home # store # services # articles # game # app #contact >

The Baalberge group (sometimes spelled “Baalberge”) is a Neolithic cultural group associated with the broader Funnelbeaker culture (Trichterbecherkultur or TRB). From Central Europe, particularly in what is now Germany. It is part of the earlier neolithic period for this region. Around 4000 to 3150 BC.

Located in the central and eastern parts of Germany
Around the Elbe and Saale rivers. There are hills, and it is relatively mountanous. It is named after a significant archaeological site near the village of Baalberge in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

They had large, well-planned settlements
They often included longhouses. And, were strategically located near fertile lands and water sources.

Marija Gimbutas and her followers argue that the Baalberg culture was an intrusive hybrid culture
Deriving ultimately from the Eurasian steppe. Part of the Kurgan hypothesis. Have been an Indo-European-speaking culture.

Construction of large communal structures indicates a degree of social cooperation and complexity
Not much is known. Usually they contain waste pits with characteristic material (clay, stone, bone material). Hearths, and the postholes of a few individual houses. Distributed through rather extended settlements.

The people were primarily agrarian, engaging in farming and animal husbandry
They cultivated crops like wheat, barley, and legumes and raised domesticated animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep.

Pottery is characterized funnel-shaped beakers, and, other ceramic vessels. With incised and stamped designs
Specific styles and decorations characterize this art. Including These vessels that had geometric patterns. Sometimes complex.

A grey-brown leatherlike finish is typical of the Baalberge culture
When broken, sherds reveal a dark grey to black material. The complete ceramic inventory forms a self contained region. In the Baalberg area.
Included were:
Amphorae: with two, four and multiple handles;
Pitchers: Baalberg is the first culture which has pitchers. The necks are usually trefoil shaped;
Cups: usually with small footprints;
Funnelbeakers: tall and slim with small footprints;
Bowls: angle-lipped bowls, wide funnel lip bowls with distinct feet and carinated bowls;
Pottery tools: ladles and spoons;
Stone tools: Short, squat, round-necked axes from Chörau in Köthen and Warle in Wolfenbüttel; Flat stone hatchets with rounded rectangular cross-
sections; Flint tools like crosscutters; three-point arrow heads (Quenstedt, Hettstedt); and, knives and knife-sharpeners.
Used in both daily life, and ritual contexts.

One of the notable aspects of the Baalberge group is its burial customs. They practiced inhumation. Often in collective graves or stone-chambered tombs, which were sometimes covered by large earthen mounds
Grave goods, such as pottery, tools, and ornaments, were commonly placed with the deceased. Use of megalithic tombs and long barrows. Reflect their beliefs about the afterlife and community.

Though they’re also associated with simple earth graves. The first tumulus graves in central Germany also come from this culture (1)
They used wood and rock. And were the first culture in which megalithic influences like grave complexes, tumulus enclosures and cists. Innovative forms with architectural begin appearing.

Did you know? In 1966, J. Preuß recorded 116 grave-complexes in the central German habitation area. These structures were part of the broader European tradition of megalithic architecture, which was closely linked to the Funnelbeaker culture.

Because of the grave goods. Belief in an afterlife is suggested
Charred remains with animals were found. And, they practiced skull deposition.

The Baalberge group contributed to the development of neolithic culture in central Europe. Particularly in the spread of agricultural and megalithic construction. Their influence provides insight into the social and economic developments of early farming communities. And, the broader context of early agrarian societies across Europe.

Citation: 1) Großsteingrab Bierberg bei Latdorf

Bibliography: Mallory, “Baalberge group”, Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.

Chronik der Gemeinde Baalberge – Die Ausgrabungen am Schneiderberg 1901 (http://www.baalberge.de/chronik/ausgrabungen.html)

Museum-Digital Sachsen-Anhalt – Objects connected to the “Baalberge Culture (4100-3500BC)” (http://www.museum-digital.de/san/index.php?t=listen&type=6&zeit=427)

Heinz Knöll. “Die Trichterbecher und ihre Beziehungen zu einigen neolithischen Kulturen Mitteldeutschlands.” Jahresschrift für mitteldeutsche Vorgeschichte, Vol. 38, 1954, pp. 40–48.

“Paul Kupka. “Alter, Wesen und Verbreitung der mitteldeutschen Steinzeittonware. Nachträgliches und Ergänzendes.” Beiträge zur Geschichte, Landes und Volkskunde der
Altmark, Vol. 5 (1925–1930), 1928, pp. 201–262.

“Paul Kupka. “Die Wurzeln der mitteldeutschen Steinzeittonware.” Beiträge zur Geschichte, Landes und Volkskunde der Altmark, Vol. 4 (1915–1925), 1922, pp. 364–384.

“Paul Kupka. “Neue aufschlußreiche Schönfelder Gräber von Kleim