A 3rd millennium be Copper Age culture group of vast extent, covering northern Yugoslavia, all of Hungary, most of Czechoslovakia, southern Poland and part of the east Alpine zone. On the basis of E. Neustupny’s radiocarbon chronology, the Baden culture is divided into three phases : Early (2750-2450 be), Classic (2600-2250 be) and Late (2400-2200 be). The most complete sequences are represented in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Baden marks a strong contrast with the rich tell settlements of the preceding Chalcolithic, embodying a highly dispersed settlement pattern, a nucleated cemetery pattern (e.g. AlsönS-medi) and absence of highly decorated pottery. The paucity of Baden metalwork reflects the period between the decline of Carpathian surface ores and the onset of the Alpine ‘Fahlerz’ boom.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied