 | |
| Geographical range | East-Central Europe |
|---|---|
| Period | Chalcolithic,Bronze Age |
| Dates | c. 3600–2690 BC |
| Major sites | Vucedol |
| Preceded by | Lengyel culture,Bodrogkeresztúr culture,Coțofeni culture,Cernavodă culture,Funnelbeaker culture, |
| Followed by | Vučedol culture,Bell Beaker culture |
TheBaden culture orBaden-Pécel culture is aChalcolithicarchaeological culture dating toc. 3520–2690 BC.[1] It is found inCentral andSoutheast Europe, and is in particular known fromMoravia (Czech Republic),Romania,Hungary, southernPoland,Slovakia, northernCroatia and easternAustria. Imports of Baden pottery have also been found in Germany and Switzerland (Arbon-Bleiche III). It is often grouped together with theCoțofeni culture as part of theBaden-Coțofeni culture.
The Baden culture was named afterBaden near Vienna by the Austrian prehistorianOswald Menghin. It is also known as the Ossarn group[2] or Pecel culture. The first monographic treatment was produced by J. Banner in 1956. Other important scholars are E. Neustupny,Ida Bognar-Kutzian andVera Nemejcova-Pavukova.
Baden has been interpreted as part of a much larger archaeological complex encompassing cultures at the mouth of theDanube (Ezero-Cernavodă III) and theTroad. In 1963,Nándor Kalicz had proposed a connection between the Baden culture andTroy, based on the anthropomorphic urns from Ózd-Centre (Hungary). This interpretation cannot be maintained in the face ofradiocarbon dates. The author himself (2004) has called this interpretation a "cul-de-sac", based on a misguided historical methodology.
Baden developed out of the lateLengyel culture in the western Carpathian Basin. Němejcová-Pavuková proposes a polygenetic origin, including southeastern elements transmitted by theEzero culture of the earlyBronze Age (Ezero, layers XIII-VII) and Cernavodă III/Coțofeni. Ecsedy parallelises Baden withEarly Helladic II in Thessaly, Parzinger withSitagroi IV. Baden was approximately contemporaneous with the lateFunnelbeaker culture, theGlobular Amphora culture and the earlyCorded Ware culture.The following phases are known: Balaton-Lasinya, Baden-Boleráz, Post-Boleráz (divided into early, Fonyod/Tekovský Hrádok and late, Červený Hrádok/Szeghalom-Dioér by Vera Němejcová-Pavuková) and classical Baden.
| Phase | Subgroups | Date | sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balaton-Lasinya | - | 3700 BC cal | - |
| Boleráz | - | 3500 BC | Pilismarot |
| Ia | Štúrovo | - | Letkès |
| Ib | Nitriansky Hrádok | - | Lánycsok, Vysoki breh |
| Ic | Zlkovce | - | Balatonboglár |
| Post-Boleraz | - | ||
| early | Fonyod/Tekovský Hrádok | - | - |
| late | Červený Hrádok/Szeghalom-Dioér | - | - |
| Classical Baden | 3400 BC | - | |
| II, III | older | - | Nevidzany, Viss |
| IV | younger | - | Uny, Chlaba, Ózd |
For radiocarbon dates: Horváth, Tünde & Svingor, Éva & Molnár, Mihály. (2008). New Radiocarbon Dates for the Baden Culture. Radiocarbon. 50. 447-458. 10.1017/S0033822200053546.
Before the Baden culture, there was no culture that was centralized in theCarpathian Basin and completely filled it, but the Baden-Pécel culture transcends the Carpathian Basin, which proves that it was a populous and unified culture. It can be observed that in the centre of some settlements, a larger building was constructed, and crown-like decorations were also found in some cemeteries, perhaps indicating that a kind of patronage society was characteristic of the culture.[5]
Examining theBalatonőszöd artefacts, archaeologists have concluded that although the settlements were large, they were seasonal "towns", and their inhabitants were constantly changing. This would explain why we find such a high number of settlements linked to the culture. However, the archaeological evidence shows that there were also settlements that were fortified and served as a kind of centre, and were permanently inhabited. These settlements were mainly found on hilltops.[5]
The economy was mixed. Full-scale agriculture was present, along with the keeping of domestic stock—pigs, goats, etc.
The Baden culture has some of the earliest attestation of often wheeled, wagon-shaped models in pottery, sometimes with a handle. There are burials of pairs of cattle that have been interpreted as draft animals. Though there are no finds of actual wagons, some scholars take these finds together as proof for the presence of real wagons.
Both inhumations and cremations are known. In Slovakia and Hungary, the burned remains were often placed inanthropomorphic urns (Slána, Ózd-Center). InNitriansky Hrádok, a mass grave was uncovered. There are also burials of cattle. Up to now, the only cemetery known from the early Boleráz-phase is Pilismarót (Hungary), which also contained a few examples of stroke-ornamented pottery.
In Serbia, anthropomorphic urns were found in the towns of Dobanovci, Gomolava, Perlez and Zemun.[6]
In theKurgan hypothesis espoused byMarija Gimbutas, the Baden culture is seen as being Indo-Europeanized. However, according to Grandpierre K. Endre, it is possible that kurgan burials developed in parallel in the Carpathian Basin, before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans.[citation needed]
![Baden culture ceramic vessel.[7]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMuseum_f%25C3%25BCr_Vor-_und_Fr%25C3%25BChgeschichte_Berlin_034.jpg)
.jpg)
![Anthropomorphic ceramic vessels[8]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFemale_figurine_1.jpg)
.jpg)
In three genetic studies the remains of fifteen individuals roughly from 3600 to 2850 BCE ascribed to the Baden culture were analyzed.[9] Of the nine (plus one Proto-Boleraz) samples ofY-DNA, five belonged to various subclades ofhaplogroup G2a2 (G2a2b2a1a1c-CTS342, G2a2a2b-Z36525, G2a2b2a1a1b-L497, G2a2a1a2a1a-L166, G2a2b2a1a-PF3346), and four belonged to haplogroupI2 subclades (3x I2a1a1a1-Y11222, I2-P37). ThemtDNA extracted included subclades ofU5a1, U5b, U8b1a1,J1c, J1c2, J2a1a1,H, H26a,T2, T2b, T2c1d1,HV,K1a andW,[10][9] summing up the earlier ones, in particular.[11]
According to ADMIXTURE analysis they had approximately 78-91%Early European Farmers, 6-17%Western Hunter-Gatherer and 0-8%Western Steppe Herders-related ancestry,[9] implying that the Indo-European influence on the local population was predominantly cultural and not biological.
The Ossarn group represents a later phase of the Baden culture, with sites located in Lower Austria south of the Danube and in northern and central Burgenland.
Media related toBaden culture at Wikimedia Commons