Baalberge group

The Baalburge group is a variant of the Funnelbeaker culture, ca. 3800—3500 BC, of the upper and central Elbe River catchment.

It has been pointed to as an intrusive hybrid culture deriving ultimately from the steppe, and within the context of the Kurgan hypothesis as put forth by Marija Gimbutas and her followers, it is therefore a presumptively Indo-European-speaking culture.

Their remains are entirely from inhumations, of which about 200 are known. These were in barrows, which could include multiple later insertions. The primary grave could be in a stone cist, with hybrid grave offerings; typical corded ware pottery is found with examples from the more easterly and southerly Baden culture as well as the Bodrogkersztúr culture. The body is alleged to have been in a typically "Yamna" position, that is, flexed on their right side. These gravesites often display reuse by later cultures, including the Globular Amphora culture and the Unetice culture, but the placement of the hands over the mouth in an eating gesture is alien to authentic kurgan sites.

Further against the identification with the Kurgan culture, is the fact that typical steppe kurgans are not in evidence, and that comparative anatomy suggests the deceased came from a locally derived population, and not from the east. They also do not display the extreme use of ochre found in eastern burials.

Mallory prefers to see this as locally derived.

Notes

ources

*J. P. Mallory, "Baalberge group", "Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture", Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.