Stone Age Vértesszőlős, Homo heidelbergensis where the
occipital bone of "
Samu" was found. The oldest
archaeological site which yielded evidence of human presence—human bones,
pebble tools and kitchen refuse—in the
Carpathian Basin was excavated at
Vértesszőlős in
Transdanubia in the 1960s. The
Middle Pleistocene site was situated in calcareous
tuff basins with a diameter of that the nearby warm springs had formed. The site at Vértesszőlős was occupied five times between about 500,000 and 250,000 years ago.The
occipital bone of an adult male
Homo heidelbergensis, who is now known as "
Samu", and a child's
milk tooth were found. Tools of quartzite and
silex pebbles collected at the nearby river were also found, as well as a fireplace with hearths made from crushed animal bones, with remains of wild horses,
aurochs, bisons, red deer, deer, wolves, bears, and
saber-toothed cats.
Gap in the records There is a gap in the archaeological record, with no evidence of human presence between about 250,000 to 100,000 years ago.
Middle Palaeolithic, Neanderthals The earliest
Middle Palaeolithic sites are dated to the transitory period between the
Riss and
Würm glacial periods around 100,000 years ago. Remains of skulls show that
Neanderthals inhabited northeastern Transdanubia and the
Bükk Mountains during this period. The Neanderthals who lived in the region of
Érd between around 100,000 and 40,000 BC used quartzite pebbles. They led hunting expeditions as far as the
Gerecse Hills for
cave bears, wild horses,
woolly rhinoceros and other animals. A Neanderthal community settled near the hot-water springs at
Tata around 50,000 BC. They hunted
mammoth calves,
brown bear, wild horses and reed deer. A flat oval object made from mammoth tooth
lamella, similar to the
Indigenous Australians' ritual
tjurunga, was found at the site. A third group of Neanderthals settled in the caves of the
Pilis,
Vértes and Gerecse Hills. They regularly visited the Bükk Mountains and the
White Carpathians to collect raw material for their tools.
Ibex was the main prey of the Neanderthals of the Middle Palaeolothic sites in the Bükk Mountains. In addition to local stone, they used raw material from the White Carpathians and the region of the river
Prut. Archaeological research suggest that the Neanderthals disappeared from the northern regions of the Carpathian Basin around 40,000 years ago.
Istállóskő Cave, Aurignacian group Latest research shows that the first communities of
anatomically modern humans came to the Carpathian Basin between . Consequently, the cohabitation of the Neanderthals and modern humans in the territory, which was assumed by earlier scholarship, cannot be proved. The
Aurignacian group of modern humans who settled in the Istállóskő Cave primarily used tools made of bones and used the cave as a seasonal camping site during their hunts for
chamois, red deer, reindeer and other local animals. Their tools made of stone suggest that they came to the Bükk Mountains from the northern Carpathians and the region of the Prut.
Szelete culture According to a scholarly view, a local
archaeological culture—the "
Szeleta culture"—can be distinguished, which represents a transition between the Middle and
Upper Palaeolithic and was featured by leaf-shaped spearheads from around . However, the existence of a distinct archaeological culture is not unanimously accepted by specialists, because most prehistoric tools from the eponymous Szeleta Cave (in the eastern side of the Bükk) are similar to those found in the Upper Palaeolithic sites of
Central Europe.
Gravettian hunters Attracted by the rich fauna of the lowlands in the centre of the Carpathian Basin, groups of "
Gravettian" hunters penetrated into the territory from the west about 27,000 years ago. The central grasslands were not covered by ice even at the maximum of the
last glaciation (around 20,000 years ago). The new arrivals settled on hilltops along the rivers
Hornád and
Bodrog. They primarily hunted mammoth and elk and used stone blades to work skin, bone, antler and wood. Artistic finds are rare; for instance, a disc with serrated edges, which was made of polished limestone, was found at
Bodrogkeresztúr. A second wave of "Gravettians" arrived during the warmer period that began about 20,000 years ago. They primarily made their tools from pebbles, similar to Lower Palaeolithic communities, but no continuity between the two groups can be detected. The remains of semi-sunken huts were excavated at a site on a hilltop near
Sárvár where reindeer bones were also found. The site also yielded a perforated (but not decorated) reindeer antler. In addition to permanent settlements, the Gravettian hunters' temporary camps were unearthed in the plains of the
Jászság and around
Szeged. About 15,000 years ago, new hunters came to the territory; their best-known settlements were situated in northeastern Transdanubia. A pendant made of wolf tooth, a pair of red deer teeth and similar finds suggest that these hunters wore ornaments.
Mesolitic Age Mesolithic sites are rare but start to appear after systematic
surveys, especially in the Jászság area.
Tardenoisian culture, 9000–4000 BC The
Tardenoisian (or Beuronian) is an archaeological culture of the Mesolithic/Epipaleolithic period from northern France and Belgium. Similar cultures are known further east in Central Europe, parts of Britain and west across Spain, extending possibly to the nowadays North-Western Hungary.
Neolithic to Chalcolithic Age Starčevo culture 6200–4500 BC The
Starčevo culture is an archaeological culture of Southeastern Europe, dating to the Neolithic period between
c. 6200 and 4500 BCE. It originates in the spread of the Neolithic package of peoples and technological innovations including farming and ceramics from Anatolia to the area of Sesklo. The Starčevo culture marks its spread to the inland Balkan peninsula as the Cardial ware culture did along the Adriatic coastline. It forms part of the wider
Starčevo–Körös–Criş culture which gave rise to the central European Linear Pottery culture c. 700 years after the initial spread of Neolithic farmers towards the northern Balkans.
Criş-Körös culture, ~6200 BC Neolithic settlement begins with the Criş-
Körös culture, carbon-dated to around 6200 BC.
Linear Pottery, 5500–4500 BC In the Middle Neolithic, the
Western Linear Pottery culture in Transdanubia and the Satu-Mare (Szatmar) and
Eastern Linear pottery (called "Alföld Linear Pottery" in Hungary) in the east, developed into
Želiezovce (Slovakia) and
Szakálhát and Bükk, respectively.
Vinča culture ~5400–4500 BC Farming technology first introduced to the region during the First Temperate Neolithic was developed further by the
Vinča culture. It was noted for dark-burnished pottery, and fuelling a population boom and producing some of the largest settlements in prehistoric Europe.
Tisza culture, ~5400–4500 BC The
Tisza culture is a Neolithic archaeological culture of the Alföld plain in modern-day Hungary, Western Romania, Eastern Slovakia, and Ukrainian Zakarpattia Oblast in Central Europe. The culture is dated to between 5400 BCE and 4500/4400 BCE.
Tiszapolgár culture 4500–4000 BC The Late
Neolithic Tisza culture was followed by the
Eneolithic Tiszapolgár and
Bodrogkeresztúr cultures. These cultures were part of the broader cultural complex known as
Old Europe or the
Danube civilization.
Bodrogkeresztúr culture 4000 to 3600 BC. The
Bodrogkeresztúr culture is best known for its seventy cemeteries. Which show clear genetic links with the preceding Tiszapolgár culture. Bodrogkeresztúr cemetieres make clear distinctions between males and females.
Sopot culture, ~5000 BC The
Sopot culture is a neolithic archaeological culture that was first identified in eastern Slavonia in modern-day Croatia, and was since also found in several sites in Hungary.
Baden Culture, 3600–2800 BC The
Baden culture was a
Copper Age (Chalcolithic)
archaeological culture found in
Central Europe. In Hungarian and Slovakian sites,
cremated human remains were often placed in
anthropomorphic urns, whereas in
Nitriansky Hrádok, a
mass grave has been found. The only known cemetery with individual graves was found in an early Baden ("Boleráz phase") site is
Pilismarót, in Komárom-Esztergom County, which also contained a few examples of goods possibly exported from the
Stroke-ornamented ware culture (centred in what is now Poland). The Baden culture is claimed by some scholars to have been an early example of an
Indo-European culture in Central Europe.
Neolithic to Chalcolithic artefacts File:Ceramic figure of seated woman - Koszta József Museum 67.17.1.jpg|Seated figurine, Tisza culture File:Tisza1.jpg|
Tisza culture ceramic altar, 5300-5200 BC. File:Transdanubian linear pottery period 5400-4000BC IMG 0888 antropomorphic cult vessel.JPG|Anthropomorphic vessel,
Linear Pottery culture, c. 5400-4500 BC File:LBK house 1.jpg|
Neolithic longhouse, Linear Pottery culture, c. 5500-4500 BC File:Bodrogkeresztur gold.jpg|Gold idol,
Bodrogkeresztúr culture, c. 4000-3600 BC File:Journal.pone.0278116.g008.png|Copper ornaments,
Tiszapolgar culture, c. 4000 BC File:Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte Berlin 034.jpg|Ceramic vessel,
Baden culture, c. 4th millennium BC File:Ceramic wagon model - Hungarian National Museum 1972.19.1.jpg|Ceramic cart model, Baden culture, c. 3300 BC. File:Copper age middle 3500-2700BC copper ax IMG 0935.jpg|Copper axes, Baden culture
Bronze Age Makó (a town in modern
Csongrád County) lends its name to a 3rd millennium BCE material culture (also known as the Makó-Caka or Kosihy-Caka culture) and other archaeological finds from the
Copper/
Bronze Ages. There are more than 180 registered archaeological sites around Makó, the most important of which are at
Kiszombor. The Makó culture is often regarded as a subset or offshoot of the broader
Vučedol culture, centred on
Vukovar). While there is no consensus on the cultural affiliations of the Makó sites,
kurgans, buckles, jewelry and equestrian equipment found near Makó may suggest links to
nomads migrating from the Eurasian steppe. In later phases, these sites contain very large numbers of objects associated with the
Sarmatians. The
Ottomány culture (also known as the Otomani-
Füzesabony culture) was a
Bronze Age culture (circa 2100–1400 BC) stretching from eastern
Hungary and western
Romania to southeast
Poland and western
Ukraine.
Amber exported on prehistoric trade routes from the
Baltic is often found at Ottomány sites and the people of this culture appear to have held a central part of the so-called "
Amber Road", which connected the powerful and rising
ancient Mediterranean states to the south-eastern Baltic region. The Ottomány culture was succeeded by the
Tumulus culture and
Urnfield culture. File:Bronzedagger.png|Bronze dagger,
Kisapostag culture, 2000-1800 BC File:Hoard no. 2 from Jászdózsa-Kápolnahalom tell settlement - amber necklace and gold rings. Middle Bronze Age.png|Amber and gold hoard,
Hatvan culture, 18th century BC File:First Hajdúsámson Hoard - Déri Museum.jpg|Bronze sword and axes,
Ottomány culture, 1700-1600 BC. File:Hungary, Bronze Age - Battle Axe - 1988.3 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Bronze axe, Ottomány culture, c. 1500 BC File:Gold bracelet Dunavecse.jpg|Gold armband,
Vatya culture, c. 1500 BC File:Bronze Age Europe Bronze Ornaments (28471753250).jpg|Gold jewellery,
Encrusted Pottery culture, c. 1500 BC File:Bronze Age jewelleryDSCF6607.jpg|Gold jewellery,
Tumulus culture, 15th century BC File:Hungary, Bronze Age, c. 2500-800 BC - Turned Armilla - 1988.5 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Bronze bracelet, Tumulus culture File:Possibly Hungary, Bronze Age, c. 2500-800 BC - Necklace - 1992.68 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Bronze necklace, Tumulus culture File:Diorama in the M3 Archeopark open-air museum-2.jpg|
Middle Bronze Age burials, museum diorama File:Bronze age objects in the Beregi Museum, Vásárosnamény.jpg|Various Bronze Age finds File:2008.09.26.Szolnok 060.jpg|Various Bronze Age finds File:Diadem MET h1 2000.281.1.jpg|Bronze diadem,
Urnfield culture, c. 1200 BC File:Hungary, Bronze Age, c. 2500-800 BC - Ritual Cauldron - 1992.64 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Bronze cauldron, Urnfield culture, c. 1000 BC File:Budapest, Hungarian National Museum, collar.jpg|Gold collar, Urnfield culture File:Urnfield2.jpg|Bronze situla, Urnfield culture, c. 1000 BC. File:Clevelandart 1992.66.jpg|Large bronze poppy-head pin, Urnfield culture File:Britishmuseumhungarianbronzeswords.jpg|Bronze swords, Urnfield culture, c. 1200 BC File:Urnfield culture warrior, Hungary, illustration.png|Urnfield period warrior, illustration File:Bronze ceremonial wagon fitting from Zsujta, Hungary. Urnfield culture, c. 1200-1050 BC. British Museum.jpg|Bronze fitting from a ceremonial wagon, Urnfield culture File:Szombathely-savariamuseum-fegyver-0.jpg|Various artefacts, Urnfield culture File:Bronze armband british museum.JPG|Bronze spiral armbands, Urnfield culture File:Bird-shaped bronze lamp - Hungarian National Museum 60.1951.16.jpg|Bronze oil lamp, Urnfield culture File:Bronze age late 1200-800BC Buda IMG 1034.JPG|Ceramic shoe-shaped vessels, Urnfield culture File:SAXTell.JPG|
Százhalombatta-Földvár hillfort,
Vatya culture Iron Age (Sopron group), 7th century BC In the Carpathian Basin, the
Iron Age commenced around 800 BC, when a new population moved into the territory and took possession of the former population's centers fortified by earthworks. The new population may have consisted of
ancient Iranian tribes that had seceded from the federation of the tribes living under the suzerainty of the
Cimmerians. Between 550 and 500 BC, new people settled along the river
Tisza and in
Transylvania. Their immigration may have been connected either to the military campaigns of king
Darius I of Persia (522 BC – 486 BC) on the
Balkan Peninsula or to the struggles between the Cimmerians and the
Scythians. Those people, who settled down in
Transylvania and in the
Banat, may be identified with the
Agathyrsi (probably an ancient Thracian tribe whose presence on the territory was recorded by
Herodotus); while those who lived in what is now the Great Hungarian Plain may be identified with the
Sigynnae. The new population introduced the use of the
potter's wheel in the Carpathian Basin and they maintained close commercial contacts with the neighboring peoples. The
Pannonians (an
Illyrian tribe) may have moved to the southern territories of Transdanubia in the course of the 5th century BC. In the 4th century BC,
Celtic tribes immigrated to the territories around the river
Rába and defeated the Illyrian people who had been living there, but the Illyrians managed to assimilate the Celts, who adopted their language. In the 290s and 280s BC, the Celtic people who were migrating towards the Balkan Peninsula passed through Transdanubia but some of the tribes settled on the territory. Following 279 BC, the
Scordisci (a Celtic tribe), who had been defeated at
Delphi, settled at the confluence of the rivers
Sava and
Danube and they extended their rule over the southern parts of Transdanubia. Around that time, the northern parts of Transdanubia were ruled by the
Taurisci (also a Celtic tribe) and by 230 BC, Celtic people (the people of the
La Tène culture) had occupied gradually the whole territory of the Great Hungarian Plain. Between 150 and 100 BC, a new Celtic tribe, the
Boii moved to the Carpathian Basin and they occupied the northern and northeastern parts of the territory (mainly the territory of present
Slovakia). File:2008.09.26.Szolnok 048.jpg|Celtic iron artefacts,
La Tène culture File:Hügelgräber, Weg, 2023 Gaja-Tal.jpg|Remains of a
burial mound, 500 BC File:KMM - Danubischer Kantharos.jpg|Decorated ceramic vessel,
La Tène period ==Roman era==