The Single Grave culture () was a Chalcolithic culture which flourished on the western North European Plain from ca. 2,800 BC to 2,200 BC. It is characterized by the practice of single burial, the deceased usually being accompanied by a battle-axe, amber beads, and pottery vessels. 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.
History
Origins
The Single Grave culture was an offshoot of the Corded Ware culture, which was itself an offshoot of the Yamnaya culture of the Pontic–Caspian steppe. On the western North European Plain, the Single Grave culture replaced the earlier Funnelbeaker culture.
Distribution
The Single Grave culture came to encompass the western part of the European Plain. In Denmark, Single Grave sites are concentrated in Jylland, where its appearance is accompanied by large-scale forest clearance and an expansion of animal husbandry, particularly cattle. In eastern Denmark, the Single Grave culture, the Pitted Ware culture, and the Funnelbeaker culture appear to have co-existed for some time. It maintained close connections to other cultures of the Corded Ware horizon.
End
The Single Grave culture was succeeded by the Bell Beaker culture. According to the "Dutch Model," the Bell Beaker culture is thought to have been derived from the Protruding-Foot Beaker culture (PFB), which was a variant of the Single Grave culture. More recently, this model has been questioned for its accuracy.
Research
The term Single Grave culture was first introduced by the Danish archaeologist Andreas Peter Madsen in the late 1800s. He found Single Graves to be quite different from the already known dolmens, long barrows and passage graves.
In 1898, Danish archaeologist Sophus Müller was first to present a migration-hypothesis stating that previously known dolmens, long barrows, passage graves and newly discovered single graves may represent two completely different groups of people, stating "Single graves are traces of new, from the south coming tribes".
Relative and absolute chronology
Frequent reburials in the mounds allow horizontal stratigraphic observations. In Jutland, three phases can be distinguished, which were originally proposed by Sophus Müller, verified by P. V. Glob and also by E. Hübner, who additionally verified the relative chronology in absolute time (calendar years). These phases are called under-grave, ground-grave, and upper-grave period.
In the under-grave period, the graves are deepened into the soil. In the floor-grave period they are laid out at ground level. In the upper-grave period they are laid out above ground level. The Danish scholar P. V. Glob applied the observation that so-called A-axes can be placed early in the Lower Grave Period to the entire area of the Corded Ware. This led to the assumption of a simultaneous, common European A-horizon. This has since been falsified. However, the classification originally proposed by Glob has been verified, at least for Jutland and Schleswig-Holstein, and provided with absolute dates. The Younger Neolithic (YN) I corresponds to the Lower Grave Period (2850-2600 BC), the YN II to the Lower Grave Period (2600-2450 BC) and the YN III to the Upper Grave Period (2450-2250 BC). For northern Germany this could be roughly verified, but not with the same accuracy. The JN IIIb overlaps with the beginning of the Late Neolithic (also dagger period, Early Bronze Age in Central European terminology).
Characteristics
Burials
The Single Grave culture is known chiefly from its burial mounds. Thousands of such mounds have been discovered. These are typically low, circular earthen mounds. Originally, the mounds were surrounded by a circle of split timbers. In low mounds, grave would contain one, or even two, plank coffins. Each coffin contained a single individual. Occasionally, new graves and mounds would be added on top of previous ones. Males were typically buried with battle axes, large amber discs and flint tools. Females were buried with amber necklaces made of small beads. Both genders were buried with a ceramic beaker. This probably contained some form of fermented beverage, possibly beer.