Beaker Culture: Bronze Age Pottery and Social Status
Beaker Culture
The Beaker culture is an archaeological culture of the Bronze Age, dating from approximately 2650 BC to 1900 BC.
Phases
- 2650-2500 BC: Maritime Beaker and corded ware
- 2600-2300 BC: Beaker-2
- 2400-2100 BC: Regional late styles
It developed in Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. The Beaker Culture gets its name from the manufacture of bell-shaped ceramic decorated by incision bands. The interiors of these incisions were sometimes filled with white paste (white clay) that produced a very polished finish. However, it is important to distinguish, in chronology, the appearance of Beaker pottery from Beaker burials. These are of three types:
Burial Types
Megalithic Tomb Reuse
A second very common context is bell-shaped burials in megalithic tombs. These are reuses of old graves that remain part of the landscape and not new constructions. The abundant presence of megalithic monuments facilitated these new burials, yet they remained individual. In some cases, the megalithic monuments were cleaned beforehand, and sometimes not. This practice was common in the Iberian Peninsula.
Pit Graves
This is the most widespread type, occurring throughout Europe. It consists of a large hole or trench, shallow – not usually going deep underground – where the body is deposited individually. These graves usually have no masonry structures or mounds, with the body facing north (a possible relationship with astrology). At a monumental level, this type of burial has a very small presence.
Individual Burials in Tombs
This is the second tradition, which we will see later. It is found, above all, in the British Isles and the Netherlands. These low mound burials will be associated with a tradition that will extend for a long time. However, the original bell will be the most ancient in chronology. Also known as round-barrows, Beaker tools often appear. The main feature of these burials, in addition to being individual, is the typical outfit that usually accompanies the bodies. This used to be very modest and included:
- A bell-shaped ceramic bowl (always at least one, sometimes more, though never in large quantities)
- Flint arrowheads
- Metal objects and barbed daggers, Palmela points
- The emergence of metallurgy is often associated with Beaker pottery, i.e., older objects tend to be related to the Beaker phenomenon, although known before, to be broadcast by this culture.
- Archer’s wrist guards (plates with one or two holes in the ends to be tied at the wrist to avoid the stroke of the bowstring when it is released)
- V-perforated buttons (see secondary products revolution)
The appearance of this type of outfit was what prompted Gordon Childe to think that these were warlike peoples. This hypothesis is now accepted.
Interpretations of the Beaker Culture
Beaker People
According to Gordon Childe, the Beaker people were warlike and blacksmiths. These warriors were traveling around Europe looking for metal deposits, physically carrying ceramic containers exchanged for these metals (for copper pots). These warriors, who were also blacksmiths, were looking for copper deposits, in turn, disseminating the art of metallurgy and trading ceramics with indigenous groups. This ceramic bell was disseminated throughout Europe. However, this hypothesis fell apart when it became clear that some of the pottery was made far away, but many had a local manufacturing, which did not conform well to the idea that groups were carrying Beaker pottery from their point of origin.
Prestige Objects
D. L. Clarke (1976) argued that Beaker pottery was an object of prestige – or cult – which was exchanged, entering the market dynamics. That is why the containers have been found long distances from their place of origin and others are of indigenous manufacturing.
Status Symbols
R. J. Harrison and S. J. Shennan (1990) proposed this hypothesis, which is the most accepted at present. It is very similar to the previous one but differs in that they argue that the ceramic bell is not only an object of prestige but of social status. That is, it is not a question of wealth, but of deserving; it would not be available to anyone who could afford it, but also had to belong to a particular social group. This means that there should be a kind of elite that had a number of attributes that were appropriate and that set them apart. First, they had to secure the prestige, then the object was identified as such. Here comes the theory of the gift: the pottery is a gift, but only among the elite. So we are in front of a hierarchical society. This would explain why there are ceramics throughout Europe. Native pottery is where it is produced, while those from distant sources have gone hand in hand. This can only be understood within the context of animist societies, who believe that objects have their own biography and the more hands they have passed through, the more valuable the piece. It is assumed that everyone knew the history of each piece.