Tumulus culture
| Bronze Age |
|---|
| ↑ Chalcolithic |
|
Near East (3600-1200 BC) Europe (3200-600 BC)
Indian Subcontinent (3300-1200 BC) China (3000-700 BC) Korea (800-300 BC) Upper Oxus (2300-1700 BC) |
| ↓ Iron Age |
The Tumulus culture dominated Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1600 BC to 1200 BC).
It was the descendant of the Unetice culture. Its heartland was the area previously occupied by the Unetice culture besides Bavaria and Württemberg. It was succeeded by the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture.
As the name implies, the Tumulus culture is distinguished by the practice of burying the dead beneath kurgan burial mounds (tumuli).
In 1902 Paul Reinecke distinguised a number of cultural horizons based on research of bronze age hoards and tumuli in South Germany that he designated A-D. The A period and C period were furhter divided into an A1, A2 and C1 and C2 horizon. The time periods covered by these cultural horizons is shown in the table below. The tumulus culture or “ Hügelgräberkultur“ was prevalent during the Bronze period B, C1, and C2. Tumuli have been used elsewhere in Europe from the Stone age to the Iron Age and the term Tumulus culture specifically refers to South German Tumulus Bronze Age Culture. In the table Ha designates Hallstatt. Archaeological horizons Hallstatt A-B are part of the Bronze Age Urnfield culture, while horizons Hallstatt C-D are the type site for the Iron Age Hallstatt Culture.
| Central European Bronze Age | |
| Late Bronze Age | |
| Ha B2/3 | 800–950 v. Chr. |
| Ha B1 | 950–1050 v. Chr. |
| Ha A2 | 1050–1100 v. Chr. |
| Ha A1 | 1100–1200 v. Chr. |
| Bz D | 1200–1300 v. Chr. |
| Middle Bronze Age | |
| Bz C2 | 1300–1400 v. Chr. |
| Bz C1 | 1400–1500 v. Chr. |
| Bz B | 1500–1600 v. Chr. |
| Early Bronze Age | |
| Bz A2 | 1600–2000 v. Chr. |
| Bz A1 | 2000–2200 v. Chr. |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- Nora Kershaw Chadwick, J. X. W. P. Corcoran, The Celts (1970), p. 27.[1]
- Barbara Ann Kipfer, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology (2000)
