Urnfield culture
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[[Image:Cultures, 1200 BC.PNG|right|200px|thumb|A simplified map, ca [[1200 BC]], showing the central Urnfield culture (red), the northern Urnfield culture (orange), the [[Knoviz culture]] (blue-gray), the [[Lusatian culture]] (purple), the [[Danubian culture]] (brown), the [[Terramare culture]] (blue), the [[Atlantic Bronze Age]] (green) and the [[Nordic Bronze Age]] (yellow).]]
The '''Urnfield culture''' (c. [[1300 BC]] - [[750 BC]]) was a late [[Bronze Age]] culture of central [[Europe]]. The name comes from the custom of [[cremation|cremating]] the dead and placing their ashes in [[urn]]s which were then buried in fields. The Urnfield culture followed the [[Tumulus culture]] and was succeeded by the [[Hallstatt culture]].
==Chronology==
It is believed that in some areas, such as in southwestern Germany, it was in existence around 1200 BC (beginning of Ha A), but the Bronze D [[Riegsee]]-phase already contains cremations. As the transition from the middle [[Bronze Age]] to the Urnfield culture was gradual, there are questions regarding how to define it.
The Urnfield culture covers the phases Hallstatt A and B (Ha A and B) in [[Paul Reinecke]]'s chronological system, not to be confused with the [[Hallstatt culture]] (Ha C and D) of the following [[Iron Age]]. This corresponds to the Phases Montelius III-IV of the Northern Bronze Age. Whether Reinecke's Bronze D is included varies according to author and region.
The Urnfield culture is divided into the following sub-phases (based on Müller-Karpe sen.):
<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0>
<tr style="background:#efefef">
<th>
<th>date BC<br>
<tr><td>BzD<td>1300-1200
<tr><td>Ha A1<td>1200-1100
<tr><td>Ha A2<td>1100-1000
<tr><td>HaB1<td>1000-800
<tr><td>HaB2<td>900-800
<tr><td>Ha B3<td>800-750
</table>
The existence of the Ha B3-phase is contested, as the material consists of female burials only. As can be seen by the arbitrary 100-year ranges, the dating of the phases is highly schematic. The phases are based on typological changes, which means that they do not have to be strictly contemporaneous across the whole distribution. All in all, more radiocarbon- and dendro-dates would be highly desirable.
===Origin===
The Urnfield culture grew from the preceding [[tumulus culture]]. The transition is gradual, in the [[pottery]] as well as the burial rites. In some parts of Germany, cremation and inhumation existed simulteneously (facies Wölfersheim). Some graves contain a combination of tumulus-culture pottery and Urnfield [[sword]]s (Kressborn, Bodenseekreis) or tumulus culture incised pottery together with early Urnfield types (Mengen). In the North, the Urnfield culture was only adopted in the HaA2 period.
16 pins deposited in a swamp in Ellmoosen (Kr. Bad Aibling, Germany) cover the whole chronological range from Bronze B to the early Urnfield period (Ha A). This demonstrates a considerable ritual continuity. In the [[Loire]], [[Seine]] and [[Rhône River|Rhône]], certain fords contain deposits from the late Neolithic onwards up to the Urnfield period.
The origins of the cremation rite is commonly believed to be the [[Balkans]], where it was widespread in the eastern part of the Tumulus culture. Some cremations begin to be found in the [[Proto-Lusatian culture|Proto-Lusatian]] and [[Trzciniec-culture]].
==Distribution and local groups==
The Urnfield culture was located in an area stretching from western Hungary to eastern France, from the [[Alps]] to near the North Sea.
Local groups, mainly differentiated by pottery, include:
* Knovíz-culture in western and Northern [[Bohemia]], southern Thuringia and North-eastern Bavaria
* Milavce-culture in southeastern Bohemia
* Velatice-Baierdorf in [[Moravia]] and [[Austria]]
* Čaka in western [[Slovakia]]
* Northeast-Bavarian Group, divided into a lower [[Bavaria]]n and an upper [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]] group
* Unstrut group in [[Thuringia]], a mixture between Knovíz-culture and the South-German Urnfield culture.
South-German Urnfield culture
* Lower-Main-Swabian group in southern Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, including the [[Marburg]]er, [[Hanau]]er, lower [[Main]] and [[Friedberger]] facies.
* Rhenish-Swiss group in Rhineland-Palatinate, [[Switzerland]] and eastern [[France]], (abbreviated RSFO in French).
Lower-Rhine urnfields
* Lower Hessian Group
* North-Netherlands-Westphalian group
* Northwest-Group in the Dutch Delta region.
Sometimes the distribution of artefacts belonging to these groups shows sharp and consistent borders, which might indicate some political structures, like tribes. Metalwork is commonly of a much more widespread distribution than pottery and does not conform to these borders. It may have been produced at specialised workshops catering for the elite of a large area.
==Burial==
In the tumulus-period, multiple inhumations under barrows were common, at least for the upper levels of society. In the Urnfield period, inhumation and burial in single graves prevails, though some barrows exist.
In the earliest phases of the Urnfield period, man-shaped graves were dug, sometimes provided with a stone lined floor, in which the cremated remains of the deceased were spread. Only later, burial in urns became prevalent. Some scholars speculate that this may have marked a fundamental shift in people's beliefs or myths about life and the afterlife.
The size of the urnfields is variable. In Bavaria, they can contain hundreds of burials, while the largest cemetery in [[Baden-Württemberg]] in [[Dautmergen]] has only 30 graves.
The dead were placed on [[pyre]]s, covered in their personal jewellery, which often shows traces of the fire and sometimes food-offerings. The cremated bone-remains are much larger than in the Roman period, which indicates that less wood was used. Often, the bones have been incompletely collected.
Most urnfields are abandoned with the end of the Bronze Age, only the Lower Rhine urnfields continue in use in the early Iron Age (Ha C, sometimes even D).
==Construction of the graves==
The cremated bones could be placed in simple pits. Sometimes the dense concentration of the bones indicates a container of organic material, sometimes the bones were simply shattered.
If the bones were placed in urns, these were often covered by a shallow bowl or a stone. In a special type of burial (bell-graves) the urns are completely covered by an inverted larger vessel. As graves rarely overlap, they may have been marked by wooden posts or stones.
Stone-pacing graves are typical of the Unstrut group.
==Grave gifts==
The urn containing the cremated bones is often accompanied by other, smaller ceramic vessels, like bowls and cups. They may have contained food. The urn is often placed in the centre of the assemblage. Often, these vessels have not been placed on the pyre. Metal grave gifts include razors, weapons that often have been deliberately destroyed (bent or broken), bracelets, pendants and pins. Metal grave gifts become rarer towards the end of the Urnfield culture, while the number of hoards increase.
Burnt animal bones are often found, they may have been placed on the pyre as food. The marten bones in the grave of [[Seddin]] may have belonged to a garment (pelt).
[[Amber]] or [[glass]] [[bead]]s (Pfahlbautönnchen) are luxury items.
==Upper-class burials==
Upper-class burials were placed in wooden chambers, rarely stone [[cist]]s or chambers with a stone-paved floor and covered with a [[Tumulus|barrow]] or [[cairn]]. The graves contain especially finely made pottery, animal bones, usually pork, sometimes gold rings or sheets, in exceptional cases miniature wagons.
Some of these rich burials contain the remains of more than one person. In this case, women and children are normally seen as sacrifices. Until more is known about the status distribution and the social structure of the late Bronze Age, this interpretation should be viewed with caution.
Towards the end of the Urnfield period, some bodies were burnt in situ and then covered by a barrow, reminiscent of the burial of [[Patroclus]] as described by [[Homer]] and the burial of [[Beowulf]] (with the additional [[ship burial]] element). In the early Iron Age, inhumation became the rule again.
==Material culture==
===Pottery===
The pottery is normally well made, with a smooth surface and a normally sharply carinated profile. Some forms are thought to imitate metal prototypes. Biconical pots with cylindrical necks are especially characteristic. There is some incised decoration, but a large part of the surface was normally left plain. Fluted decoration is common. In the Swiss pile dwellings, the incised decoration was sometimes inlaid with [[tin foil]].
[[Kiln|Pottery kiln]]s were already known (Elchinger Kreuz, Bavaria), as is indicated by the homogeneous surface of the vessels as well.
Other vessels include cups of beaten sheet-[[bronze]] with riveted handles (type Jenišovice) and large [[cauldron]]s with cross attachments. Wooden vessels have only been preserved in waterlogged contexts, for example from Auvernier (Neuchâtel), but may have been quite widespread.
===Tools===
Typical bronze tools include winged and socketed [[axe]]s. In the North, stone axes were still in use.
===Weapons===
The leaf-shaped Urnfield [[sword]] could be used for slashing, in contrast to the stabbing-swords of the preceding tumulus culture. It commonly possessed a [[ricasso]]. The [[hilt]] was normally made from bronze as well. It was cast separately and consisted of a different alloy. These solid hilted swords were known since Bronze D (Rixheim swords). Other sword have tanged blades and probably had a wood, bone, or antler hilt. Flange-hilted swords had organic inlays in the hilt.
Swords include Auvernier, Kressborn-Hemigkofen, Erbenheim, Möhringen, Weltenburg, Hemigkofen and Tachlovice-types.
Protective gear like [[shield]]s, [[cuirass]]es, [[greave]]s and [[helmet]]s is extremely rare and almost never found in burials.
The best-known example of a bronze shield comes from [[Plzeň]] in Bohemia and has a riveted handhold. Comparable pieces have been found in Germany, Western Poland, Denmark, Great Britain and Ireland. They are supposed to have been made in upper Italy or the [[Eastern Alps]] and imitate wooden shields. Irish bogs have yielded examples of leather shields (Clonbrinn, Co. Wexford).
Bronze cuirasses are known since Bronze D ([[Čaka]], grave II, Slovakia). Complete bronze cuirasses have been found in Saint Germain du Plain, nine examples, one inside the other, in Marmesse, Haute Marne (France), fragments in Albstadt-Pfeffingen (Germany). Bronze dishes (phalerae) may have been sewn on a leather armour.
Greaves of richly decorated sheet-bronze are known from Kloštar Ivani? (Croatia) and the Paulus cave near [[Beuron]] (Germany).
===Chariots===
About a dozen [[wagon]]-burials of four wheeled wagons with bronze fittings are known from the early Urnfield period. They include Hart an der Altz (Kr. Altötting), Mengen (Kr. Sigmaringen), Poing (Kr. Ebersberg), Königsbronn (Kr. Heidenheim) from Germany and St. Sulpice ([[Vaud]]), Switzerland. In Alz, the chariot had been placed on the pyre, pieces of bone are attached to the partially melted metal of the axles. Bronze (one-part) [[horse bit|bit]]s appear at the same time. Two-part horse bits are only known from late Urnfield contexts and may be due to eastern influence. Wood- and bronze spoked wheels are known from [[Stade]] (Germany), a wooden spoked wheel from Mercurago, Italy. Wooden dish-wheels have been excavated at [[Corcelettes]], Switzerland and the [[Wasserburg-Buchau]], Germany (diameter 80 cm).
In Milavče near [[Domazlice|Domažlice]], [[Bohemia]], a four-wheeled miniature bronze wagon bearing a large [[cauldron]] (diameter 30 cm) contained a cremation. This exceptionally rich burial was covered by a [[tumulus|barrow]]. The wagon from [[Acholshausen]] (Bavaria) comes from a male burial.
Such wagons are known from the [[Nordic Bronze Age]] as well. The wagon from [[Skallerup]], Denmark, contained a cremation as well. At Pekatel (Kr. Schwerin) in [[Mecklenburg]] a cauldron-wagon and other rich grave goods accompanied an inhumation under a barrow ([[Montelius]] III/IV). Another example comes from [[Ystad]] in Sweden. South-eastern European examples include Kanya in Hungary and [[Orăştie]] in [[Romania]]. Clay miniature wagons, sometimes with waterfowl were known there since the middle Bronze Age (Dupljaja, Vojvodina, Serbia).
The [[Lusatian culture|Lusatian]] chariot from Burg ([[Brandenburg]], Germany) has three [[wheel]]s on a single [[axle]], on which waterfowl perch. The grave of [[Gammertingen]] (Kr. Sigmaringen, Germany) contained two socketed horned applications that probably belonged to a miniature wagon comparable to the Burg example, together with six miniature spoked wheels.
===Iron===
[[Image:UKRazor.jpg|thumb|Crescent shaped Urnfield razor]]
An iron ring from Vorwohlde (Kr. Grafschaft Diepholz, Germany) dating to the 15th century BC is the earliest evidence of iron in Central Europe. During the late Bronze Age, Iron was used to decorate the hilts of swords (Schwäbisch-Hall-Gailenkirchen, Unterkrumbach, Kr. Hersbruck) and knives (Dotternhausen, Plettenberg, Germany) and pins. The use of [[iron]] for weapons and domestic items in Europe only started in the following [[Hallstatt culture]]. The widespread use of iron for tools only occurred in the late [[Iron Age]] [[La Tène culture]].
==Settlements==
The number of settlements increased sharply in comparison with the preceding tumulus culture. Unfortunately, few have been comprehensively excavated.
Fortified settlements, often on hilltops or in river-bends, are typical for the urnfield culture. They are heavily fortified with dry-stone or wooden ramparts. Excavations of open settlements are rare, but they show that large 3-4 aisled houses built with wooden posts and wall of [[wattle and daub]] were common. Pit dwellings are known as well, they might have served as cellars.
===Open settlements===
The houses were one or two-aisled. Some were quite small, 4.5 m x 5 m at the [[Runde Berg]] (Urach, Germany), 5-8m long in [[Künzig]] (Bavaria, Germany), others up to 20 m long. They were built with wooden posts and walls of wattle and daub.
At the Velatice-settlement of Lovčičky (Moravia, CR) 44 houses have been excavated.
Large bell shaped [[storage pit]]s are known from the Knovíz-culture. The settlement of [[Radonice]] (Louny) contained over 100 pits. They were most probably used to store grain and demonstrate a considerable surplus-production.
===Pile dwellings===
On lakes of southern Germany and Switzerland, numerous [[pile dwellings]] were constructed. They consist either of simple one-room houses made of wattle and daub, or [[Log cabin|log-built]]. The settlement at [[Zug]], Switzerland, was destroyed by fire and gives important insights into the material culture and the settlement organisation of this period. It has yielded a number of dendro-dates as well.
===Fortified settlements===
Fortified hilltop settlements become common in the Urnfield period. Often a steep spur was used, where only part of the circumference had to be fortified. Depending on the locally available materials, dry-stone walls, gridded timbers filled with stones or soil or plank and palisade type ''[[pfostenschlitzmauer]]'' fortifications were used. Other fortified settlements utilise rivers-bends and swampy areas.
At the [[hill fort]] of Hořovice near Beroun (CR), 50 ha were surrounded by a stone wall. Most settlements are much smaller. Metal working is concentrated in the fortified settlements. On the Runde Berg near [[Urach]], Germany, 25 stone [[molding (process)|mould]]s have been found.
Hillforts are interpreted as central places. Some scholars see the emergence of hill forts as a sign of increased warfare. Most hillforts were abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age.
As far as we know, there are no special dwellings for an upper class, but few settlements have been excavated to any extent. In the [[Franche-Comté]], caves were utilised for settlement, maybe in times of trouble.
===Hoards===
[[Hoard]]s are very common in the Urnfield culture. The custom is abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age. They were often deposited in rivers and wet places like swamps. As these spots were often quite inaccessible, they most probably represent gifts to the Gods. Other hoards contain either broken or miscast objects that were probably intended for reuse by bronze smiths. As Late Urnfield hoards often contain the same range of objects as earlier graves, some scholars interpret hoarding as a way to supply personal equipment for the hereafter. In the river Trieux, [[Côtes du Nord]], complete swords were found together with numerous antlers of red deer that may have had a religious significance as well.
==Cult==
The [[Kyffhäuser]] caves in [[Thuringia]] contain headless skeletons and split human and animal bones that have been interpreted as sacrifices. Other deposits include grain, knotted vegetable fibres and hair and bronze objects (axes, pendants and pins). The [[Ith]]-caves ([[Lower Saxony]]) have yielded comparative material.
In the Knovíz-culture, human bones with cut-marks and traces of burning have been found in settlement pits. They have been interpreted as evidence for [[cannibalism]]. As these bones form a large part of the burials known this may have been a quite regular treatment including the ritual manipulation and dismemberment of human corpses.
Moon-shaped clay [[fire dog]]s are thought to have a religious significance, as well as crescent shaped razors.
An obsession with waterbirds is indicated by numerous pictures and three-dimensional representations. Combined with the hoards deposited in rivers and swamps, it indicates religious beliefs connected with water. This has led some scholars to believe in serious droughts during the late Bronze Age.
Sometimes the water-birds are combined with circles, the so called sun-barque-motif.
==Economy==
Cattle, pigs, sheep and goats were kept, as well as horses and dogs, and maybe [[geese]]. The [[cattle]] were rather small, with a height of 1.20 m at the [[withers]]. Horses were not much bigger with a mean of 1.25 m.
[[Forest clearance]] was intensive in the Urnfield period. Probably open meadows were created for the first time, as shown by [[pollen analysis]]. This led to increased [[erosion]] and sediment-load of the rivers.
[[Wheat]] and [[barley]] were cultivated, together with [[pulses]] and the [[horse bean]]. [[Poppy seed]]s were used for oil or as a [[recreational drug use|drug]]. [[Millet]] and [[oat]]s were cultivated for the first time in Hungary and Bohemia, [[rye]] was already cultivated, further west it was only a noxious weed. [[Flax]] seems to have been of reduced importance, maybe because mainly [[wool]] was used for clothes.
Hazel nuts, apples, pears, sloes and acorns were collected. Some rich graves contain bronze [[sieve]]s that have been interpreted as [[wine]]-sieves (Hart an der Alz). This beverage would have been imported from the South, but supporting evidence is lacking.
In the [[lacustrine]] settlement of Zug, remains of a broth made of [[spelt]] and [[millet]] have been found. In the lower-Rhine urnfields, leavened [[bread]] was often placed on the pyre and burnt fragments have thus been preserved.
Wool was spun (finds of [[spindle (textiles)|spindle whorls]] are common) and woven on the [[loom|warp-weighted loom]], bronze needles (''Unteruhldingen'') were used for [[sewing]].
There is some suggestion that the Urnfield culture too is associated with a wetter climatic period than the earlier Tumulus cultures. This may be associated with the diversion of the mid-latitude winter storms north of the Pyrenees and the Alps, possibly associated with drier conditions in the Mediterranean basin.
==Ethnic ascription==
As there are no written sources, the languages spoken by the bearers of the Urnfield culture are unknown. Some scholars consider them to be the ancestors of the [[Celts]]. Urnfield material is found in some of the areas where later people were to be called "Kelt" or "Galatoi" by classical authors (who had never been there). As we do not know how processes of [[ethnogenesis]] work or how long they last, and whether a common material culture is always associated with social and political unity, this is highly contested.
==Migrations==
The numerous hoards of the Urnfield culture and the existence of fortified settlements ([[hill fort]]s) were taken as evidence for widespread warfare and upheaval by some scholars.
Written sources describe several collapses and upheavals in the Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia and the Levant around the time of the Urnfield origins:
* end of the [[Mycenaean period|Mycenean]] culture with a conventional date of ca. 1200 BC
* destruction of [[Troy]] VI ca. 1200 BC
* Battles of [[Ramses III]] against the [[Sea Peoples]], 1195-1190 BC
* end of the [[Hittites|Hittite]] empire 1180 BC
* settlement of the [[Philistines]] in Palestine ca. 1170 BC
Some scholars, among them Wolfgang Kimmig and P. Bosch-Gimpera have postulated a Europe-wide wave of migrations. The so-called [[Dorian invasion]] of Greece was placed in this context as well (although more recent evidence suggests that the Dorians moved in 1100 BCE into a post Mycenaean vacuum, rather than precipitating the collapse). Better methods of dating have shown that these events are not as closely connected as once thought.
More recently Robert Drews, after having reviewed and dismissed the migration hypothesis, has suggested that the observed cultural associations may be in fact partly explained as the result of a new kind of warfare based upon the slashing Niue sword,<ref>Drews. R (1993) "The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe Ca. 1200 B.C." Princeton University Press ISBN 0-691-04811-8 </ref> and with bands of infantry replacing chariots in warfare. Drews suggests that the political instability that this brought to centralised states based upon maryannu chariotry caused the breakdown of these polities.
==Related cultures==
The eastern European [[Lusatian culture]] forms part of the urnfield tradition, but continues into the [[Iron Age]] without a notable break.
The [[Piliny culture]] in northern [[Hungary]] and [[Slovakia]] grew from the tumulus culture, but used urn burials as well. The pottery shows strong links to the [[Gáva-culture]], but in the later phases, a strong influence of the [[Lusatian culture]] is found.
Urnfields are found in the French [[Languedoc]] from the 9th to 8th centuries. The change in burial custom was most probably influenced by developments further east.
==Sites==
Important French cemeteries include [[Châtenay]] and [[Lingolsheim]] (Alsace). An unusual earthworks was constructed at [[Goloring]] near [[Koblenz]] in [[Germany]].
==Sources==
* J. M. Coles/A. F. Harding, ''The Bronze Age in Europe'' (London 1979).
* G. Weber, ''Händler, Kieger, Bronzegießer'' (Kassel 1992).
* Ute Seidel, ''Bronzezeit''. Württembergisches Landesmuseum Stuttgart (Stuttgart 1995).
* [[Konrad Jażdżewski]], ''Urgeschichte Mitteleuropas'' (Wrocław 1984).
* Association Abbaye de Daoulas (eds.), ''Avant les Celtes. L'Europe a l'age du Bronze'' (Daoulas 1988).
==See also==
*[[Beaker culture]]
*[[Urnfield culture numerals]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Bronze Age Europe]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures]]
[[Category:European archaeology]]
[[an:Cultura d'os Campos d'Urnas]]
[[ca:Cultura dels camps d'urnes]]
[[cy:Diwylliant y Meysydd Wrnau]]
[[da:Urnemarkskulturen]]
[[de:Urnenfelderkultur]]
[[es:Cultura de los Campos de Urnas]]
[[fa:فرهنگ زمین خاکستردان]]
[[fr:Civilisation des champs d'urnes]]
[[is:Grafkerjamenningin]]
[[it:Cultura dei campi di urne]]
[[nl:Urnenveldencultuur]]
[[no:Urnemarkskulturen]]
[[oc:Cultura dels camps d'urnas]]
[[pl:Kultury pól popielnicowych]]
[[ru:Культура полей погребальных урн]]
[[sk:Kultúry popolnicových polí]]
[[sr:Култура поља са урнама]]
[[sh:Kultura polja urni]]
[[fi:Uurnakenttäkulttuuri]]
[[sv:Urnefältskulturen]]
[[uk:Культура полів поховальних урн]]