Bringing Down the Iron Curtain: Paradigmatic Change in Research on the Bronze Age in Central and Eastern Europe?

Bringing down the Iron Curtain: Paradigmatic changes in research on the Bronze Age in Central and Eastern Europe? presents the researches of scholars of different generations from twelve countries (Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Germany, USA, Canada, Austria) who participated in a session of the same title at the 20th Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Istanbul, 2014. The papers addressed the question of change in the approaches to Bronze Age research in the Central and Eastern European countries from different points of view. It has been a quarter of a century since the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the opening up of these areas to the West. With this process, archaeology saw a large influx of new projects and ideas. Bilateral contacts, Europe-wide circulation of scholars and access to research literature has fuelled the transformation processes. This volume is the first study which relates these issues specifically to Bronze Age Archaeology. The contributions discuss not only theoretical issues, but also current developments in all aspects of archaeological practice.Table of ContentsBringing down the Iron Curtain: paradigmatic changes in research on the Bronze Age in Central and Eastern Europe? Introductory thoughts – Oliver Dietrich, Laura Dietrich, Anthony Harding, Viktória Kiss, Klara ŠabatováPart 1: Paradigmatic change? Views from the subdisciplines of Bronze Age studiesThe Hajdúsámson hoard – revisited – János Dani, Ernst Pernicka, Gábor MárkusCulture or ceramic style? On a long-lived and widely distributed paradigm in Romanian archaeology – Laura DietrichParadigm change, the Iron Curtain, and bronze artefacts. A view from Romania - Oliver DietrichCultural layers on lowland settlement sites – accepted or ignored? The case of Bohemia. Remarks on discussions regarding the ‘new paradigm’ – Michal ErnéeResearch on the Early Iron Age hillfort of Smolenice-Molpír in the Western Carpathians – Michal Felcan, Roman Pašteka, Susanne Stegmann-RajtárFrom typochronology to postprocessualism: regional settlement research in the northern part of the Carpathian Basin – Klára P. Fischl, Tamás PusztaiMethodological changes in and new approaches to research on the Bronze Age in Bohemia since 1990 – Luboš Jiráň, Ondřej Chvojka, Tereza ŠálkováOn the interpretation of Bronze Age tell settlement in the Carpathian Basin. The Borsod example – Tobias L. Kienlin, Klára P. Fischl‘Europe without walls’: new directions of Bronze Age research in Hungary – Viktória Kiss, Gabriella KulcsárChange or no change? Archaeology of the Middle and Late Bronze Age in Moravia, Czech Republic – Klára ŠabatováParadigm shift? Bronze Age tell archaeology after 1989. Reflections from the Százhalombatta-Földvár Excavation Project – Marie-Louise Stig Sørensen, Magdolna Vicze, Joanna SofaerPart 2: Change or no change – experiences of working in Eastern Central Europe before and after 1989Zeitgeist – David J. Breeze1989 and all that – John ChapmanFlying behind the curtain: establishing an aerial reconnaissance programme in Romania – W. S. Hanson, I. A. OlteanRomania and Bulgaria: transition or continuity? Changes in attitudes and methods before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain – A. G. Poulter