CORDED WARE FROM EAST TO WEST

The term "Corded Ware culture" (die Schnurkeramikkultur) was introduced by the German archaeologist Friedrich Klopfleisch in 1883. The name is taken from cord impressions found on the surface of vessels found in archaeological sites across a large portion of central and eastern Europe. Researchers were able to recognize relatively early, at the beginning of the twentieth century, that the Corded Ware phenomenon was widespread and culturally important. Subsequently, a number of groups that inhabited the region in the third millennium b.c. have been identified as belonging to the Corded Ware culture.

Cord impressions were easy to identify on the surface of vessels. It should be noted, however, that later research has revealed that cord ornamentation was connected not only to the Corded Ware culture; it was also known to the Funnel Beaker culture, Globular Amphora culture, and various steppe cultures. In addition, not every Corded Ware vessel had this ornamental decoration. However, a basic list of artifacts associated with the Corded Ware culture was compiled in the early twentieth century and included stone axes, beakers, amphorae, arrowheads, and flint flakes. These were usually found in single-burial tombs covered by a barrow. An important observation concerned the orientation of the body according to gender. Most often the body was placed on an east-west axis with the face turned south, but men were placed on their right side (with the head to the west), while women were laid on their left side (with the head to the east). It must be stressed that they were not accompanied by traces of permanent settlements.

In the annals of archaeology, the first part of the twentieth century was a time when each archaeological culture was identified with a specific people who had definitely described sociocultural characteristics. So it happened in this instance. Soon literature on the subject contained the obligatory hypothesis about the nomadic-warrior character of the "Corded Ware People" and their key role in the Indo-European migration into central and eastern Europe.

In the 1930s archaeologists began studying the stylistic sequences within individual regions. In the lead of this movement were Danish (C. J. Becker in 1936; P. V. Glob in 1945) and German (K. W. Struve in 1955) archaeologists, who studied the northern area of the Corded Ware culture that was considered a separate unity called the Single Grave culture (die Einzelgrabekultur). The typological and chronological charts they created are still used as the basis for ordering other regional groupings of Corded Ware. Significant modifications appeared only at the end of the twentieth century, when carbon-14 and dendrochronological dating methods were used on a wider scale.

THE OLDEST SITES AND THE GENESIS PROBLEM

The question of the origins of the Corded Ware culture has absorbed the attention of many archaeologists. In the mid-twentieth century, it appeared that the initial phase of Corded Ware was similar across Europe at roughly the same time, and thus the concept of a "Pan-European Horizon" (also known as the "A-Horizon") emerged. The Pan-European Horizon was characterized by distinctive amphorae, beakers, and axe forms, with single burials under barrows sometimes surrounded by a palisade. The existence of an early Pan-European Horizon of Corded Ware has come into question, however, for it appears that the artifact types associated with it persisted into later periods alongside other artifact types. It now appears that the origins of the Corded Ware culture must be addressed regionally and that accurate dating of finds is essential.

Many different views have been voiced concerning the genesis of the Corded Ware culture. There is a division between archaeologists who allow for participation in this process by pastoral societies of the steppes near the north shore of the Black Sea and those who think that Corded Ware is a core central European phenomenon. In both camps, there are many differing views. Among the advocates of a steppe origin, the differences center on the degree that the "steppe factor" played in the genesis of Corded Ware culture, while those who favor central European roots are divided as to where specifically in central Europe the genesis of Corded Ware took place. With the passage of time, there has emerged a tendency to tone down the debate, which was quite polarized in the first part of the twentieth century. The net effect of this process was that it strengthened the position of those hypotheses that link these formerly antagonistic camps within the framework of a single model.

One can make a list of the similarities that Corded Ware shares with other cultures that preceded it in central Europe. Deserving of stress is the scale of similarities to the Funnel Beaker culture. On one hand, both the Corded Ware and Funnel Beaker cultures covered similar territory; both attribute importance to battle-axes; both give priority to beakers and amphorae among their vessels; and both employ a similar ceramic technology. On the other hand, in the context of central Europe, the Corded Ware culture also had foreign characteristics. These include the priority of single burials, the building of barrows, a lifestyle that used temporary settlements, and a renaissance in the use of the bow (resulting in the numerous finds of flint arrowheads).

TERRITORIAL EXTENT AND CHRONOLOGY

Knowledge about the Corded Ware domain has been in flux for many years. The domain was a central and eastern European phenomenon. Its western boundary was the Rhine River. To the south it reached the Alps and occupied the Upper Danube River basin to the mouth of the Morava River. It was present in Moravia, and it reached Wolyn and Podolia along the northern curve of the Carpathians. In the east it was found in the upper basin of the Dnieper River and the upper Volga. Its northern border ran through Scandinavia and the German shores of the North Sea to the mouth of the Rhine.

Corded Ware chronology is based on ceramic ware, though in the north, battle-axe types are also important. The oldest ceramic artifacts of the A-Horizon include beakers and amphorae. As Corded Ware developed, greater regional differentiation took place. Artifacts from the later years of the culture can be described as the horizon of local groups. At that time the individual Corded Ware agglomerations were so varied that only knowledge about their genesis allowed archaeologists to treat them as part of a single cultural whole.

An absolute chronology of Corded Ware is based on accurate dating using the carbon-14 method, although there are enclaves (Switzerland and southwestern Germany) that have very accurate dendrochronological dates. In general, carbon-14 dating places Corded Ware throughout the third millennium b.c. There is, however, definite regional differentiation as to the beginning and ending dates.

The earliest-known carbon-14 dates for Corded Ware come from Kujavia and Małopolska in central and southern Poland. These include a grave at Krusza Zamkowa in Kujavia and a barrow at Średnia in Małopolska dating to the transition from the fourth to the third millennium b.c. Carbon-14 dating of the remaining central European regions shows that Corded Ware appeared after 2880 b.c. Around that time, in 2725 b.c., the first pile settlements (dwellings built on pilings at the edge of lakes) appeared in the Alpine foothills. Such sites have yielded materials characteristic of Corded Ware. The latest dates, about the middle of the third millennium b.c., are from the Russian Plain. The most likely hypothesis, then, is that Corded Ware first appeared (on the transition between the fourth and third millennia b.c.) in the central part of its domain and spread from east to west. In 2725 b.c. it reached its southwestern edge. About 2500 b.c., Corded Ware spread in another direction, to the northeast, and it is eventually found on the upper Volga.

Dates for the disappearance of the Corded Ware culture also vary. The pile settlements with Corded Ware in the Alpine foothills, which yield the most accurate information, disappeared about 2440 b.c. The years between 2300 and 2100 b.c. were a period during which the Corded Ware culture ended in most regions, especially in the southern part of its domain (basins of the Danube, Upper Rhine, Elbe, and Vistula). Only in the Russian Plain did it last until 2000 b.c.

In many regions (from the Lower Rhine basin to Kujavia and Małopolska), the Corded Ware culture appeared alongside the late periods of the Funnel Beaker culture. In the area between central Germany and the Russian lowland, one can observe a long period where it existed alongside the Globular Amphora culture. In Kujavia, this lasted through the entire development of the local Corded Ware culture. In the western part of its domain (to the Vistula River), one can observe its contemporaneity with the Bell Beakers, a period lasting to the middle of the third millennium b.c. To the east of that river, Corded Ware appeared among various groups of the Pit-Comb Pottery cultures (also known as the East European Forest Neolithic). In sum, Corded Ware was a phenomenon that lasted nearly one thousand years, during the entire third millennium b.c., and encompassed all of central and much of northeastern Europe.

INTERNAL DIFFERENTIATION

The Corded Ware culture shows great regional differentiation, most visible in the typological attributes of the ceramic ware. Because of this, researchers separate out many groups and archaeological cultures within its borders. Their list is not permanent, and from time to time, some entries are eliminated, while others are added.

The Corded Ware variants most solidly grounded in literature are as follows: the Single Grave culture; the Protruding Foot Beaker culture; Corded Ware of the Alpine Pile Dwellings; Central German Corded Ware; Bohemian-Moravian Corded Ware; Małopolska Corded Ware; Złota culture; Battle-Axe culture; the Rzucewo culture; Middle Dnieper culture; and the Fatianovo culture.

The structure of the Corded Ware domain is thought to have been influenced by many factors. The first is linked to long-lasting regional development. Most of the "corded" agglomerations took in regions with long traditions of regional development that went back to the beginnings of the Neolithic. The second factor that influenced the shape of Corded Ware regionalization was the network of far-reaching trade routes, and the Corded Ware agglomerations were usually situated on its nodal points. The third factor was the location of sources of raw materials. Most important to the Corded Ware peoples were supplies of flint, stone (especially that used for the manufacture of axes, such as amphibolite, basalt, diabase, and gabbro), and amber. Metal, basically only copper, did not play a major part in the Corded Ware culture, although simple copper ornaments may be found in the Corded Ware graves in the southern and central parts of its domain.

Single Grave Culture. Research into the Single Grave culture played a key role in the course of research into the whole of Corded Ware. On its basis, a typology of basic Corded Ware objects and finds was worked out. The Single Grave culture is known mainly for graves covered by barrows, in which one individual was laid in the fetal position on an east-west axis. In addition to the barrow burial rite introduced by the Single Grave culture, other types of tombs (mainly megalithic) dating to a previous time in prehistory were still being used by this group. The grave goods in the burials became standardized. The constant elements were the battle-axe and the beaker. In addition, flint axes were placed in the graves along with flint flakes and amber objects, among which the most spectacular are disks several centimeters in diameter with a central hole. There are few visible traces of settlements, though it is thought that there was significant progress in this regard during the Single Grave era. Dwellings were being built in the form of post houses of a light construction. The basic method of subsistence was the raising of livestock (especially cattle). Pollen diagrams indicate that open areas (pastures) increased as forest was cleared. In the pollen diagrams there is no indication of an increase in grain cultivation. During the development of the Single Grave culture, the practice of making sacrifices by depositing artifacts in swamps continued from previous cultures.

Protruding Foot Beaker Culture. The Protruding Foot Beaker culture is the best-known part of the Corded Ware story. It is found along the Lower Rhine, in a key place for long-range contacts between the British Isles and the Alpine area, as well as along the Atlantic shore to the Baltic Sea. There exists an accurate typology of its basic object: the beaker. Much is known about the culture's settlements. To assure proper living conditions (that is, a dry place on the wet landscape of the Rhine Delta), permanent settlements were built on artificial platforms consisting of layers of shells, organic remains, and clay. The dwellings were rectangular huts of post construction. The funeral rites were characterized by the presence of flat graves as well as barrows, in which according to the Corded Ware custom, only one individual was laid. The Protruding Foot Beaker culture is also important because in 1955 Johannes D. van der Waals and Willem Glasbergen were able to demonstrate stylistic links that its beakers shared with the Bell Beakers. This became a basis for one of the main models for the genesis of the Bell Beakers called the "Dutch Model."

Corded Ware of the Alpine Pile Dwellings. The Corded Ware culture in Switzerland and Southwest Germany is known exclusively from pile dwellings, a rich source of information about many aspects of life thanks to the excellent way in which the artifacts have been preserved, especially organic ones. These include many objects made from bone (including pins and discs), food remains, and remains of the wooden structures. The custom of building settlements on pilings on the shores of lakes was known earlier in this area of Europe, and the Corded Ware people were only another, and by no means the last, users of the technique. Thanks to the large number of wooden elements that were preserved, good chronological data exists for each of these settlements. It is known with accuracy the year and season (spring, autumn) when the structures were built, repaired, and abandoned. In this part of Europe, the appearance of Corded Ware did not change the lifestyle of the inhabitants. They were farmers who busied themselves in planting grain and raising animals, mainly cattle and pigs. They also took advantage of other opportunities offered by the rich lakeshore environment, practicing fishing, hunting, and gathering.

Central German Corded Ware Culture. The Central German Corded Ware culture is known mainly from flat, single-burial graves, where the body was placed in the classical Corded Ware position (on an east-west axis with the face to the south; women on their left side with the head pointing to the east, men on the right side with the head pointing to the west). The usual cemetery consisted of from several to dozens of graves. Many types of vessels richly ornamented with cord impressions were placed in the graves, along with faceted battle-axes. Infrequently, there were also copper items in the shape of wire decorations and beads.

An interesting find in this group was the grave at Göhlitzsch. On one of the stone slabs forming the grave there was engraved the image of a reflex bow and quiver. It is one of the earliest representations of this technologically advanced form of bow. This confirms the significance of bow-hunting equipment in the entire Corded Ware culture. Relatively little is known of the economic base of these people. The fact that they lived in a region that had a long agricultural tradition might be an indicator that they engaged in farming practices, especially the raising of animals.

Bohemian-Moravian Corded Ware. Bohemian-Moravian Corded Ware is known mainly from large cemeteries consisting of flat graves. At the largest of these, in Vikletice, 164 graves were explored. This probably testifies to the longevity of the settlement in the area by Corded Ware peoples. It is a fact, however, that few traces of settlements have been found. The grave goods are mostly ceramic ware. Often an individual would be buried with many vessels, mainly amphorae and beakers but also cups, pitchers, pots, and bowls. Rich corded decoration is found mainly in Bohemia, while in Moravia, undecorated ceramic ware was more common. The lack of decoration was especially pronounced during the earliest periods of development. Among the battle-axes there are also found faceted axe heads. Compared with other sites, there are relatively few bow-hunting artifacts, such as flint arrowheads. Other objects placed in the graves were flint axes (whose edges are the only smoothed parts), flakes, stone maces, pendants made of animal teeth, and simple copper decorations.

Małopolska Corded Ware. Małopolska Corded Ware in southern Poland is known mainly from cemeteries, where at most a few dozen individuals were buried (the largest number of graves in one place totaled sixty-four at Z˙erniki Górne). These were single-burial graves, mostly flat. Barrows were also numerous, but they did not form unified cemeteries. Instead, they often followed one after another along the crest of a rise in the terrain. The individual was placed on a north-south axis, opposite the east-west arrangement found in the other Corded Ware regions. A characteristic of the Małopolska Corded Ware culture is the so-called catacomb tombs, consisting of a vertical shaft dug in the loess subsoil, at the bottom of which was a chamber where the body was placed. Usually the grave goods consisted of one or two vessels, heart-shaped arrowheads, flakes, and stone objects, such as battle-axes. The few settlements found exhibited impermanent dwellings. The thesis that the Małopolska Corded Ware culture had a pastoral character is widely accepted, not only on a theoretical basis but also on the basis of physical evidence.

Złota Culture. The Złota culture is a local Małopolska phenomenon linked to the larger circle of Corded Ware. It is known from multiple-burial graves lined with stone slabs in which individuals were laid in the fetal position with many grave goods, primarily ceramic ware. Much of this pottery had complex cord decoration (e.g., wavy cord impressions) and various forms that were connected not only with Corded Ware but with the Funnel Beaker, Globular Amphora, and Baden cultures. In addition, the objects found in the Złota graves included amber items, such as rectangular plates, various types of buttons with a V-shaped hole, and tubular beads. There were also flint axes with a smoothed edge, flint arrowheads, pendants made from animal teeth (especially dog teeth), bone awls, and beads made of shell. The Złota phenomenon is dated to the first part of the third millennium b.c. It still creates much controversy and to date has no single interpretation.

Battle-Axe Culture. The Battle-Axe culture is also known as the Boat-Axe culture (die Bootaxtkultur). It is located in southern and central Sweden and southern Norway. Artifacts from this culture were found mostly in graves, and the most characteristic items are battle-axe heads, especially examples with an extended shaft sleeve, that curve upward at each end like the prow and stern of a boat. There also exist remains of settlements that were composed of lightly constructed huts of rectangular shape and post construction.

Rzucewo Culture. Unlike the other Corded Ware groups, the Rzucewo culture (also known as the East Baltic Coastal culture or Haffküstenkultur) is known mainly from its substantial settlements, which were often built on pilings and situated on the shores of lakes or Baltic bays. From these settlements have survived many artifacts, some made of organic materials. From them also have survived many items of ceramic ware that are typologically differentiated, among which are shallow bowls (most likely lamps that burned animal fat). Another characteristic of the Rzucewo culture is flint scrapers with a smoothed working edge. The working of amber was very important in this culture. There were mines and workshops where several typical items were produced, among them buttons with a V-shaped hole. The people supported themselves by exploiting the rich environment of their seashore niche (fishing, shellfish collecting). Sea mammals (seals and porpoises) were an important item on their menu, whereas agricultural products were of lesser importance. This lifestyle was known earlier on the southeastern shores of the Baltic. It was, for example, practiced by the Narva culture of the Early Neolithic period.

Middle Dnieper Culture. The Middle Dnieper culture is known mainly from graves, both barrow and the flat form. The most common orientation is on the north-south axis. Grave goods include chiefly beakers, often with round bottoms, flint axes, stone battle-axes, and infrequently, items made of amber and copper. A few settlements are known to have existed, built with rectangular shelters partly sunk into the ground. The Middle Dnieper culture was considered by some researchers to be the link connecting Corded Ware with steppe cultures.

Fatianovo Culture. The Fatianovo culture is the most northeastern and the chronologically latest of the Corded Ware groups. Its emergence is connected to influences from the west and southwest that came from other Corded Ware groups. It is known from cemeteries consisting of flat graves, where the placement of the body differs from most Corded Ware burials elsewhere. The body was laid on its back, usually on a north-south axis. Grave goods consisted of stone battle-axes, flint axes, and bulbous vessels with round bottoms, most often decorated with cord impressions only on their upper parts.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CORDED WARE

Corded Ware was a phenomenon that covered a large area, from the Rhine in the west to the Volga in the east, from the Danube in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north, and it lasted about a thousand years. The terrain it occupied had a highly differentiated ecology. Before the appearance of the Corded Ware culture, this region was a place where many cultures with varied beginnings developed. The characteristic attributes of the Corded Ware culture were partly a legacy of previous cultures and partly something totally new for inhabitants in that part of Europe.

It is time to pose the basic question: what was Corded Ware? But this must be supplemented by a second question: was Corded Ware the same thing in all regions? The second question must be answered negatively. The Corded Ware culture in the Alpine region and the Rzucewo culture on the southeast Baltic are clearly different from the rest of the Corded Ware domain. These were instances linked to specific ecological niches that had been exploited in a similar fashion over long phases of prehistory. In this framework, Corded Ware is one of many episodes and by no means the last. It does not seem likely that the appearance of Corded Ware in these areas could be ascribed to the immigration of a new population. Both instances, however, indicate something extremely important: the attractiveness of the Corded Ware way of life for Neolithic societies. Another example of this was the late northeastern expansion (that is, the Fatianovo culture) into areas that were ecologically and culturally different from those found in central Europe.

In the remaining parts of the Corded Ware domain, the culture can be treated as a moderately homogenous whole despite the many regional differences seen in the typological attributes of the artifacts. The primary evidence of homogeneity is the widespread use of single-burial graves. Though this type of grave was known in many regions of central Europe earlier in the Neolithic, it had fallen into disuse. Just prior to development of the Corded Ware culture, the prevailing burial rite was multiple-person graves, whose most visible examples were the megalithic tombs. Corded Ware did not make a break with this tradition—megaliths were still used—but the preferred method of burial was the grave with a single body. This change reveals the beginning of the individualization process. This phenomenon is one of the cornerstones of modern Western civilization. It depended on the establishment of the individual as an active element in social change, in contrast to the groups of early farmers whose real identity lay in being a member of the community. Individualization was a necessary phase on the way to discovering a specific concept of personal freedom within European civilization.

Another element to consider is the role of sex in Corded Ware burials. Throughout Corded Ware culture, there was a definite opposition to placing men and women in the same positions in graves (most often women were laid on their left side with the head pointing east, whereas men were laid on their right side with the head toward the west). On this basis researchers conclude that the internal organization of the Corded Ware people was based on a definite assignment of gender roles. The right to burial was not equal for both sexes. There were many more male burials, fewer female, but the rarest were those of children (they were often buried together with an adult). While the issue of gender variations is meaningful, it is not as important as the individualization process reflected in the burials.

The building of barrows, an activity that has numerous religious connotations, harks back to the idea of a holy mountain, an eternal axis, and a place of conjunction between heaven and earth. This shows that there was a significant belief in the afterlife. That theory is confirmed by the frequency with which amber, a material thought to be of a heavenly nature, appears among the grave goods. The presence of weapons in the form of battle-axes (less often of axes for chopping wood), archery sets, and knives (whose remains consist of flint sherds) show that Corded Ware societies placed an emphasis on the warrior role, suggesting that the hunter-warrior had the highest status in society.

Another characteristic of Corded Ware culture is indicated by the beakers, often richly decorated and well-made drinking vessels. Their presence in the graves indicates that this activity had a ritual character. The development of such customs in Neolithic societies of central Europe was observed by Andrew Sherratt. He showed that the ritual drinking of beverages (probably of an intoxicating nature) has deep local roots, reaching as far back as the Funnel Beaker culture, and was known after the passing of Corded Ware, for example in the Bell Beakers.

An intensive search for prehistoric settlements, much of it taking place near the end of the twentieth century, resulted in the discovery of a small number of sites in various parts of the Corded Ware domain. The surprising fact was that the traces found were very similar to each other. The settlements, as a rule, were small with light-post construction used in the building of rectangular dwellings.

The unavailability of data (due especially to the lack of settlements) has limited the ability to reconstruct the economic basis of the Corded Ware culture. At the same time, it is possible to interpret this situation as evidence supporting the idea of a migratory lifestyle. Other data serves to confirm this. The pollen profiles correlate the presence of Corded Ware with an increase in grasslands and a decreased activity in the growing of grain. Scarce osteological data indicates that cattle and small ruminants were important. Fundamentally, then, it appears that most Corded Ware groups should be treated as animal breeders or even herders. The exceptions to this rule are the inhabitants of the pile dwellings in the Alpine lands and on the Baltic shore and the groups in the northeastern portion of the Corded Ware domain.

A picture emerges of an animal-breeding society, whose members wandered with their herds over a relatively large territory. Their social structure was organized on different roles for men and women, where men held the superior position. A major role was assigned to a group of adult men: the hunter-warriors who raised their prestige through the possession of ornamental battle-axes, knives, and bowhunting equipment and who participated in ritual drinking using decorative beakers. The world of their spiritual beliefs was connected to the supernatural.

The genesis of the Corded Ware culture must have been a protracted and complicated process that involved representatives of the traditional central European cultures as well as peoples who came from the steppes near the Black Sea. It does not seem probable that the action of local factors could be limited to any of the regional enclaves. The main local element in the genesis of Corded Ware was the Funnel Beaker culture. The second influence was the steppe societies, but at this time it is not possible to determine whether it was a direct migration of people from the steppes near the Black Sea or the steppe characteristics reached the northern European lowlands through the agency of eastern or southern neighbors. Two possible routes could have played a role in this process: a northern route that connected the lowland with the steppes through Wolyn and the Upper Vistula basin and a southern route running from the steppes near the Black Sea to the mouth of the Danube, then upriver to the Tisza basin and across the Carpathians toward the north (similar to the so-called third-wave migration of barrow-building ["Kurgan"] peoples described by Marija Gimbutas). It is not known which of the two may have played a greater role in the process.

CORDED WARE AND THE INDO-EUROPEAN QUESTION

It may be said with regard to the Indo-European problem that the Corded Ware culture was in the right place at the right time. The widely accepted hypothesis that the people of the Corded Ware culture were animal breeders or herders appeals to the imagination of the researchers as far as the oldest Indo-Europeans are concerned. Corded Ware is also the first culture in central Europe whose characteristics are visibly linked to the Indo-European examples.

As for the Corded Ware role in the process of bringing Indo-European influences into Europe, the archaeologists have no single view. This depends on the model, and of these there are many. Most often the Corded Ware culture is considered to be the archaeological representation of a part of the Indo-European peoples—that is, the ancestors of the Balts, Celts, Germans, Italian peoples, and Slavs. In this sense, Corded Ware sites reveal the process of the Indo-Europeanization of all of central, northern, and northeastern Europe.

SUMMARY

Two conclusions can be stated about the Corded Ware culture. The first is somewhat surprising. It turns out that the actual knowledge of this phenomenon has not changed much since the beginning of the twentieth century. A much larger base of sources has been thoroughly analyzed using modern methods, but the core of the knowledge about Corded Ware remains the same: archaeologists still think that this was a culture of animal breeders and possibly herders.

The second conclusion is that the Corded Ware culture played a most important role in long-term social development. The appearance of individualization, as illustrated in Corded Ware burials, was an undoubted breakthrough. With this development, the individual (especially the adult male, the hunter-warrior) became an active object in the process of social change. The field for competition between individuals began to open. An increasingly complicated social hierarchy developed, and with it grew the demand for items and raw materials that raised the status of their owners. This entire process was coded into the rituals of the culture. As these rituals grew more complex, they increased the social differentiation of the group. From this there was but a small step to stratification and the creation of social classes. In this way, the Corded Ware culture opened the gate through which the early prehistoric societies of central Europe started their march toward modern European culture.

See alsoArchaeology and Language (vol. 1, part 1); Late Neolithic/Copper Age Central Europe (vol. 1, part 4); Neolithic Lake Dwellings in the Alpine Region (vol. 1, part 4); Consequences of Farming in Southern Scandinavia (vol. 1, part 4); Bell Beakers from West to East (vol. 1, part 4).

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Janusz Czebreszuk
(Translated by Peter Obst)