Lusatian culture

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This article is about prehistoric culture of the Lusatian region. For the modern culture of the region, see Lusatia.
Lusatian culture
Lusatian culture's furthest extent (green)
Alternative namesLausitz culture
Geographical rangeCentral Europe
PeriodLate Bronze Age to early Iron Age
Datesc. 1200–500 BC
Preceded byTrzciniec culture, Tumulus culture, Nordic Bronze Age, Urnfield culture
Followed byPomeranian culture, Cimmerians

The Lusatian culture existed in the later

Montelius III (early Lusatian culture) to V of the Northern European chronological scheme.[1] It has been associated or closely linked with the Nordic Bronze Age.[2] Hallstatt
influences can also be seen particularly in ornaments (fibulae, pins) and weapons.

Origins

Reconstructed Biskupin (Poland)
Reconstructed fortifications and longhouses at Biskupin
3D model of a Lusatian rampart fortification in Potsdam by Berlin

The Lusatian culture developed as the preceding

Early Iron Age in the West. In Poland, the Lusatian culture is taken have spanned part of the Iron Age as well (there is only a terminological difference) and was succeeded in Montelius VIIbc in the northern ranges around the mouth of Vistula by the Pomeranian culture
spreading south.

'Lusatian-type' burials were first described by the German pathologist and archaeologist Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902). The name refers to the Lusatia area in eastern Germany (Brandenburg and Saxony) and western Poland. Virchow identified the pottery artifacts as 'pre-Germanic' but refused to speculate on the ethnic identity of their makers.[citation needed] The Polish archeologist Józef Kostrzewski, who started in 1934 to conduct extensive excavations of a Lusatian settlement of Biskupin, hypothesised that the Lusatian culture was a predecessor of later cultures that belonged to the early Slavs.[8] Modern archeologists, such as both K. Godłowski and P. Kaczanowski, hold the view that the ethnic geography of Bronze Age Central Europe then included peoples whose languages and ethnic identity are simply unknown.[9][10]

Culture

Burial was by cremation; inhumations are rare. The urn is usually accompanied by numerous (up to 40) secondary vessels. Metal grave gifts are sparse, but there are numerous hoards (such as Kopaniewo,

Seddin, Brandenburg, Germany, covered by a large earthen barrow
, contained Mediterranean imports like bronze vessels and glass beads. Cemeteries can be quite large and contain thousands of graves.

Well-known settlements include Biskupin, in Poland, and Buch, near Berlin. There are both open villages and fortified settlements (burgwall or gord) on hilltops or in swampy areas. The ramparts were constructed of wooden boxes filled with soil or stones.

Its economy was mainly based on arable agriculture, as is attested by numerous

gold of pleasure (Camelina sativa). Flax was grown, and remains of domesticated apples, pears, and plums have been found. Cattle and pigs were the most important domestic animals, followed by sheep, goats, horses, and dogs. Pictures on Iron Age urns from Silesia attest horse riding, but horses were used to draw chariots as well. Hunting was practiced, as bones of red and roe deer, boar, bison, elk, hare, fox, and wolf attest, but it did not provide much of the meat consumed. The numerous frog
bones found at Biskupin may indicate that frogs' legs were eaten as well.

Gallery

  • Lusatian weapons
    Lusatian weapons
  • Various artefacts, Bronze and Iron Age
    Various artefacts, Bronze and Iron Age
  • Socketed axes and arm rings
    Socketed axes and arm rings
  • Bronze cult wagon model, Germany
    Bronze cult wagon model, Germany
  • Pottery from Biskupin
    Pottery from Biskupin
  • Lusatian cinerary urn
    Lusatian cinerary urn
  • Pottery and figurines, Germany
    Pottery and figurines, Germany
  • Torcs and arm rings
    Torcs and arm rings
  • Bronze fibulae, Germany
    Bronze fibulae, Germany
  • Fibula and arm rings
    Fibula and arm rings
  • Bronze Age ornaments, Germany
    Bronze Age ornaments, Germany
  • Bronze vessel, Poland, c. 950 BC
    Bronze vessel, Poland, c. 950 BC
  • Bronze collar with sun ship motifs.[11]
    Bronze collar with sun ship motifs.[11]
  • Hoard from Woskowice Małe, Poland, c. 550 BC
    Hoard from Woskowice Małe, Poland, c. 550 BC
  • Bronze arm rings, Germany
    Bronze arm rings, Germany
  • Seddin grave contents, c. 900 BC, Germany
    Seddin grave contents, c. 900 BC, Germany
  • Belt plate with sun ship motif, Poland, 9th c. BC.[12][a]
    Belt plate with sun ship motif, Poland, 9th c. BC.[12][a]
  • Bronze arm bands
    Bronze arm bands
  • Bronze tableware, 1200–1000 BC, Dresden, Germany
    Bronze tableware, 1200–1000 BC, Dresden, Germany
  • Bronze spiral 'spectacle' pendants
    Bronze spiral 'spectacle' pendants
  • Gold diadem from Sichów, Poland
    Gold diadem from Sichów, Poland
  • Bronze hanging bowls, Poland
    Bronze hanging bowls, Poland
  • Lusatian pottery, Germany
    Lusatian pottery, Germany
  • Lusatian pottery, Germany
    Lusatian pottery, Germany

See also

Prehistoric earthenware from the area of modern-day Poland
Prehistory and
protohistory of Poland
Chronology
Antiquity
Early Middle Ages
Topics
Lusatian culture
Biskupin
Oksywie culture
Wielbark culture
Przeworsk culture
Polish tribes

Footnotes

  1. ^ "This Late Bronze Age belt hook from Radolinek (former Floth), woj. wielkopolskie (Poland), shows two ships, keels facing each other, on each of which a figure stands with arms raised in worship. Above each ship, three phases of the sun’s journey are shown. The sun is pulled across the sky by birds and only seems to rest at its zenith. The metal plate is framed at the edges by two more sun-ships." — Meller (2021)[12]

References

  1. ^ Ljungström, Rasmus (2001). OPIA 26. Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia (Report). Occasional Papers in Archaeology (in Swedish). Vol. 26. Uppsala, SV: Uppsala universitet. Retrieved 2023-05-16 – via arkeologi.uu.se.
  2. ^ Kaliff, Anders (2001). "Gothic connections: Contacts between eastern Scandinavia and the southern Baltic coast 1000 BC – 500 AD". OPIA 26 (Report). Occasional Papers in Archaeology. Vol. 26. Uppsala, SV: Uppsala University – via arkeologi.uu.se.
  3. ISBN 0-582-23627-4
  4. ^ Peter Schrijver, 2016, "Sound Change, the Italo-Celtic Linguistic Unity, and the Italian Homeland of Celtic", in John T. Koch & Barry Cunniffe, Celtic From the West 3: Atlantic Europe in the Metal Ages: questions of shared language. Oxford, England; Oxbow Books, pp. 9, 489–502.
  5. ^ Lorrio, Alberto. "The Celts in Iberia: An Overview". E-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies. 6.
  6. ^ https://indo-european.eu/2019/11/r1b-rich-bell-beaker-derived-italic-peoples-from-the-west-vs-etruscans-from-the-east/
  7. ^ https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/CulturesUrnfield.htm
  8. ^ Józef Kostrzewski, Od mezolitu do okresu wędrówek ludów, Prehistoria ziem polskich, Kraków 1939.
  9. LCCN 80128712
    .
  10. ^ Kaczanowski, P. [in Polish] (2003). Epoka brązu – pomiędzy centrami cywilizacyjnymi Bałkanów i Alp a Skandynawią [Bronze Age – between the civilization centers of the Balkans and the Alps and Scandinavia]. Wielka historia Polski (in Polish). Vol. I. Kraków, PL: Fogra. p. 170.
  11. S2CID 253071583
    .
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-3-948618-22-3
    .

Further reading

External links

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