Urnfield culture

The Urnfield culture (around 1300–750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture found across Central Europe. It is known for its unique way of dealing with the dead: people were cremated, and their ashes were placed in special containers called urns, which were then buried in fields. This practice is what gave the culture its name.

The term "Urnfield culture" was first used in the late 19th century after researchers studied grave sites in southern Germany. This culture came after the Tumulus culture and was later followed by the Hallstatt culture.

Some experts believe that the people of the Urnfield culture may have spoken a very early form of Celtic language, possibly a pre-Celtic or Proto-Celtic language. By the end of the second millennium BC, their way of life had spread far and wide, reaching Italy, northwestern Europe, and even as far west as the Pyrenees.

During this time, people also began building fortified settlements on hilltops and developed new skills in working with bronze metal. These changes once led some researchers to think that the spread of the Urnfield culture was linked to the early expansion of the Celts, although this idea is not accepted today.

Chronology

See also: Bronze Age Europe

The Urnfield culture began around 1200 BC in places like southwestern Germany. It developed slowly from the Middle Bronze Age. This culture is different from the later Hallstatt culture of the Iron Age.

The Urnfield culture includes certain time periods, but exactly when these periods began and ended can be tricky to figure out. Some experts debate the dates and how to sort them. More exact dating methods would help clear up these questions.

Origin

The Urnfield culture developed from the earlier Tumulus culture. The change happened slowly, affecting both pottery styles and burial practices. In some areas of Germany, people buried their dead either by cremation or by placing the body whole in the ground at the same time. Some graves show a mix of Tumulus-culture pottery and Urnfield swords, or a mix of both pottery styles.

The practice of cremating the dead, putting ashes in urns, and burying them is thought to have started in Hungary. Even earlier, around 5500 BC, people in the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture in parts of modern-day Romania and Ukraine also cremated their dead. Cremation began appearing in other cultures, like the Proto-Lusatian and Trzciniec cultures, as well.

Distribution and local groups

The Urnfield culture spread across a wide area, from western Hungary to eastern France, and from the Alps up toward the North Sea. Different local groups within this culture were mainly identified by the shapes of their pottery.

These groups include the South-German Urnfield culture, which had subgroups such as the Northeast-Bavarian Group split into lower Bavarian and upper Palatinate areas, and the Lower-Main-Swabian group found in southern Hesse and Baden-Württemberg. Another group, the Rhenish-Swiss group, lived in Rhineland-Palatinate, Switzerland, and eastern France.

Other important cultures were the Lower-Rhine Urnfield culture with groups like the Lower Hessian and North-Netherlands-Westphalian, and the Middle-Danube Urnfield culture, which included cultures such as Velatice-Baierdorf in Moravia and Austria, and Čaka culture in western Slovakia.

Sometimes the spread of objects from these groups had clear borders, perhaps showing early political groups such as tribes. Metal items, however, were shared more widely than pottery, possibly made in special workshops for many people.

Important places in France include Châtenay and Lingolsheim in Alsace. A special earthwork was built at Goloring near Koblenz in Germany.

Related cultures

The central European Lusatian culture is part of the Urnfield tradition and continued into the Iron Age.

The Piliny culture in northern Hungary and Slovakia also used urn burials and shared pottery styles with the Gáva culture.

In Italy, cultures like the Canegrate and Villanovan culture showed similarities to the Urnfield culture. The Latins became dominant and helped create the ancient Roman civilization.

Urnfields appeared in France’s Languedoc and Catalonia during the 9th to 8th centuries BC.

Some scholars think the Urnfield culture may be linked to early Proto-Celtic language groups. The Hallstatt culture later followed, leading to the La Tène culture and early Continental Celts.

The Golasecca culture in northern Italy grew from the Canegrate culture and showed Celtic language traits.

The Urnfield culture’s ideas reached as far as the northeastern coast of Iberia, influencing groups like the Celtiberians.

Migrations

See also: Iron Age Greek migrations and Sea Peoples

Some scholars thought that the Urnfield culture showed signs of big changes and fighting. They looked at old treasures and strong forts called hill forts as clues.

Written records tell us about big changes happening around the same time in places like the Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, and the Levant. These changes include the end of the Mycenean culture around 1200 BC, the destruction of Troy around the same time, battles led by Ramses III against groups known as the Sea Peoples between 1195 and 1190 BC, the end of the Hittite empire in 1180 BC, and the Philistines settling in Canaan around 1170 BC.

Some scholars, like Wolfgang Kimmig and P. Bosch-Gimpera, suggested that many people moved across Europe during this time. They also linked this to what is called the Dorian invasion in Greece, though newer evidence shows the Dorians arrived later, around 1100 BC, after the Mycenean culture had already ended.

Ethnicity

The Urnfield culture was part of the Indo-European language family. There were many different groups within this culture, and they may have been related to early groups like the Celts, Italics, Veneti, Illyrians, Phrygians, Thracians, and Dorians. During a time called the Bronze Age collapse, new customs, styles, and beliefs spread from the Urnfield areas to other parts of Europe.

Settlements

The number of places where people lived grew a lot during the Urnfield culture time compared to before. Many of these places were on hilltops or near rivers, and they had strong walls made from stone or wood to keep people safe. Inside these places, people lived in big houses with wooden frames and walls made from sticks and mud.

Fortified places on hills became common. They used natural features like steep slopes to make protection easier, and built walls from stone, wood, or a mix of both. Some think these forts show that there was more fighting during this time. Examples of these strong places include Bullenheimer Berg, Ehrenbürg, and Biskupin among others.

Open settlements had houses with one or two rooms, made from wood and walls of sticks and mud. Some were small, while others were much larger. People also stored food in big pits in the ground.

On lakes in southern Germany and Switzerland, people built houses on wooden platforms in the water. These give us important clues about how people lived during this time.

Material culture

The Urnfield culture is known for its well-made pottery, often with smooth surfaces and sharp shapes. Some pots were designed to look like metal. They sometimes had simple decorations cut into the surface. In some places, these decorations were filled with a shiny material made from tin.

Warriors during this time wore armor made of bronze, including helmets and shields. They used swords that were good for cutting, unlike older swords that were better for stabbing. These swords had handles made of bronze or other materials like wood or bone.

People also used wagons and chariots with bronze parts. Some small bronze models of wagons have been found in graves, showing that they were important.

Hoards, or collections of valuable objects, were common. These were often placed in rivers or swamps, possibly as gifts to the gods. Sometimes they contained broken or unfinished objects meant for craftsmen to use again.

Iron

See also: Ferrous metallurgy § Iron Age Europe

An iron knife or sickle found in Ganovce, Slovakia, from around the 18th century BC, might be the oldest evidence of iron use in Central Europe. Other early iron items include a ring from Vorwohlde, Germany, from about the 15th century BC, and a chisel from Heegermühle, Germany, from around 1000 BC. During the late Bronze Age, iron was used to decorate sword handles, knives, pins, and other decorations. The area around the Carpathian Basin was an early center for iron technology, with iron objects dating back to the 10th century BC, and maybe even earlier. Regular use of iron for tools and weapons in Central Europe started with the Hallstatt culture.

Economy

People in the Urnfield culture kept animals like cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, dogs, and geese. Their cattle were small, about 1.20 meters tall at the shoulder, and horses were a bit bigger, around 1.25 meters tall.

They cleared forests to create open meadows for farming. They grew crops such as wheat, barley, pulses, and horse beans. They also used poppy seeds for oil and as a medicine. Millet and oats were first grown in Hungary and Bohemia, while rye was already being farmed. Flax was less important because they mostly used wool for clothes. They collected fruits like hazel nuts, apples, pears, sloes, and acorns. Some rich graves had bronze tools that might have been used for filtering wine, though there isn’t much proof of this. In one lakeside settlement, they found remains of a broth made from spelt and millet. In other places, pieces of leavened bread were found.

They spun wool and wove it on special looms, using bronze needles for sewing. Copper mining was very important, especially in the northern Eastern Alps. They used wooden tools for counting and managing things. In some places, they found remains of wooden structures and tools used underground. Salt production began in the Salzkammergut region, with mining of rock salt. They used scales for trade and metal pieces as a form of payment. Some bronze tools might have also been used as money.

Numerals

Further information: Frankleben hoard

During the Bronze Age, many sickles found in central Europe had special markings. These markings might have been used to count days based on the moon. Experts think these lines and dots could be an early way of writing or keeping track of numbers.

The sickles and other tools from that time also show more marks that might mean different things, like showing who owned them or keeping records. Some of these marks look like simple numbers and could have been used for trading or tracking time.

Golden hats

Main article: Golden hat

Four special cone-shaped hats made from thin gold sheets were found in Germany and France. They date from around 1500 to 800 BC, during a time called the Tumulus culture to Urnfield period. These hats might have been worn for special ceremonies by important people.

The gold hats are covered with bands of beautiful designs and symbols. These symbols include disks, circles, wheels, crescents, and shapes like triangles. Experts think some of these symbols might represent the sun and the moon.

Calendar

One of the hats, called the Berlin Gold Hat, has symbols that might show a special way to keep track of time, called a lunisolar calendar. This calendar is based on a 19-year cycle. Some believe the hat could even help predict when the moon’s shadow might pass over the Earth.

The hat also has symbols that might represent the planet Venus. Other gold hats from places like Ezelsdorf-Buch, Schifferstadt, and Avanton also have similar designs. These symbols might have been important for telling time or showing special knowledge.

Experts think these gold hats and other decorated objects from the same time show that people back then had advanced skills and knowledge about the stars and the sky. They were likely part of a society with clear leaders and special traditions.

Funerary customs

In the Urnfield period, people mostly cremated their dead and placed the ashes in urns buried in fields, a change from earlier burial ways. These urns were often put in flat graves, though sometimes still under small mounds. Early on, graves were shaped like people, but later, urns became the common way to bury the dead.

Burials often included small items like bowls, cups, and pieces of jewellery placed with the urn. Some graves had broken weapons or tools, showing respect for the person. Richer graves might have special wooden boxes or even tiny wagons, and sometimes held more than one person. These customs show how people honoured their dead many years ago.

Cult

People from the Urnfield culture often showed birds that live near water in pictures and sculptures. They also placed special items in rivers and swamps, which suggests they had strong beliefs about water. Some believe this was because there were serious droughts during this time. These water birds were sometimes shown with circles, called the sun-barque or solar boat.

Important places for worship included the Goloring earthwork in Germany, which might have helped track the calendar. Other famous sites like Pömmelte in Germany and Stonehenge in Britain share similar designs. In caves in Thuringia, scientists found bones and other items that might have been offerings. Items like grain, plant fibers, hair, and bronze tools were also left behind as offerings.

Genetics

See also: Bell Beaker culture § Genetics, Unetice culture § Genetics, Hallstatt culture § Genetics, La Tène culture § Genetics, Celts § Genetics, and Italic peoples § Genetics

Scientists looked at old bones from people who lived during the Urnfield culture time. In March 2015, they studied a man from Halberstadt, Germany, who lived around 1100–1000 BC. They found special genetic information about his family history.

Another study in March 2019 showed that during a big change from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, many people from north and central Europe moved to places like Iberia. This movement might be connected to the spread of the Urnfield culture. The studies also showed that in the Urnfield culture, men usually stayed in one place while women might move to join new families.