Beaker

A simple pottery drinking vessel without handles, more deep than wide, much used in prehistoric Europe. The pottery was usually red or brown burnished ware, decorated with horizontal panels of comb- or cord-impressed designs. It was distributed in Europe from Spain to Poland, and from Italy to Scotland in the years after 2500 BC and the international bell-beaker is particularly widespread, though uncommon in Britain. In Britain there are local variants, the long-necked (formerly A) beakers of eastern England and the short-necked (formerly C) beakers of Scotland. There are local developments elsewhere, such as the Veluwe beakers in Holland. Beaker vessels are commonly found in graves, which were often single inhumations under round barrows; commonly associated finds include copper or bronze daggers and ornaments, flint arrowheads, stone wristguards, and stone battle-axes. In many northern and western areas its users were the first to start copper metallurgy. The widespread distribution of beaker finds has led to the frequent identification of a Beaker people and speculations about their origins.

General term to describe a simple type of drinking vessel without handles. Specifically, the term Beaker or Bell Beaker is applied to a particular type of vessel made of fine red or brown burnished ware, decorated with horizontal panels of comb- or cord-impressed designs, found in the 3rd millenium bc in many parts of Europe, from Spain to Czechoslovakia and Hungary, and from Italy to Britain. Beaker pots are commonly found in graves, which were often single inhumations under round barrows; commonly associated finds include copper or bronze daggers and ornaments, flint arrowheads and stone wristguards and stone battle-axes. The widespread distribution of Beaker finds has led to the frequent identification of a Beaker people and many speculations about their possible origins. The most popular view has favoured an Iberian origin, but there have also been proponents of an east or north European origin, and David Clarke favoured a south French origin. The most complicated view, propounded by E. Sangmeister, involved an original spread from Iberia and a later reflux movement of an allegedly hybrid Beaker/Corded-ware group back from the Low Countries, and is not much favoured today. More recently, workers such as Richard Harrison and Robert Chapman have suggested dual or multiple origins for the Beaker culture, while Stephen Shennan has suggested that Beaker finds do not represent a migrating people at all, but are a ‘status kit’ acquired through trade or exchange by individuals of high status in different parts of Europe. The ‘Beaker problem’ is likely to remain a focus of discussion in European prehistory for some time to come.

A simple pottery drinking vessel without handles, more deep than wide, much used in prehistoric Europe. The pottery was usually red or brown burnished ware, decorated with horizontal panels of comb-or cord-impressed designs. It was distributed in Europe from Spain to Poland, and from Italy to Scotland in the years after 2500 bc ; the international bell beaker is particularly widespread, though uncommon in Britain. In Britain there are local variants the long-necked (formerly A) beakers of eastern England and the short-necked (formerly C) beakers of Scotland. There were local developments elsewhere, such as the Veluwe beakers in the Netherlands. Beaker vessels are commonly found in graves, which were often single inhumations under round barrows; commonly associated finds include copper or bronze daggers and ornaments, flint arrowheads, stone wristguards, and stone battle axes. In many northern and western areas its users were the first to start copper metallurgy. The widespread distribution of beaker finds has led to the frequent identification of a Beaker people and speculations about their origins.