Lusatian culture

Origins

The Lusatian culture developed as the preceding Trzciniec culture experienced influences from the Tumulus culture of the Middle Bronze Age, essentially incorporating the local communities into the socio-political network of Iron Age Europe. It formed part of the Urnfield systems, origin of the Celts and Romans, found from eastern France, southern Germany and Austria to Hungary and the Nordic Bronze Age in northwestern Germany and Scandinavia. It was followed by the Billendorf culture of the Early Iron Age in the West. In Poland, the Lusatian culture is taken to 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. 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. Modern archeologists, such as both Kazimierz Godłowski and , hold the view that the ethnic geography of Bronze Age Central Europe then included peoples whose languages and ethnic identity are simply unknown.

Genetic study of Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences from 2023–2026 revealed that of 5 samples 4 had haplogroup R1a1 and one had haplogroup I2a, of 11 samples 7 were Slavic and similar to people from current Poland, Lithuania, Russia, 4 were partly Slavic.

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, Pomerania) that contain rich metalwork, both bronze and gold (hoard of Eberswalde, Brandenburg). Graves containing moulds (like at Bataune, in Saxony) and tuyeres attest to the production of bronze tools and weapons at the village level. The 'royal' tomb of 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 storage pits. Wheat (emmer) and six-row barley formed the basic crops, together with millet, rye and oats, peas, broad beans, lentils, and 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

File:DSC 0766 (2) Lausitzer Kultur in der Bronzezeit, Bronzeschwert.jpg|Lusatian weapons File:02019 0799 (2) Bronzegeschirr aus Schlesien, Import in der Lausitzer-Kultur im Oder-Zuflussbereich.jpg|Various artefacts, Bronze and Iron Age File:020210828 Bronze Age hoard from Miejsce, around 1000-900 BC, Namysłów district.jpg|Socketed axes and arm rings File:ALB - Kultwagen.jpg|Bronze cult wagon model, Germany File:Biskupin Museum 021.JPG|Pottery from Biskupin File:02019 0773 (3) Lausitzer Urne mit Erzählgrafiken aus Schlesien.jpg|Lusatian cinerary urn File:Smac Eisenzeit 020.jpg|Pottery and figurines, Germany File:020210904 113916 Bronze Tresure from Zagórze, Early Iron Age, around 600 BC, Lusatian Culture, fibula, nacklace, bangle.jpg|Torcs and arm rings File:Bronze Age Europe Jewelry and Ornaments (28140516733).jpg|Bronze fibulae, Germany File:020210904 Bronze Tresure from Zagórze, Early Iron Age, around 600 BC, Lusatian Culture, fibula, nacklace, bangle.jpg|Fibula and arm rings File:Bronze Age Europe Bronze Ornaments (28471739120).jpg|Bronze Age ornaments, Germany File:Lusatian1.jpg|Bronze vessel, Poland, File:Lusatian2.jpg|Bronze collar with sun ship motifs. File:020220130 Hoard from Woskowice Małe.jpg|Hoard from Woskowice Małe, Poland, 550 BC File:Smac Bronzezeit 083.jpg|Bronze arm rings, Germany File:Seddin grave contents.jpg| contents, c. 900 BC, Germany File:Sun ship1.jpg|Belt plate with sun ship motif, Poland, 9th century BC File:02019 0749 (3) Lausitzer Kultur in der Bronzezeit, Armbinde.jpg|Bronze arm bands File:Smac Bronzezeit 051.jpg|Bronze tableware, 1200–1000 BC, Dresden, Germany File:Kultura łużycka, lusatian culture 16.JPG|Bronze spiral 'spectacle' pendants File:Diadem, Sichów, okres brązu, Wrocław 1.jpg|Gold diadem from Sichów, Poland File:Lusatian bronze hanging bowls.jpg|Bronze hanging bowls, Poland File:Lusatian1.png|Lusatian pottery, Germany File:02019 1501 Skelettgrab des 12. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. aus Grodzisko Dolne.jpg|Burial, Poland, c. 1200 BC File:Lusatian reconstruction 1.jpg|Reconstruction of Lusatian artefacts File:Kaliska II hoard, Lusatian culture, Poland, reconstruction.jpg|Kaliska hoard II, reconstruction File:Biskupin - grodzisko łużyckie.jpg|Reconstructed buildings at Biskupin File:Römerschanze bei Potsdam Geländemodell.jpg|3D model of a Lusatian rampart fortification in Potsdam near Berlin

Footnotes

References

References

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8. Józef Kostrzewski, Od mezolitu do okresu wędrówek ludów, Prehistoria ziem polskich, Kraków 1939.
9. Godłowski, K.. (1979). "Z badań nad zagadnieniem rozprzestrzeniania Słowian {{nobr". Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im S. Staszica.
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11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0mEP1uTXO4
12. https://slawomirambroziak.pl/forum/index.php?topic=5931.0
13. Kaczmarek, Maciej. (2022). "Kaliska I: A Late Bronze Age metal hoard from Pomerania (Poland)". Antiquity.
14. Meller, Harald. (2021). "The Nebra sky disc – astronomy and time determination as a source of power". Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle (Saale).