Single Grave culture

Single Grave culture
Geographical rangeWestern North European Plain
PeriodChalcolithic
Datesca. 2,800–2,200 BC[1]
Preceded byCorded Ware culture, Funnelbeaker culture, Pitted Ware culture
Followed byBell Beaker culture

The Single Grave culture (German: Einzelgrabkultur) was a Chalcolithic culture which flourished on the western North European Plain from ca. 2,800 BC to 2,200 BC.[1] It is characterized by the practice of single burial, the deceased usually being accompanied by a battle-axe, amber beads, and pottery vessels.[2] The Single Grave culture was a local variant of the Corded Ware culture, and appears to have emerged as a result of a migration of peoples from the Pontic–Caspian steppe. It was succeeded by the Bell Beaker culture, which according to the "Dutch model" appears to have been ultimately derived from the Single Grave culture. More recently, the accuracy of this model has been questioned.

  1. ^ a b Frei 2019.
  2. ^ Davidsen 1978, p. 10.