Únětice culture

The Únětice culture, Aunjetitz culture or Unetician culture

(Czech: Únětická kultura, German: Aunjetitzer Kultur, Polish: Unetice culture
Kultura unietycka, Slovak: Únětická kultúra) is an archaeological
culture at the start of the Central European Bronze Age, dated
roughly to about 2300–1600 BC.[1] The eponymous site for this
culture, the village of Únětice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈuːɲɛcɪtsɛ]), is
located in the central Czech Republic, northwest of Prague. There
are about 1,400 documented Únětice culture sites in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia, 550 sites in Poland, and, in Germany,
about 500 sites and loose finds locations.[2] The Únětice culture is
also known from north-eastern Austria (in association with the so-
called Böheimkirchen group), and from western Ukraine.
Geographical Europe
History of research range
Period Early Bronze Age
The Aunjetitzer/Únětice culture is named after a discovery by
Czech surgeon and amateur archaeologist Čeněk Rýzner (1845– Dates c. 2300–1600 BC[1]
1923), who in 1879 found a cemetery in Bohemia of over 50 Type site Únětice
inhumations on Holý Vrch, the hill overlooking the village of Preceded by Bell Beaker culture,
Únětice. At about the same time, the first Úněticean burial ground
Corded Ware
was unearthed in Southern Moravia in Měnín by A. Rzehak.
culture
Following these initial discoveries and until the 1930s, many more
sites, primarily cemeteries, were identified, including Němčice nad Followed by Tumulus culture,
Hanou (1926), sites in the vicinity of Prague, Polepy (1926–1927), Nordic Bronze Age,
and Šardičky (1927). Mad'arovce culture,
Trzciniec culture
In Germany, a Princely Grave in Leubingen had already been
excavated in 1877 by F. Klopfleisch; however, he incorrectly dated
the monument to the Hallstatt during the Iron Age. In subsequent
years, a main cluster of Úněticean sites in Central Germany were
identified at Baalberge, Helmsdorf, Nienstedt, Körner, Leubingen,
Halberstadt, Klein Quenstedt, Wernigerode, Blankenburg, and
Quedlinburg. At the same time, Adlerberg and Straubing groups
were defined in 1918 by Schumacher.

In Silesia, the first archaeologist associated with the discovery and

identification of the Únětice culture was Hans Seger (1864–1943).
Seger not only discovered several Úněticean sites and supervised Nebra Sky Disk discovered in
pioneering excavations in locations in Silesia, now in Poland as Saxony Anhalt, Germany, Early
Przecławice, but he also linked Bohemian European Bronze Age Bronze Age, 1800-1600 BC
(EBA) materials with similar assemblages in Lower Silesia. In
Greater Poland, the first excavations at royal Úněticean necropolis
of Łęki Małe were undertaken by Józef Kostrzewski in 1931, but major archaeological discoveries at this
site were made only years later in 1953 and 1955.[4] In 1935 Kostrzewski published the first data and
findings of the Iwno culture, another Bronze Age culture contemporaneous with the Únětice EBA, from
Western Poland. In 1960 Wanda Sarnowska (1911–1989) began excavations in Szczepankowice near
Wrocław, southwest Poland, where a new group of barrows was
unearthed. In 1969 she published a new monograph on the Únětice
culture in which she cataloged, analysed, and described
assemblages deriving from 373 known EBA Úněticean sites in
Poland.[5][6]
Bronze swords buried with the Nebra
The first unified chronological system (relative chronology) based Sky Disk, c.1600 BC.[3]
on a typology of ceramics and metal artefacts for the Únětice
culture in Bohemia was introduced by Moucha in 1963.[7] This
chronological system consisting of six sub-phases was considered valid for the Bohemian groups of the
Únětice culture, and later was adapted in Poland[8] and in Germany.[9]

Recently, the Únětice culture has been cited as a pan-European cultural phenomenon[10] whose influence
covered large areas due to intensive exchange, with Únětice pottery and bronze artefacts found from Ireland
to Scandinavia, the Italian Peninsula, and the Balkans.[11] As such, it is candidate for a community
connecting a continuum of already scattered, late Indo-European languages, ancestral to the Italo-Celtic,
Germanic, and perhaps Balto–Slavic groups, between which words were frequently exchanged, and a
common lexicon, as well as regional isoglosses were shared.[12]: 845

Chronology
The culture corresponds to Bronze A1 and A2 in the chronological
schema of Paul Reinecke:

A1: 2300–1950 BC: triangular daggers, flat axes, stone

wrist-guards, flint arrowheads
A2: 1950–1700 BC: daggers with metal hilt, flanged
axes, halberds, pins with perforated spherical heads,
solid bracelets

Reconstruction of the Leubingen

burial chamber[13][14]

Relative chronology of the Únětice culture in Czech Republic and Slovakia

Reinecke Pleinerová Bartelheim Absolute
Period [15] Moucha 1963[7] [16] [17]
1924 1967 1989 dating
1. Proto-Únětice
Ia Ib 1
2. Old Únětice
Late 3. Middle Older 2300–2000
(A0)
Eneolithic Únětice Únětice BC
II 2
4. Pre-classical
Únětice
 5. Classic 2000-1800
A1
Older Bronze Únětice Younger BC
III 3
Age 6. Post-classical Únětice 1800–1700
A2
Únětice BC
Middle
B2 Tumulus culture (west), Trzciniec culture (east)
Bronze Age

Sub-groups
The Únětice culture originated in the territories of
contemporary Bohemia. Ten local sub-groups can be
distinguished in its classical phase:[18]

Moravia Group[19]
Slovakia Group; following the so-called Nitra
Group[20]
Lower Austria Group[21] Diagram of the Helmsdorf barrow
Central Germany Group[22]
Lower Saxony Group[22][23]
Lower Lusatia Group[22]
Silesia Group[5][24]
Greater Poland (Kościan) Group[25][26]
Galicia (Western Ukraine) Group[27]

Artefacts and characteristics

Burials

From a technical point of view, Úněticean graves can be divided in

two categories: flat graves and barrows.[28] The Únětice culture
practiced skeletal inhumations, but occasionally cremation was also
practised.

A typical Úněticean cemetery was situated near a settlement,

usually on a hill or acclivity and in the vicinity of a creek or river.
The distance between the cemetery and the adjacent settlement very Ceramic and gold artefacts from the
rarely exceeds 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). Cemeteries were usually Helmsdorf barrow, Germany, 1840
spatially organized, with symmetrical rows or alleys.[29] Burials of BC
the Únětice culture are orientated according to stars and the relative
position of the sun on the horizon during the year, which may
indicate quite advanced prehistoric astronomical observations.[30][31]

Barrows–Princely graves
To date, over fifty Úněticean barrows have been found in Central Europe; the majority of the monuments
have been published in archaeological literature, but only about 60% of that number have been excavated
according to modern standards. Some of the tombs found in the early 19th century such as the many tombs
in Kościan County, Poland, were incorrectly identified and robbed or otherwise destroyed.

The largest concentrations of Úněticean barrows, also known in

archaeological literature as "princely graves", can be found:

in Czech Republic – in the vicinity of Prague, e.g.

Brandýs, Březno, Mladá Boleslav–Čejetičky–Choboty,
Prague 5- Řeporyje, Prague 6- Bubeneč;
in Central Germany – in, for example, Bornhöck,
Leubingen, Helmsdorf, Baalberge, Dieskau II, 19th century diagram of the
Sömmerda I–II[34] and Groß Gastrose; Bornhöck burial mound,
in Poland – in Greater Poland, e.g. Łęki Małe I–V, in Germany.[32][33]
Silesia: e.g. Szczepankowice Ia–Ib, Kąty Wrocławskie.

The size of the tombs varies, with the largest of all originally being the Bornhöck burial mound (the largest
Bronze Age burial mound in central Europe), dating from c. 1800 BC. The mound belonged to a ruler or
'prince' who was likely associated with the Nebra sky disc.[35] It was originally around 65 metres in
diameter and 15 metres in height, but was mostly destroyed in the late 19th century.[36] The mound was
originally covered with white limestone (chalk) – a very unusual practice in central Europe but common in
contemporary Bronze Age Britain.[37][38][a] A 'brotlaibidol' clay tablet was also found in the grave.[39]

The largest surviving burial mound is Barrow No. 4 at Łęki Małe, associated with the Kościan Group of the
Únětice Culture – which is 50 metres in diameter and 5–6 metres in height today. In the classic phase, a
typical "princely grave" was approximately 25 metres in diameter and 5 metres in height.

Gold weapons

A gold axe and jewellery dating from c. 1800 BC were discovered at

Dieskau in Germany and are thought to be associated with the ruler buried
in the Bornhöck mound.[41] A gold dagger dating from the Early Bronze
Age has also been recovered from Inowrocław in Poland, associated with
the Iwno culture.[42][41] Gold weapons are known from other parts of Gold axe from Dieskau,
Europe in this period, including a gold axe from Tufalau in Romania Germany (drawing), c. 1800
belonging to the Wietenberg culture,[43] a gold dagger from Mala Gruda BC.[40][36]
in Montenegro belonging to the Cetina culture, [44] and gold daggers and
halberds from Perșinari and Măcin in Romania belonging to the Tei
culture.[45] The Tei culture weapons were found buried with gold bracelets of Unetice type.[46]

Flat graves

A typical Úněticean flat grave was a rectangular or oval pit 1-1.9 metres long, 0.6-1.2 metres wide and
0.30-1.5 metres deep. Depending on the shape of the bottom and depth, graves can be divided into four
sub-types: rectangular, concave, trapezoid, or hourglass.[48]

One of the most prominent characteristics is the position of the body in the grave pit. The deceased were
always buried in a north–south alignment, with the head south and facing east. The body was usually
placed in the grave in a slightly contracted position. Exceptions from this rule are sporadic.
 In the classic phase (approximately 1850–1750
BC), the Úněticean burial rite displays strong
uniformity, regardless of the gender or age of the
deceased. Men and women were buried in the
same north–south position. The grave goods
consisted of ceramic vessels (usually 1–5), bronze
items (jewellery and private belongings, rings,
hair clips, pins etc.), bone artefacts (amulets and
tools, including needles), occasionally flint tools
Gold spiral lock (the burial of Archer from Nowa Wieś
rings, Czech Wrocławska, for example, was buried with colour
Republic flint arrowheads).[49] A body deposited within a
grave might have been protected with mats made
from plant materials or a coffin, but in the Amber necklace and metal
majority of cases there was no additional coverage of the corpse. A well- artefacts from the Únětice
known example of wicker-made coffin inhumation derives from grave site, Czech
Bruszczewo fortified settlement, nearby Poznań in Greater Poland. [50] In Republic.[47]
approximately 20% of burials, stone settings were found. Erection of a full
stone setting or just a partial one (a few stones in the corners of grave)
seems to be quite a common practice observed in all phases of the EBA in Central Europe. Wooden coffins
were discovered at several sites such as in Lower Silesia. Únětice culture coffin burials can be divided in
two types, according their construction: coffins of the stretcher type, and coffins of the canoe type. Coffins
were made of single block of wood. The most prominent example of a rich cemetery containing many of
such inhumations is in Przecławice[51] nearby Wrocław. Coffin burials appear in Central Europe in the
Neolithic and are well known from Bell Beaker and Corded Ware cultures in Moravia.[52]

Metal objects

The culture is distinguished by its characteristic metal objects,

including ingot torcs, flat axes, flat triangular daggers, bracelets
with spiral ends, disk- and paddle-headed pins, and curl rings,
which are distributed over a wide area of Central Europe and
beyond.

The ingots are found in hoards that can contain over six hundred
pieces. Axe-hoards are common as well: the hoard of Dieskau
(Saxony) contained 293 flanged axes. Thus, axes might have Halberd[53][54][55]
served as ingots as well. These hoards have formerly been
interpreted as a form of storage by itinerant bronze-founders or as
riches hidden because of enemy action. They have also been interpreted as evidence for the existence of
organized groups of warriors or 'armies'.[56] Hoards containing mainly jewellery are typical for the
Adlerberg group.

After 2000 BC a major expansion of bronze production took place, with tin bronzes becoming dominant.
Ring ingots were exchanged widely.[57] Special weapons and ornaments were produced as status symbols
for high-ranking individuals.

The famous Nebra sky disk is associated with the Central Germany groups of the Únětice culture.[58] Gold
and tin used to make the Nebra disc was imported from Cornwall in southern England,[59][60] whilst the
copper was imported from Austria.[61] According to the archaeologist Sabine Gerloff the gold plating (or
inlay) technique used on the disc originated in Britain.[62] A similar gold inlay technique is seen on the
contemporary Thun-Renzenbühl axe from Switzerland, and has also been connected to Mycenaean
Greece.[63][64]

Settlements

Typical Úněticean housing structures are known from the Czech

Republic and Germany. The houses were constructed of wood,
with a gabled roof, and rectangular in plan with an entrance on the
western side. The roofs were thatched, and walls were constructed
using the wattle and daub technique.
Outline of a Unetice culture
One of the most characteristic
longhouse, Germany.[65]
features associated with settlements
are storage pits of the Únětice type.
They were located beneath the
houses, and were deep and spacious, with a cylindrical or slightly conical
neck, arched walls, and a relatively flat bottom. These pits often served as
granaries.

The vast majority of settlements

consisted of several houses
Dermsdorf longhouse,
congregated in the communal space
reconstruction.[66][67][68]
of the village or hamlet. Larger
fortified villages, with ramparts and
wooden fortifications, have been
discovered as well, in, for example Bruszczewo in Greater
Poland[69] and Radłowice in Silesia.[70] These larger villages
Model of Fidvár fortified settlement,
played a role as local political centres, possibly also market places,
Slovakia, 2100-1800 BC.
facilitating the flow of goods and supplies. The 'proto-urban'
fortified settlement of Fidvár in Slovakia was an important centre
for the exploitation of nearby gold and tin deposits.[71][72] Hillforts
are known from the Late Unetice period, such as Cezavy in the Czech Republic which featured stone
fortification walls.[73][74]

Around 2300 BC, large circular enclosures were built at Pömmelte

and nearby Schönebeck in central Germany. These were important
ritual sites which remained in use until c. 1900 BC.[79][76]
Pömmelte is described as a central place of supra-regional
importance.[78] The largest known Early Bronze Age settlement in
central Europe was built next to the Pömmelte enclosure.[77] The
remains of 130 large timber houses have been found on the site;
they were typically 20 metres in length with some up to 30.5 metres
in length, and with floor areas ranging from 80m² to Pömmelte circular enclosure,
360m².[80][81][82] Germany, c. 2300 BC.[75][76][77][78]

Some Unetice buildings were exceptionally large, such as the

Dermsdorf longhouse (44m x 11m) and Zwenkau longhouse (57m x 9m), both in central Germany. These
may have been elite residences, cult buildings, meeting halls, or 'men's houses' for groups of warriors or
soldiers under the command of individual rulers.[68][56][83][84][85] The Dermsdorf longhouse was built a
short distance from a settlement at Leubingen, in direct alignment with the nearby Leubingen burial mound.
A large number of axes were ritually deposited together in front of the longhouse, which may have
belonged to a contingent of warriors or soldiers.[56]

Experimental reconstructions of Bronze Age longhouses indicate that the builders must have had "a
complex system of numbers and data for linear measurements" to manage such house building
challenges.[86] Construction techniques included the use of rectangular beams, planks and boards, mortice
and tenon joints, scarf joints, single notched joints, slots, grooves, pivots, wooden pegs, and rebates.[86]

Trade

The Únětice culture had trade links with the British Wessex culture.
Únětice metalsmiths used pure copper as well as alloys of copper
with arsenic, antimony, and tin to produce bronze. The cemetery of
Singen contained daggers with a high tin content (up to 9%). They
may have been produced in Brittany, where a few rich graves have
been found from this period. Cornish tin was widely traded as well.
A gold lunula of Irish design has been found as far south as
Butzbach in Hessen (Germany). Amber was also traded, but small
fossil deposits may have been used as well as Baltic amber. Bronze ingot torcs, spiral bracelets,
axes and dagger, Poland

Weights and money

Analyses of Early Bronze Age rings, ribs and axe blades from
across central Europe have found that they had approximately
standardised weights and probably served as a form of commodity
money.[87] In the first centuries of the second millennium BC,
increasing precision in exchange was achieved by the introduction
of lighter ingots. Certain artefacts (e.g. ösenrings) may have also
been used as a type of token-money.[88]
Rib-ingots from Oberding At the end of the Early Bronze Age rings and ribs were replaced by
scrap and raw metal, indicating the development of weighing scales
and the use of weighed metal as a means of payment. This
weighing system may have emerged independently in central Europe through the serial production of
bronze artefacts with perceptibly similar weights.[87][88]

In 2014 the largest known hoard of copper rib-ingots was discovered in Oberding, Germany, consisting of
796 ingots, dating from c. 1700 BC. The find is associated with the Straubing group. Most of the ingots
were tied together with tree bast in bundles of ten, each individual ingot weighing approximately 100 grams
on average and the bundles weighing approximately 1 kilogram each. Forty of these bundles were further
grouped into bundles of ten (or 100 ingots). This indicates the use of a decimal system.[89][90] The use of
approximately 1 kilogram weight is also unusual as the kilogram was first introduced as a unit of
measurement in 1793.[90][91]

'Enigmatic tablets'

Numerous 'enigmatic tablets' (also known as Brotlaibidole in German) made from clay (and occasionally
stone) have been found across central Europe and northern Italy, dating from the Early and Middle Bronze
Age, including in Unetice Culture sites. The tablets are marked with sequences of geometric figures, such
as circles, lines, points, crosses, etc. The function of
the tablets is not clear and the meaning of the incisions
has not yet been deciphered. The prevailing theory is
that they served a purpose in long-distance trade,
possibly of metals.[92][93][94] According to Harald
Meller they probably represent a 'sign system' involved
in trade. They are often found broken in two which
may indicate some sort of credit/debt system.[39]

In 2010 a major exhibition was organized on the Left: Clay tablet, Germany. Right: Clay tablet, Italy.
'enigmatic tablets' from the Archaeological Museum of
Upper Mantua in Cavriana with the collaboration of
thirty-five other museums. One hundred examples of enigmatic tablets were exhibited. In 2015 an
international project was launched to study the tablets involving various Italian and foreign universities. The
artefacts have been analysed and categorised using a three-dimensional scanning and measuring technique
that allows for a precise morphological comparison to be made between tablets.[95]

Social organisation

Archeological evidence from 2000 BC onwards points to the emergence of a more

complex and ranked society in central Europe and the appearance of a new
aristocratic leadership on top of the traditional clan-based organisation of
farmsteads and hamlets. The effects were seen across all spheres of society from
technology and economy to settlement and religion.[96] The Únětice Culture in
Central Germany in particular exhibited a remarkably high level of social
complexity. Based on the funerary record, metal hoards and architectural evidence
it has been suggested that by the 20th-19th centuries BC this society had Gold cup, Fritzdorf,
developed into a type of state, ruled by a dominant leader and supported by armed c.1800–1600 BC
troops.[56] This is further indicated by evidence for the surplus production and
centralisation of agricultural goods, as well as the production of the Nebra Sky
Disc.[97][56]

Calendar

The main entrances of the Pömmelte circular enclosure were oriented towards sunrise and sunset midway
between the solstices and equinoxes, indicating that it served as a monument for "ceremonies linked to
calendrical rites and seasonal feasting".[76] These alignments marked the same dates as later Celtic seasonal
festivals such as Beltane and Samhain, which celebrated the transition of the seasons, the harvest, or
commemoration of the dead.[98][99]

The diameter and ground plan of the Pömmelte enclosure are almost identical to those of Stonehenge in
Britain (built around 2500 BC), which was aligned with the solstices and has also been interpreted as
serving a calendar function.[100][101][102] According to excavators of the Pömmelte site, the similarities
between both monuments indicate that they were built by "the same culture" (the Bell Beaker culture) with
"the same view of the world".[77] It has been suggested that the close similarity between the Pömmelte
enclosure and earlier earth-and-timber circular enclosures, such as the Goseck Circle in Germany (c. 4900
BC) and henges in Britain, may indicate a continuation of traditions dating back to the early
Neolithic.[103][104]
The Nebra Sky Disc, described as 'the oldest concrete depiction of astronomical phenomena in the
world',[105][106] is thought to depict a calendar rule for harmonising the solar and lunar years, enabling the
creation of a lunisolar calendar.[107][108][109] The cluster of stars next to the crescent moon is thought to
represent the Pleiades, known from other ancient contexts as 'calendar stars',[110] whilst the gold arcs on the
edge of the disc (one of which is now missing) represent the angle between the solstices at the latitude
where the disc was found.[111] This feature also appears in a different form on the Bush Barrow gold
lozenge from Stonehenge, dating from c. 1900 BC.[104] The number of stars on the disc (32, or 33 if the
sun is included) may represent the equivalence of 32 solar years to 33 lunar years.[108][109][112] According
to the archaeologist Christoph Sommerfeld the disc may also encode knowledge of the 19-year luni-solar
Metonic cycle.[113]

According to Harald Meller the Nebra disc allowed for "an extremely accurate positing of time, including
even the capacity for predicting lunar eclipses." As such it represents "the establishment of a new temporal
order" by elites of the Unetice culture, and thereby "ultimately demonstrates their claim to state power".[114]

The site on the Mittelberg hill where the Nebra disc was found is thought to have served as an enclosed
'sacred precinct', delimited by earthen ramparts on two sides of the hill. From this location, when the disc is
aligned to the north, the upper terminus of the western gold arc points towards the Brocken mountain,
where the sun is seen to set on the summer solstice (June 21st). Another distinctive marker on the horizon is
the Kulpenberg hill, where the sun sets on May 1st (Beltane), a date also marked by the Pömmelte
enclosure.[115]

Influence of the Únětice tradition

Today, the Únětice culture is considered to be part of a wider pan-European
cultural phenomenon, arising gradually between the second half of the 3rd
millennium and the beginning of the 2nd.[117][10] According to Pokutta, "The
role of the Únětice Culture in the formation of Bronze Age Europe cannot be
overrated. The rise and the existence of this original, expansive and dynamic
population mark one of the most interesting moments in European prehistory."
The influence of this culture covered much larger areas mainly due to intensive
exchange.[11] Únětice pottery and bronze objects are thus found in Britain,
Ireland, Scandinavia, and Italy as well as the Balkans.
Dagger of hybrid
The strong impact of Úněticean metallurgical centres and pottery-making Unetice/Rhône
traditions can be seen in other EBA groups, for example, in the Adlerberg, type.[116]
Straubing, Singen, Neckar-Ries, and Upper-Rhine groups in Germany and
Switzerland, as well as the Unterwölbling in Austria. The Nitra group, inhabiting
southern Slovakia, not only precedes the Únětice culture chronologically, but is also strongly culturally
related to it. All of these groups are alternatively seen as local variants of a broader Únětice culture.[118][119]
According to Marija Gimbutas these cultures were, in a broad sense, "one unit", with the same burial rites,
economy, habitation patterns, and pottery, which she groups together as 'early Únětice'.[120] According to
Sergent (1995) the Polada culture in northern Italy and the Rhône culture in France and Switzerland also
represent southern variants of the Únětice culture.[121][122] In later times, some elements of the Úněticean
pottery-making traditions can be found in the Trzciniec culture as well.

Genetics
Haak et al. 2015 examined the remains of 8 individuals of the Unetice culture buried in modern-day
Germany c. 2200–1800 BC.[123] The 3 samples of Y-DNA extracted belonged to Y-haplogroups I2a2, I2c2
and I2, while the 8 samples of mtDNA extracted were determined to belong to haplogroup I3a (2 samples),
U5a1, W3a1, U5b2a1b, H4a1a1, H3 and V.[124] The examined Unetice individuals were found to be very
closely related to peoples of the earlier Yamnaya culture, Bell Beaker culture and Corded Ware culture.[125]
Their amount of steppe-related ancestry is comparable to that of some modern Europeans.[126]

Allentoft et al. 2015 examined the remains of 7 individuals of the

Unetice culture buried in modern-day Poland and Czech Republic
from c. 2300–1800 BC.[127] The 7 samples of mtDNA extracted
were determined to belong to haplogroup U4, U2e1f1, H6a1b,
U5a1b1, K1a4a1, T2b and K1b1a.[128] An additional male from
the late Corded Ware culture or early Unetice culture in Łęki Małe,
Poland of c. 2300–2000 BC was found to be a carrier of the
paternal haplogroup R1b1a and the maternal haplogroup The Leubingen tumulus
T2e.[129][128][130] It was found that the people of the Corded Ware
culture, Bell Beaker culture, Unetice culture and Nordic Bronze
Age were genetically very similar to one another, and displayed a significant amount of genetic affinity with
the Yamnaya culture.[131]

A number of individuals from the Únětice burial sites were tested in 2021; their the Y-chromosome results
(not including two by low coverage samples) were: 1 G2a2b2a, 1 I2a1, 8 I2a2, 7 R1a-Z645, and 8 R1b-
P312. The geneticists found that: "The Y-chromosomal data suggest an even larger turnover. A decrease of
Y-lineage R1b-P312 from 100% (in late Bell Beaker Culture) to 20% (in preclassical Únětice) implies a
minimum 80% influx of new Y-lineages at the onset of the Early Bronze Age". The autosomal results even
point to a migration from the northeast, which the authors can link with the arrival of R1a-Z645, previously
found in the Baltic region.[132]
Several individuals from two burial sites in Prague were tested in 2022 (both sites were used in different
cultural periods), the male Y-DNA haplogroups from individuals assigned to the Únětice period were: two
R1a1a1 (Z280), eight I2a2a (I6635), with an individual with the derived clade PF3885, a tested male was
I2a-L38, and four males had the R1b-L2 haplogroup (another tested individual had the derived R1b-L20
clade); a male had the haplogroup R1b-Y153322, which is under DF27.[133]

Gallery

Gold artefacts from Bronze axes Bronze halberd, Ingots, rings, tools,
the Leubingen barrow Poland spirals, amber,
Germany

Artefacts from Bronze dagger, Daggers from Łęki Bronze and amber
Neudorf, Germany Małe, Poland from Kyhna, Germany
Austria[134][135]

Bronze axe Baltic amber Pottery Gold and silver

artefacts from
Dieskau, Germany
Bronze artefacts, Bronze and amber Bronze armband, Horse harness,
Dieskau II hoard.[53] artefacts, Dieskau Austria illustration
II[136]

Finds from Únětice Finds from Únětice Finds from Únětice Finds from Helmsdorf

Leubingen barrow Leubingen barrow Gold ring from Massive Neolithic

excavation excavation Barwice, Poland stone axe from the
Leubingen barrow

See also
Deposit finds of the Aunjetitz culture
Bronze Age Britain
Wessex culture
Armorican Tumulus culture
Nordic Bronze Age
Argaric culture
Rhône culture
Sintashta culture
Catacomb culture
Abashevo culture
Ottomány culture
Wietenberg culture
Polada culture
Cetina culture
 Castellieri culture
Helladic culture
Mycenaean Greece

Notes
a. The Bornhock mound lies at the same latitude (51.41° N) as Silbury Hill in England, the
largest prehistoric human-made mound in Europe (constructed c. 2400-2300 BC), which was
also covered in white limestone/chalk.

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99. "Das Ringheiligtum Pömmelte" (https://up.picr.de/26171061mi.jpg).
100. Concepts of cosmos in the world of Stonehenge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dlijsm
VJ9c&t=942s). British Museum. 2022.
101. "Solstice" (https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/solstice/
what-is-the-winter-solstice/). English Heritage.
102. Darvill, Timothy (2022). "Keeping time at Stonehenge" (https://doi.org/10.15184%2Faqy.202
2.5). Antiquity. 96 (386): 319–335. doi:10.15184/aqy.2022.5 (https://doi.org/10.15184%2Faq
y.2022.5).
103. "Rituals performed at this German 'Stonehenge' may link mysterious monument to its U.K.
counterpart" (https://www.science.org/content/article/rituals-performed-german-stonehenge-
may-link-mysterious-monument-its-uk-counterpart?et_rid=382659176&et_cid=2143937).
Science. June 28, 2018.
104. Dathe, Henning; Kruger, Harald (2018). "Morphometric findings on the Nebra Sky Disc" (http
s://doi.org/10.1080%2F1751696X.2018.1433358). Time and Mind. 11 (1): 89–104.
doi:10.1080/1751696X.2018.1433358 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F1751696X.2018.143335
8). S2CID 165508431 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:165508431).
105. "Nebra Sky Disc" (https://www.landesmuseum-vorgeschichte.de/en/nebra-sky-disc.html).
Halle State Museum of Prehistory.
106. Pernicka, Ernst; Adam, Jörg; Borg, Gregor; Brügmann, Gerhard; Bunnefeld, Jan-Heinrich;
Kainz, Wolfgang; Klamm, Mechthild; Koiki, Thomas; Meller, Harald; Schwarz, Ralf; Stöllner,
Thomas; Wunderlich, Christian-Heinrich; Reichenberger, Alfred (2020). "Why the Nebra Sky
Disc Dates to the Early Bronze Age. An Overview of the Interdisciplinary Results" (https://ww
w.academia.edu/66916787). Archaeologia Austriaca. Austrian Academy of Sciences. 104:
89–122. doi:10.1553/archaeologia104s89 (https://doi.org/10.1553%2Farchaeologia104s89).
S2CID 229208057 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:229208057).
107. "The Nebra Sky Disc" (https://www.archaeology.org/issues/338-features/maps/7543-maps-g
ermany-nebra-sky-disc). Archaeology. June 2019.
108. Meller, Harald (2021). "The Nebra Sky Disc – astronomy and time determination as a source
of power". Time is power. Who makes time?: 13th Archaeological Conference of Central
Germany (https://www.academia.edu/80363367). Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle
(Saale). ISBN 978-3-948618-22-3.
109. Hansen, Rahlf; Rink, Christine (2008). "Himmelsscheibe, Sonnenwagen und Kalenderhüte -
ein Versuch zur bronzezeitlichen Astronomie" (https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.ph
p/apa/article/view/71501). Acta Praehistorica et Archaeologica. 40: 97–98.
110. Garrow, Duncan; Wilkin, Neil (June 2022). The World of Stonehenge. British Museum Press.
pp. 145–147. ISBN 9780714123493. OCLC 1297081545 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/129
7081545).
111. Meller, Harald (2021). "The Nebra Sky Disc – astronomy and time determination as a source
of power". Time is power. Who makes time?: 13th Archaeological Conference of Central
Germany (https://www.academia.edu/80363367). Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle
(Saale). pp. 151–152. ISBN 978-3-948618-22-3.
112. "The difference between solar and lunar years" (https://sciencing.com/difference-between-so
lar-lunar-years-8513472.html). Sciencing.com. 2018.
113. Sommerfeld, Christoph (2012). "... Sterne mal Sterne durch Sonne ist Mond - Bemerkungen
über die Nebra-Scheibe" (https://www.academia.edu/8821194). Preaehistorische Zeitschrift.
87 (1): 110–131. doi:10.1515/pz-2012-0006 (https://doi.org/10.1515%2Fpz-2012-0006).
S2CID 163304521 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:163304521).
114. Meller, Harald (May 2019). "Princes, Armies, Sanctuaries - The emergence of complex
authority in the Central German Únětice culture" (https://www.academia.edu/39283180).
Acta Archaeologica. 90 (1): 39–79. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0390.2019.12188.x (https://doi.org/10.
1111%2Fj.1600-0390.2019.12188.x). S2CID 241149593 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Co
rpusID:241149593).
115. "Nebra Sky Disc: The Place of Discovery" (https://www.landesmuseum-vorgeschichte.de/en/
nebra-sky-disc/the-place-of-discovery.html). Halle State Museum of Prehistory. "Another
distinctive elevation on the horizon are the Kyffhäuser mountains with the Kulpenberg hill,
where the sun is swallowed by the mountain on May 1st. Although this date is not encoded
on the Sky Disc, it is known by other cultures as the Beltane or Spring Festival."
116. Uenze, Otto (1938). Die frühbronzezeitlichen triangulären Vollgriffdolche (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=qLL8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA33). De Gruyter. p. 33. ISBN 9783111385792.
"Wir können diese Dreinietendolche als eine Art Unterabteilung des Aunjetitzer Typus
auffassen. Der Dolch von Döttingen mit seinen 6 Nieten beweist durch diese und
möglicherweise durch die Verzierung des Griffes, von Punkten eingefaßte Linienbänder,
einen Einfluß vom Rhônetypus. Die Klinge dieses Dolches ist aber echt aunjetitzisch
verziert, wie das große Linienbanddreieck erkennen läßt. Dieser Dolch muß ähnlich den
Dolchen vom Schweizer Typus eine Mischform sein, die entstanden ist in der Peripherie des
Verbreitungsgebietes beider Dolchtypen." English translation: "The dagger from Döttingen
with its six rivets, and possibly the decoration of the hilt, line bands bordered by dots, prove
an influence of the Rhône type. The blade of this dagger, however, is genuinely Aunjetitz
decorated, as the large triangle of line bands indicates. Similar to the daggers of the Swiss
type, this dagger must be a hybrid form that originated on the periphery of the distribution
area of both dagger types."
117. Sosna, D. 2009, Social Differentiation in the Late Cooper Age and the Early Bronze Age in
South Moravia (Czech Republic), BAR International Series 1994, Oxford
118. "Únětice Culture" (https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803110
638139). Oxford Reference. "Únětice Culture: A large group of early Bronze Age
communities in central Europe, especially Bohemia, Bavaria, southeastern Germany, and
western Poland, dating to the second half of the 3rd millennium bc. Named after a cemetery
of 60 graves excavated north of Prague in the Czech Republic. Also known as the Aunjetitz
Culture. The early phase seems to have developed out of the local Bell Beaker Culture and
embraces a series of regional groups including Nitra (western Slovakia), Adlerberg (mid‐
Rhine), Straubing (Bavaria), Marschwitz (Oder Basin), and Unterwölbling (Austria). ... To the
east, the Únětice Culture overlaps the currency of the Nagyrév and Hatvan cultures, all
within Montelius' Bronze Period I."
119. Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2000). "Únetice" (https://books.google.com/books?id=XneTstDbcC0C&
pg=PA479). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. Kluwer Academic. p. 583.
ISBN 9780306461583. "Regional groups [of the Unetice culture] include Nitra, Adlerberg,
Straubing, Marschwitz, and Unterwölbling (Austria)."
120. Gimbutas, M. (1965). Bronze Age cultures in Central and Eastern Europe. pp. 251–253. "The
western, southern, eastern, and northern parts of the same culture have been given different
names, which makes it appear as if seven or eight different cultures existed in this period.
The group in the Oder basin was called the Marschwitz in German or Marszowic in Polish;
the western Slovakian group: Nitra; the northwestern Hungarian and lower Austrian group
south of Vienna: Wieselburg in German or Gata in Hungarian; the group west of Vienna
along the Danube: Unterwolbling; the group in Bavaria south of the Danube: Straubing; the
culture in the Tyrol: the Early Bronze Age of upper Austria; and the group on the upper Rhine:
Adlerberg. All of these names designate local variants or groupings of one growing culture.
[...] In a broad sense, however, the culture between the upper Rhine and the middle Danube
west of Budapest was one unit, with the same burial rites, economy, habitation patterns, and
pottery which I call early Únětice."
121. Bernard Sergent (1995). Payot, Catherine (ed.). Les Indo-Européens. Histoire, langues,
mythes. Payot. p. 416. ISBN 2-228-88956-3.
122. Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2000). "Rhône culture" (https://books.google.com/books?id=XneTstDbc
C0C&pg=PA479). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. Kluwer Academic. p. 479.
ISBN 9780306461583. "The Rhône culture is the Swiss and east French counterpart of the
Early Bronze Age cultures of central Europe. The metalwork and pottery are similar to those
of the Straubing group in Bavaria."
123. Haak et al. 2015, Extended Data Table 2, I0114, I0115, I0116, I0117, I0164, I0803, IO804,
I0047.
124. Haak et al. 2015, Extended Data Table 2.
125. Haak et al. 2015, Supplementary Information, p. 6. "The Late Copper Age/Early Bronze Age
Yamnaya fall closest to the central European Late Neolithic Corded Ware (CWC) and Bell
Beaker groups (BBC), and in particular to samples from the early Bronze Age Unetice culture
(UC). This supports a genetic contribution of eastern groups to central Europe during the
Late Neolithic ~4,500 BCE, consistent with the autosomal SNP data. These results indicate
that the Late Neolithic migration into central Europe was not entirely male in origin."
126. Haak et al. 2015, p. 7.
127. Allentoft et al. 2015, Supplementary Information, p. 42, RISE109, RISE 139, RISE 145, RISE
150, RISE 154, RISE 577, RISE 586.
128. Allentoft et al. 2015, p. 14.
129. Allentoft et al. 2015, Supplementary Information, p. 42, RISE 431.
130. Mathieson et al. 2018, Supplementary Table 1, Row 150, RISE 431.
131. Allentoft et al. 2015, pp. 2–3. "European Late Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures such as
Corded Ware, Bell Beakers, Unetice, and the Scandinavian cultures are genetically very
similar to each other..."
132. Papac, Luka; Ernée, Michal; Dobeš, Miroslav; Langová, Michaela; Rohrlach, Adam B.; Aron,
Franziska; Neumann, Gunnar U.; Spyrou, Maria A.; Rohland, Nadin; Velemínský, Petr; Kuna,
Martin; Brzobohatá, Hana; Culleton, Brendan; Daněček, David; Danielisová, Alžběta;
Dobisíková, Miluše; Hložek, Josef; Kennett, Douglas J.; Klementová, Jana; Kostka, Michal;
Krištuf, Petr; Kuchařík, Milan; Hlavová, Jana Kuljavceva; Limburský, Petr; Malyková,
Drahomíra; Mattiello, Lucia; Pecinovská, Monika; Petriščáková, Katarína; Průchová, Erika;
Stránská, Petra; Smejtek, Lubor; Špaček, Jaroslav; Šumberová, Radka; Švejcar, Ondřej;
Trefný, Martin; Vávra, Miloš; Kolář, Jan; Heyd, Volker; Krause, Johannes; Pinhasi, Ron;
Reich, David; Schiffels, Stephan; Haak, Wolfgang (27 August 2021). "Dynamic changes in
genomic and social structures in third millennium BCE central Europe" (https://www.ncbi.nl
m.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8386934). Science Advances. 7 (35).
doi:10.1126/sciadv.abi6941 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fsciadv.abi6941). hdl:11025/47212 (h
ttps://hdl.handle.net/11025%2F47212). PMC 8386934 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti
cles/PMC8386934). PMID 34433570 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34433570).
133. Patterson, Nick; et al. (27 January 2022). "Large-scale migration into Britain during the
Middle to Late Bronze Age" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8889665).
Nature. 601 (7894): 588–594. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04287-4 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F
s41586-021-04287-4). PMC 8889665 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88896
65). PMID 34937049 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34937049).
134. Gimbutas, M. (1965). Bronze Age cultures in Central and Eastern Europe. pp. Plate 39.
135. Kristiansen, Kristian; Larsson, Thomas B. (2005). The Rise of Bronze Age Society (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=di7Dc7Y1ETYC). Cambridge University Press. p. 302.
ISBN 9780521843638. "Women of the later Unetice Culture would sometimes wear a sun-
disc with protruding star ornament"
136. "Dieskau" (https://archlsa.de/bodendenkmalpflege/fund-des-monats/2021/juli-2021.html).
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External links
Nebra Sky Disk official website, State Museum of Saxony-Anhalt in Halle (http://www.lda-lsa.
de/en/nebra_sky_disc/)
What was life like in the Early Bronze Age? - German language documentary about the
Unetice culture era (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HVWyUq6UuY)
The wide world at the heart of Europe - Illustrations of the Unetice culture (Halle State
Museum of Prehistory) (https://www.emuseum-himmelswege.de/en/archaeostories/the-wide-
world-at-the-heart-of-europe)
 The nature of artistic expression of the Únětice culture's people (Gralak 2021) (https://www.a
cademia.edu/50501991/The_nature_of_artistic_expression_of_the_%C3%9An%C4%9Btice
_cultures_people)
Gold from Leki Male barrows, Poznan Archaeological Muzeum (http://www.muzarp.poznan.p
l/en/exhibitions/permanent/prehistory-of-wielkopolska-greater-poland/early-bronze-age/)
Uneticean cemetery Prague East (https://www.academia.edu/3070796/Pohrebiste_uneticke
_kultury_v_Klecanech_okr._Praha-vychod._Ein_Graberfeld_der_Aunjetitzer_Kultur_in_Klec
any_Kr._Prag-)
Greater Poland (Koscian) Group of the Unetice culture (https://www.academia.edu/1347170/
Bruszczewo_und_Leki_Male_-_Ein_fruhbronzezeitliches_Machtzentrum_in_Grosspolen)
Henge-like sanctuary of the earliest Únětice Culture (https://www.academia.edu/1076290/Sy
stematische_Untersuchungen_der_Kreisgrabenanlage_von_Pommelte-Zackmunde_Salzla
ndkreis._Zum_Abschluss_der_Grabungen_an_mitteldeutschen_Rondellen_im_Rahmen_d
er_Forschergruppe_FOR_550)
Im Reich der Himmelsscheibe (2021) (https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wissen/archaeologie-altert
um/im-reich-der-himmelsscheibe-17417100.html)

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