The article examines thechronology and distribution of regional and local groups within the Corded Ware Culture in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It begins with a brief overview of the research history. Until the early 1990s, the approach to chronology was typological, sometimes based on some stratigraphically “dated” graves. Multivariate procedures have been applied since the late 1990s. At the same time, chronological research is based on graves dated by 14C. In this study, radiocarbon-dated graves form a basis for typological work. Using the radiocarbon dates, three main stages of the Corded Ware Culture can be identified (Stages 1–3). Furthermore, the first stage can be subdivided into three sub-stages (1a1, 1a2, 1b). Each stage lasted about 150 years, the sub-stages 1a2 and 1b even half this time. The number of radiocarbon-dated graves of Stage 1 of the Corded Ware Culture has increased from four to 52, at least reliably dated graves, since the studies of Johannes Müller and Martin Furholt. Thus, the focus of the chronological study is on this early stage. Beyond chronology, the shapes and decorations of the ceramics allow us to define regional and local groups of the Corded Ware Culture (CWC) in Saxony-Anhalt. Regional groups include the Saale estuary Group (SEG), the North Harz Group (NHG), the South Harz Group (SHG), and the Middle Saale Group (MSG), which may define the territories of ethnic groups or sub-groups. In contrast, four local sections in the north, middle, centre, southeast, and southwest of the Middle Saale Group may define the territories of leading clans.
The paper focuses on the influence of the Corded Ware culture barrow landscape on the rise of barrow building among Trzciniec Cultural circle communities. It presents a research thesis that explains the mechanisms of the trans-cultural and “timeless” impact of “Corded” mounds, which formed part of the cultural landscape of east-central European uplands in the 2nd millennium BC. The barrows of both cultures certainly combined several functions. They were burial grounds not only where ancestors lay, but also boundary markers defining the familiar area. “Corded Ware” monuments and their arrangements were a source of inspiration and imitation for “Trzciniec” arrivals. The revival of kurgan building by these newcomers and their use of earthen mounds as instruments for asserting their rights to a specific territory, can be viewed a sort of “posthumous heritage” left behind by Corded Ware communities.
The article is devoted to two barrows of the Corded Ware Culture (CWC). Mounds I–II in Kavske in the Sub-Carpathian region (Ukraine), have until now been interpreted as the remains of a settlement of this culture. As a result of the analysis of the source base (archival materials and the museum collection), it was established that the CWC material in these mounds is represented by a small group of artefacts. On this basis, the interpretation of the mounds as the remains of a CWC settlement was refuted, instead, they were defined as burial places of the CWC. The planigraphy of the features and, where possible, movable material, is presented. The vast majority of the finds belong to the Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC), and it is clear that the barrow burial ground was founded on the remains of a FBC settlement (individual Mesolithic artefacts were also discovered). Imports of the Trypillia Culture were distinguished from the complex of FBC ceramic vessels. We date the construction of Barrows I–II of the CWC no earlier than the middle of the 3rd millennium BC and note a strong similarity of the ceramic material to the vessels of the Middle Dnipro Culture.
The subject of this article is to present a special type of collective finds, namely compact deposits of flint artefacts in the graves belonging to the Corded Ware culture, to the Kraków-Sandomierz group. Grave deposits from two cemeteries: Kichary Nowe and Wilczyce, situated in the Sandomierz Upland and located in the Opatówka-river valley serve as an example. The authors propose a new perspective on issues related to the placement of such deposits in human graves, hoping that this will contribute to a broader discussion on the meaning and function of finds of this kind in the socio-cultural context of Late Neolithic communities, with particular emphasis on their role in funeral rites.
This article explores the issue of continuity versus socio-cultural transformation in the Lower Oder region during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (2300–2000 BCE). An integrated analysis of material culture, settlement patterns, and environmental data highlights the complexity of cultural dynamics in this area. Elements of the Corded Ware Culture (CWC), the Bell Beaker phenomenon (BB), and southern influences linked to the Proto-Únětice Culture (PÚC) have been identified; however, their interrelations cannot be reduced to a simple chronological succession. Particular attention is given to ceramic forms and flint daggers, which reflect local adaptations of the cultural “packages” characteristic of the BB phenomenon, alongside the persistence of CWC traditions. Moreover, palynological evidence provides insights into landscape use and subsistence strategies during this transitional period. The study argues that, rather than undergoing an abrupt cultural rupture, the region experienced a gradual, multifaceted transformation marked by considerable microregional diversity.
