Social change in the Later Neolithic of Central Europe

Abstract

Profound changes occurred in central and northern Europe towards the end of the 3rd millennium bcX, when a uniform pattern of settlement, burial and material culture-the Corded Ware complexreplaced the diversity of the middle neolithic groups of the TRB (or Funnel Beaker Culture). Collective graves and large settlement sites gave way to individual burials in a largely dispersed pattern of settlement based on small sites. This was accompanied by a spread of sites into hitherto uncolonized areas, and a greater variety of locations used for settlement. This major change might at first seem to indicate a complete collapse of the earlier system, with an undifferentiated pattern replacing the apparent beginnings of hierarchies indicated by the Middle Neolithic. Kristiansen ( I 982) has recently suggested for Denmark that the middle neolithic system disintegrated, fitting a model of cyclical tribal development. It is suggested here, however, that the transformation of the middle neolithic pattern is better seen as a changed structure, which does not involve concepts such as disintegration or collapse, but marks an important shift in the organization of neolithic societies.