Abstract
The Bell Beaker culture is illustrated above all by the figure of the warrior, which is omnipresent in grave goods and has long supported invasionist theories. In order to better understand the social significance of the Bell Beaker warrior, this study aims to analyse the related object-signs (arrowheads, bracers, grooved abraders, bow-shaped pendants, daggers) in Central Europe, where individual graves are predominant. Based on a techno-functional approach, the whole biography of these objects is analysed here in order to clarify their modes of production and consumption. Alongside the biographies of individuals based on their sex, age and wealth, the history of these objects makes it possible to outline a model of Bell Beaker society. Far from the alleged conquests, it transpires that adherence to warrior ideology may have been driven by the opportunity it gave individuals to express strategies of social prestige.
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