Strontium isotope analysis

Strontium isotope ratios in rocks vary due to formation age (Faure 1986), and with
weathering the strontium passes into sediments, and finally reaches animals and humans
where it is stored in hard tissues such as teeth as a coincidental replacement for calcium
(Bentley 2006). While the dentine of a tooth reflects the intake at the time of death, the
enamel reflects diet and location of the first years of an individual’s life (e.g. Price et al.
2002). Therefore it is possible to identify individual people who have travelled from their
birthplace, and come to live (and die) in another region, provided there is sufficient isotopic
difference between the two regions.
There is some information on the baseline readings for the study area. The Sárrétudvari-
Őrhalom kurgan is located in the flat Greater Sárrét region, near today’s Hungarian-
Romanian border. The plain is composed of sediments that derive from Tertiary and
Quaternary rocks that should result in low 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios (Trunkó 1969: 107). This falls
within the range of 0.708–0.710 for Central European lowland loess regions (Bentley et al.
2003). However, ratios from loess sediments from Saxony-Anhalt in east Germany can reach
higher values, over 0.712 (De Jong et al. 2010), and a recent survey of Hungarian loess

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Table 2. Results of 87 Sr/86 Sr and δ 18 O analysis for the sampled individuals (Sárrétudvari-Orhalom
kurgan and Yamnaya graves) of the Great Hungarian Plain. Errors are given at 2σ . Typical errors for
oxygen values are 0.2%. The equation given in Longinelli 1984 was applied for oxygen isotopes.
St. error

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Site Grave Sex Age Sample 87
Sr/86 Sr (2σ ) δ 18 Ow

Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 4 male mature maxilla 0.71091 7.07E-06 –11.75

M3
Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 7a ? infans II M1 0.71016 6.96E-06 –7.30
Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 7 male mature mandibula 0.71102 7.93E-06 –11.44
M2 (?)
Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 8 ? adult M1 0.71034 6.82E-06 –8.27
Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 9 male adult mandibula 0.71098 7.55E-06 –10.94
M3 (?)
Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 10 male mature maxilla 0.71047 6.32E-06 –7.18
M2
Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 11 male? adult maxilla 0.71157 7.96E-06 –10.54
P2
Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom 12 female? juvenile maxilla 0.70996 6.84E-06 –8.48
P2 (?)
Balmazújváros- 1 male adult maxilla 0.70954 7.50E-06
Árkusmajor- M2
Kettőshalom
Debrecen-Basahalom 1 male adult maxilla 0.70950 6.59E-06
M3
Debrecen-Dunahalom male? adult mandibula 0.71000 6.56E-06 –8.48
M3
Dévaványa- 1 male mature maxilla 0.70965 6.49E-06
Barcéhalom M3
Dévaványa- 2 ? juvenile mandibula 0.70962 7.28E-06
Csordajárás M2
Dévaványa- 3 ? infans I maxilla 0.71012 7.60E-06
Csordajárás M1
Kétegyháza- 7 (kurgan 3) ? juvenile maxilla 0.70923 6.36E-06 –8.12
Kétegyházi M1
tanyák
Kétegyháza- 1 (kurgan 5a) male adult maxilla 0.70917 7.02E-06 –9.19
Kétegyházi M2
tanyák
Kétegyháza- 1 (kurgan 6) female adult maxilla 0.70987 6.29E-06 –7.98
Kétegyházi M2
tanyák
Kétegyháza- 3 (kurgan 6) male adult maxilla 0.70917 7.11E-06
Kétegyházi M2
tanyák
Püspökladány- 1 male adult maxilla 0.71010 6.01E-06
Kincsesdomb M2
Sárrétudvari- female adult maxilla 0.71004 7.17E-06
Balázshalom M2


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Table 3. Results of 87 Sr/86 Sr analysis for baseline samples for the determination of the biologically
available Sr values of the Sárrétudvari region. Errors are given at 2σ .
87
Sample Period Contamination Sr/86 Sr St. error (2σ )

grave 9 dentine prehistoric diagenetic changes 0.71036 6.60E-06

grave 10 dentine prehistoric diagenetic changes 0.71027 6.66E-06
grave 11 dentine prehistoric diagenetic changes 0.71048 5.94E-06
grave 12 dentine prehistoric diagenetic changes 0.71016 5.86E-06
field sediment recent probable 0.71122 2.50E-04
field plant recent unknown 0.71053 6.70E-06
grave 8 bone (sheep/goat) prehistoric diagenetic changes 0.71021 6.98E-06
field bone (sheep/goat) recent? unknown 0.71043 7.68E-06

samples located roughly parallel to the Danube also resulted in considerably higher values
(Újvári et al. 2010), while modern water samples from the Tisza River yielded an 87 Sr/86 Sr
ratio of 0.7096 (Palmer & Edmond 1989: 14, tab. 1). For her project, Giblin analysed faunal
samples from prehistoric sites of the Körös River valley less than 50km away from the Sárrét
region. They yielded a mean 87 Sr/86 Sr ratio of 0.7097 (Giblin 2009: 494, tab. 2) and she
calculated the local isotope range from 0.7092 to 0.7103 (Giblin 2009: fig. 2). The Great
Hungarian Plain is bordered by the Carpathians in the north and by the Apuseni Mountains
in the east. Both mountain chains have different geological formations, reflected in varying
87
Sr/86 Sr ratios (Giblin 2009: 493). Ratios of 87 Sr/86 Sr in the range 0.7040–0.7083 are
recorded for the Apuseni, 0.7083–0.7012 for the Gutâi and the Northern Transcarpathian
Basin, and 0.7077–0.7114 for the Bükk Mountains, and a single value of 0.7074 is reported
for the Tokaj (Seghedi et al. 2004: 122–26, tab. 1). However Seghedi et al. focused on the
Neogene-Quaternary magmatism and geodynamics in the Carpathian-Pannonian region,
and these young magmatic rocks (with low 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios) form only a proportion of the
geology of the mountain ranges. Consequently, further sampling in the existing Precambrian
to Mesozoic rocks will likely show that the 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios for the whole mountain chain
have wider ranges, and particularly higher values on average.
As there were no 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios available for the Sárrét region, baseline samples were
taken from plants, prehistoric sheep bone and cattle tooth enamel, as well as dentine of four
humans, presumed local (graves 9–12) (Table 3). At 2σ standard deviation, the range of
these samples was from 0.7101–0.7105. These values represent the Sr isotopic ratio of the
immediate surroundings and the burial environment, and may not reflect the presumably
broader dietary catchment of local people. Therefore we also included Giblin’s local values
for the Körös River valley and the Tisza River water, giving a ‘local’ bio-available Sr range
from 0.7092 to 0.7105.

Results of strontium isotope analysis

The eight individuals from the Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom kurgan (Figure 3) had ratios between
0.7100 and 0.7116. Primary grave 12 shows the lowest value, but graves 7a, 8 and 10 also
fall within the range of the measured bio-available strontium for the Sárrét region and can
therefore best be considered as ‘local’. By contrast, the occupants of graves 4, 9 and 7 had

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Figure 3. 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios of graves from the Sárrétudvari-Orhalom kurgan, of dentine and baseline samples from
Sárrétudvari, and of other Yamnaya graves from the Great Hungarian Plain.

strontium isotope values higher than the local range. This indicates that they were either
born elsewhere, or at least spent their childhood/juvenile period at another location, or
perhaps were more mobile. The individual in grave 11 had the highest radiogenic value and
can certainly be regarded as an immigrant into the Great Hungarian Plain.
Among the 12 individuals from the other kurgan sites (see Table 2), 10 lay within the
local range. The two other burials (from Kétegyháza: kurgan 5a, grave 1, and kurgan 6,
grave 3) were just below the strontium level for the region. Therefore, we infer that everyone
was a local person, or alternatively, grew up in a region with the same underlying geology.

Oxygen isotope analysis

The oxygen isotopic composition (δ 18 O) of body tissues is closely linked to the water
drunk by the person or animal (e.g. Balasse et al. 2002 with literature). Furthermore, the
δ 18 O composition of water varies with climate, so that the weather conditions in which
an individual grew up are recorded by the δ 18 O composition of tooth enamel (Longinelli
1984). However there are many factors that interplay locally, such as humidity, temperature,
altitude, distance from the sea, latitude, rain-shadow effects and variability of past climate.
Their precise modelling is not yet satisfactorily solved, but a comparison of δ 18 O between
broadly contemporary individuals can indicate different geographical origins.
Two groups were revealed by our data. Graves 7a, 8, 10 and 12 had values around δ 18 Ow
-7.18 and -8.48‰, while graves 4, 7, 9 and 11 clustered around δ 18 Ow -11‰ (after
conversion using the equation in Longinelli 1984) (Figure 4). A map of δ 18 O ratios

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Figure 4. Combined 87 Sr/86 Sr and δ 18 O isotope results from Sárrétudvari, Kétegyháza and Debrecen-Dunahalom. The
equation given in Longinelli 1984 was applied for oxygen isotopes.

in modern precipitation was consulted (OIPC; www.waterisotopes.org). The first cluster

coincides with the values expected for today’s Central Carpathian lowlands. They also
match oxygen isotope ratios obtained from the analysed Yamnaya graves of Kétegyháza
and Debrecen-Dunahalom. The second group of graves matches the δ 18 O ratios of colder
climate zones and/or hillier regions.

Combining strontium and oxygen isotopic analyses

The combined isotopic analyses provide two independent data sets, which distinguish two
grave clusters from the Sárrétudvari-Őrhalom kurgan: the first is essentially local in origin.
The second group (graves 4, 7, 9 and 11) consists of non-local people who either grew
up in a colder, or more eastern and continental, or higher altitude region. The fact that
both the diet (Sr) and drinking water (O) show similar patterns makes it reasonable to infer
that the clusters came from geographically distinct regions. The Apuseni Mountains, lying
immediately to the east, being partly formed by crystalline basement and Palaeozoic rocks,
and reaching peak heights between 1100 and 1850m, would indeed be a candidate for the
second group. One has to note, however, that some other regions deeper in eastern and
north-eastern Europe may turn out to have similar values.

Discussion
The most interesting of the local people is the occupant of grave 12, which is the earliest
grave in the kurgan and the main statistical range of its radiocarbon date clearly predates the
arrival of the western Yamnaya groups c. 3000 BC. This is also confirmed by the burial rite,

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which is not typical for the Yamnaya (Dani 2011: 29–33; Heyd in press), although some
heterogeneity may apply in Yamnaya communities too.
The migrant group, graves nos. 4, 7, 9 and 11, all occupy late stratigraphic positions
in the mound, and have radiocarbon dates in the second quarter of the third millennium

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BC. It is also noteworthy that they are all adult or mature men. The contextual data, their
physical distribution over the space of the whole kurgan, and the variety of burial practices,
indicate several generations of burials. The cultural attributes of this group are summarised
in Figure 5. Overall, their closest match lies in the Livezile group from the eastern and
southern Apuseni Mountains, which is also the likely place of origin of the buried persons.
Aspects of the burial rite, and accompanying pottery vessels such as the vessel in grave 9, are
reflected in the Livezile burial sites at Ampoiţa, Cheile Aiudului, Telna, Meteş and Livezile
itself (Ciugudean 2011: 23–27). The settlement sites of Livezile-‘Baia’ (Ciugudean 1997),
Zlatna and Cetea have produced similar material. Livezile-‘Baia’ lies at an altitude of c. 700m
and probably received drinking water from even higher altitudes, which would agree well
with more depleted δ 18 O ratios in relation to the Great Hungarian Plain.
The metal objects found in grave nos. 4 and 7 have much wider connections. The best
comparisons for the precious-metal Lockenringe are from a handful of graves in western
Yamnaya kurgans, such as from Goran-Slatina in Bulgaria (Dani 2011: 32). Related to
these, and probably sharing the same hair fashion, are the gold/electrum Leukas and Mala
Gruda type hair-rings known from some of the most lavishly equipped graves of the Balkans,
but also from the Livezile site of Ampoiţa in Transylvania (Dani 2011: 32.). The Manyč-
type dagger from grave 7 has a clear Pontic steppe background in both Yamnaya and
Katakombnaya assemblages (Zimmermann 2003).
The key question is, what cultural process could be responsible for attracting these men
from their homeland to the Great Hungarian Plain, over several generations? Their sex and
age uniformity indicate they are a social sub-set within a larger group, implying that only
a portion of their society was on the move. Exogamy can probably be excluded, since one
would expect more women than men to move in prehistoric times; not to mention the
distance of more than 200km between the places of potential origin and burial.
One hypothesis would see these men involved in the exchange of goods, with long-term
relations between the mountain and steppe communities. Normally living in, or next to, the
Apuseni, these men would journey for weeks into the plain, returning to the same places and
people over many decades. Ethnographic examples of such travels to exchange objects and
ideas, and perhaps people, are numerous (e.g. Helms 1988). However, the child’s (grave 7a)
local isotopic signature would remain unexplained, and one has to wonder for how many
generations an exchange continues for four men to die near the Őrhalom.
A second hypothesis is essentially an economic model of transhumance, with livestock
passing the winter and spring in the milder regions of the Great Hungarian Plain, and
returning to higher pastures in the warmer months (Arnold & Greenfield 2006). Such
systems can endure for centuries, provided the social relations underpinning them are
stable. This has the advantage of accounting for relatively long periods of time spent away
from home, as herdsmen guarded their animals, and perhaps some women and their children
came too, which would account for the child’s presence, and the pottery relations of the
Livezile group. Furthermore, regular visits to a region would increase the likelihood of

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Figure 5. The immigrant graves 4, 7, 9 and 11 of the Sárrétudvari-Orhalom kurgan and their funeral equipment.

Livezile transhumant herders becoming integrated locally. The second quarter of the third
millennium BC was a period when Yamnaya ideology, and thus its internal coherence,
might have already diminished. This would likely have resulted in a weakened grip by
Yamnaya people on pastures and territory, consequently allowing Livezile herders, and
potentially others, to step in and take over locally, perhaps first on a seasonal basis and then
permanently.

Conclusion
Since the discovery of the Alpine ‘Iceman’ in the early 1990s, transhumance and socio-
economic mobility have been seen as suitable vectors for social connectivity and information

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exchange (Spindler 2003; Arnold & Greenfield 2006; Porčić 2008). Other projects using
isotopic analyses show that early forms of complex stock management flourished north of
the Alps (White 2008; Knipper 2009).
Our analysis shows that the burial place denoted as a Yamnaya kurgan had a complex

Research
and continuous use. The earliest burial occurred before the conventional date of Yamnaya
immigration. A group of four men were identified as later migrants, dated to before the
mid-third millennium BC; they probably came from the Apuseni Mountains of western
Transylvania, but their metal artefacts and burial customs indicate wider connections, to
the Pontic Steppes and the Balkans, and Yamnaya social identities. Yet as a group of Livezile
identity, they likely had origins other than the Yamnaya of the steppes, stemming ultimately
from the Coţofeni of Transylvania. An economic model, based on the seasonal transhumance
of domestic animals, would account for the observed patterns in both the isotopic data, and
the archaeological data sets.

Acknowledgements
Part of this research was funded within an agreement between the Freie Universität Berlin and Bristol University
under the framework ‘Cluster of Excellence 264 TOPOI’ at FU Berlin, research group A II, under the supervision of
W. Schier and H. Parzinger. Samples were provided as part of a pilot study between the Institute of Archaeology,
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Bristol, aiming to investigate Hungarian fourth and third-millennium
BC populations. We would like to thank all our partners in Hungary, in particular A. Marcsik (Szeged), Zs.
K. Zoffmann (Budapest), I. Pap (Budapest), and Gy. Pálfi (Szeged) for supplying samples for this pilot study.
We are indebted to the Bristol Isotope Group, especially C. Coath and T. Elliot from the Department of Earth
Sciences, for help and the use of laboratory equipment. We are also grateful to E. Kaiser (Berlin) for her guidance
on Pontic third-millennium BC steppe archaeology. Finally, it is a pleasure to name Prof. Emeritus Richard J.
Harrison for advice and for giving a final touch to this article.

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Received: 25 July 2011; Accepted: 1 November 2011; Revised: 22 March 2012


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