The Bornhöck Burial Mound and the Political Economy of an Únětice Ruler

Abstract

The Circum-Harz group of the Central German Únětice Culture (c. 2200–1550 BCE), which finally unified the Late Neolithic Corded Ware and Bell Beaker Cultures, exhibits a remarkably high level of social complexity. Based on the funerary record and the structured composition of the metal hoards, it has been suggested that this social entity was developed into a state organisation ruled by a dominant leader and supported by armed troops. However, the surplus economy necessary to supply this army and other state servants, which would not work in agricultural production, has not been confirmed so far. In this sense, the burial mound of Bornhöck in the communal district of Raßnitz, Saalekreis district, near Dieskau with its well-known weapon hoards, offers new insight into the economic organisation of an Únětice community, especially with regard to its rulers. In this socio-historical context, the study of grinding equipment coming from the stone core protecting the central burial chamber turns to be of crucial importance. Our study shows that an exceptional number of highly efficient grinding slabs, specifically designed to carry out intensive grinding processes, was concealed in this funerary context. Moreover, these tools were markedly different from the grinding slabs present in the typical Únětice longhouses. As a result, the Bornhöck provides direct evidence of the existence of three characteristic elements of a state organisation, i.e. the centralisation of an important part of agricultural production, probably through some type of taxation mechanism, the control of surplus value by the dominant class of Únětice, and the existence of a substantial population dependent on this surplus. As an army seems the most plausible consumer of large amounts of food supplies, indirectly, the macrolithic tools of the Bornhöck confirm the monopoly on the use of force hold by the ruler buried in it.