ArcheologicalCulturesOfCentralEuropeAtEarlyPreRomanIronAge

The Pomeranian culture, also Pomeranian or Pomerelian Face Urn culture was an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

culture with origins in parts of the area south of the Baltic Sea (which later became

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

, part of northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

), from the 7th century BC to the 3rd century BC, which eventually covered most of today's Poland. About 650 BC, it evolved from the Lusatian culture between the lower

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

and Parseta rivers,Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeit, 1999, p.23, and subsequently expanded southward. Between 200 and 150 BC, it was succeeded by the

Oksywie culture The Oksywie culture (German ') was an archaeological culture that existed in the area of modern-day Eastern Pomerania around the lower Vistula river from the 2nd century BC to the early 1st century AD. It is named after the village of Oksywie, ...

in eastern

and the

Przeworsk culture The Przeworsk culture () was an Iron Age material culture in the region of what is now Poland, that dates from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. It takes its name from the town Przeworsk, near the village where the first artifacts w ...

at the upper

and

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...

rivers.

Features

The Pomeranian culture developed in

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, West ...

covering the entire range of the

(Odra) and

river basins. It has been sometimes associated with the

Bastarnae The Bastarnae ( Latin variants: ''Bastarni'', or ''Basternae''; grc, Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) and Peucini ( grc, Πευκῖνοι) were two ancient peoples who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited areas north of the Roman front ...

. The original homeland of the Bastarnae remains uncertain. Babeş and Shchukin argue in favour of an origin in eastern

on the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

coast of northwestern Poland, on the grounds of correspondences in archaeological material e.g. a Pomeranian-style

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity ...

found in a Poieneşti site in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

. The most characteristic feature was the use of burial urns with faces. The urns were often contained in stone

cist A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle Ea ...

s. The face-urns have lids in the form of hats, often miniature ear-rings of real bronze are added. The faces are sometimes modelled very naturalistically, and no two urns show the same face. Incised drawings on the urns show hunting scenes, chariot races, or riders.

Brooch A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with g ...

es of Certoza-type and necklaces of multiple bronze rings are typical examples of metal work. The economy was similar to that of the Lusatian culture. Rye was systematically cultivated for the first time, but still formed a minor component of the cereals. There were fewer

hill forts A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Rom ...

than in the area of the Lusatian culture further west. Southern imports were sparse as well.

Related cultures

A related culture of the same age was the House Urn culture in central Germany.

Peter N. Peregrine Peter N. Peregrine (born November 29, 1963) is an American anthropologist, registered professional archaeologist, and academic. He is well known for his promotion of the use of science in anthropology, and for his popular textbook ''Anthropology' ...

Melvin Ember Melvin Lawrence Ember (January 13, 1933 – September 27, 2009) was an American cultural anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher with wide-ranging interests who combined an active research career with writing for nonprofessionals. Biography ...

, Human Relations Area Files, inc, ''Encyclopedia of Prehistory'', Springer, 2001, p.406,

Spread

In the later Iron Age, the Pomeranian culture spread southward, into areas formerly belonging to the Lusatian, Wysoko- and Milograd cultures. In Masovia and Poland, this mixture led to the development of the group with bell-shaped burials.

Gallery

File:Bronze pectoral from Mrowino.jpg, Pomeranian bronze pectoral, Poland File:019 Typishes Fachwerkhaus in der Nahe von Krakau zirka 8. Jh. v. Chr..jpg, 8th century BC house model File:055 Pomerellische Funde, Archaologisches Museum, Krakau.JPG, Tools and weapons File:0857 Pomoranische Kultur, Hallstattzeitlicher Bronzedolch im Kraków-Museum.JPG, Antenna sword, Hallstatt period, 8th century BC File:056 Pomerellische Funde, Archaologisches Museum, Krakau.JPG, Bronze cup File:Gesichtsurne Dreidorf.jpg, Urn with facial decoration Pomeranian culture pottery.PNG, Pottery File:0178 Pommerellische Keramik des 7. Jhts. v. Chr., Kraków.jpg, 7th century cinerary urn burial File:02019 1647 Hausurne, Hallstatt Grab von Obliwowice, 620–450 v. Chr.jpg File:01933 3 1 0 10 1056 13 1 227528 Przedmioty kultury grobów skrzynkowych z wczesnego okresu żelaza na Pomorzu.jpg File:02019 1643 Pomerellische Gesichtsurne aus Pomerania, 500–400 v. Chr., Piła.jpg File:02019 1641 Pomerellische Gesichtsurne aus Pomerania, 500–400 v. Chr., Gdańsk.jpg File:3 1 0 10 754 2253 Muzeum Archeologiczne Polskiej Akademii Umiejętności.jpg File:MuseumGrudziadzA5149.JPG File:Face Urn inside the Gdańsk Archaeological Museum.jpg File:GrudziadzMuseumA5147.JPG

References

External links