The Beaker People
Cultural and Social Change during the European Bronze Age
Beaker Culture was prevalent 6000 years ago. It's spread across Central and Western Europe was a key element in the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
From about 2300BC, changes occurred in Northern Europe society that marked the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The Beaker People or Bell Beaker People were an integral part of this process. Named after the bell shaped pottery vessels associated with them, they introduced not only changes in burial practice and language but metallurgy which in its turn increased trade and mobility as people searched for the new goods and materials they required.
Origins of the Beaker People
Originating in the temperate zones of Europe, possibly the area of modern Spain, the Beaker People probably spread into Central and Western Europe in search of copper and tin. From here, they came into contact with the Battle Axe or single grave culture and merged with them. This hybrid culture continued to spread through central Europe and onto Britain
Early Bronze Age Innovations
The Beaker People were responsible for various cultural innovations. It has been speculated that they helped spread the indo European language. However, the material record establishes several distinct traits associated with them. These traits may represent the actual presence of Beaker cultural groups or the spread of their ideas to other areas.
Beaker Burials
High status Beaker style burials were simple and individual rather than being in the megalithic tombs common to the rest of Western Europe. Grave goods included weapons and jewellery made from materials and using technology unknown in the Neolithic. They were further distinguished by the inclusion of the distinct pottery vessels that gave the group their name. These bell shaped pots or drinking beakers stamped with horizontal decoration were common in the graves of those associated with Beaker culture.
Bronze Age Metallurgy
Although they did not discover metallurgy, the Beaker People were responsible for its spread as their search for ready sources of copper and tin to make bronze took them through central and northern Europe. Copper ore was discovered through flint mining. The early Beaker People, along with other Neolithic groups used flint for tools and arrow heads but had no idea what to do with its by product. This changed when they came into contact with the technology of how to process metals which spread from the Balkans and the Mediterranean; Beaker groups were now able to develop more efficient weaponry: tanged daggers, and copper spear heads. They also began to produce gold jewellery. However, as sources of ore were exhausted, they needed to find new ones. This could have occurred through migration to new locations or trade for materials. Whichever method was prevalent, other aspects of Beaker Culture travelled too.
The Beaker People and Wessex Culture
The so called Wessex culture of early Bronze Age south west Britain is attributed to the spread of Beaker culture. The grave finds on which this hypothesis is based include stone axes but also elaborately decorated daggers and gold and amber ornaments including cups whose design suggests an origin as far away as Mycenaean Greece. This period of change corresponds with the third phase of Stonehenge’s construction which was taken up after a hiatus. All of this suggests a new, more prosperous society, based on advanced technology with widespread trade links.
This does not necessarily indicate that the Beaker people had supplanted the indigenous population after migrating to take advantage of the copper and tin ore resources of the south west. It is also possible that new ideas and goods could have spread peacefully. Amber beads from Wessex have been found in the shaft graves at Mycenae, indicating an established trade network. Perhaps with goods came new ideas and styles, taken up by local chieftains keen to enhance their standing,
Sources
"Beaker folk." Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite . (
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2008).
