Funnel-Beaker Culture

oldest (4000-3000 B.C.) Neolithic farming and stockbreeding culture in northern and central Europe. The culture was found throughout the territories of present-day Denmark, southern Sweden, the Netherlands, West Germany, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and western regions of the USSR (Volyn, the basin of the Bug River). The culture, which was distinguished early in the 20th century, was named for the typical shape of its earthenware—a beaker with a funnel-shaped neck. The funnel-beaker culture is known mainly from burials in simple earth graves, in stone chests (cists), in long burial mounds with a triangular stone facing, in dolmens under round or rectangular burial mounds, and in corridor-shaped sepulchers. The funnel-beaker culture comprises a number of local groups. Dating of the culture period has been developed on the basis of the Danish materials. The culture is broken down into the following periods: Early Neolithic (dolmens), Middle Neolithic (graves with a corridor), and Late Neolithic (cists). The principal earthenware shapes are a beaker with a funnel-shaped neck, a beaker with handles on the shoulders, and a collared flask. A typical inventory includes chipped and polished flint ax-adzes, daggers, and polished stone battle axes.