'A Pot is Not a Person' and other Adages from the Ground Up

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
For nearly one hundred years, Hungary’s exploration of ancient nomadism has been energized by the discovery of a pair of singular gold stags from two disturbed and isolated Carpathian sites. However, given the compromised circumstances of the discoveries at Tapioszentmarton and Zoldhalompuszta and the continued paucity of reconstructive data, efforts by twentieth century Hungarian archeologists and historians to contextualize and integrate with similar Iron Age material associated with Black Sea Scythians remain stymied. This paper pits old methodologies and approaches against new investigative theories that can circumvent forced assumptions and nationalistic presumptions that compromise assessment of Hungary’s own Scythian era finds.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Art historian Mrea Csorba received all three of her advanced degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. She has taught art history at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University as adjunct Assistant Professor since 1993. Her MA thesis (1987) investigated horse-reliant cultures associated with Iron Age Scythian steppe culture. Her Ph.D. (1997) expanded research of pastoral groups to non-Chinese populations documented in northern China. Current research continues the theme documenting diagnostic artifacts of Iron Age cultures in the lateral reaches of the Eurasian steppes in east China and the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe. She discussed Hungarian material with parallel artifacts recently excavated in northeast China at the International Symposium hosted by the 1st Emperor’s Institute of Archaeology in Xian, China, August, 2013, and further developed the topic at the AHEA 2014 University of Florida at Gainesville conference.