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The Rhône culture was an
The Thun-Renzenbühl axe (), found near
File:Rhodanian knife-MGR Lyon-IMG 9738.jpg
File:Poignard et hache en bronze - Solliès Pont - Var.jpg
File:Vollgriffdolch von Döttingen.jpg
File:Età del bronzo arcaica, pugnali, 2200-1600 ac ca..JPG
File:Rhone 1.jpg
File:Scheibenkopfnadeln.jpg, Dress pins with
archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
of the Early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
(-1500 BC) located in eastern France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and western Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, centred along the Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...
river. The culture developed from the local Bell Beaker culture
The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the beginning of the European Bronze Age, arising from around ...
, possibly with further migrations from central Europe. According to Sergent (1995) the Rhône culture represents a southern variant of the Unetice culture. Rhône culture metalwork and pottery are particularly similar to those of the Straubing group in Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
.
Artefacts and characteristics
The Thun-Renzenbühl axe (), found near Thun
Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...
and attributed to the Rhône culture, is one of the earliest examples of the use of damascening
Damascening is the art of inlaying different metals into one another—typically, gold or silver into a darkly oxidized steel background—to produce intricate patterns similar to niello. The English term comes from a perceived resemblance to t ...
technique in the world. The gold inlay decoration on the axe may also have a numerical, astronomical meaning.
Gallery
sun cross
A sun cross, solar cross, or wheel cross is a solar symbol consisting of an equilateral cross inside a circle. The design is frequently found in the symbolism of prehistoric cultures, particularly during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods of ...
symbol, 2000-1600 BC
File:Bronze pin.jpg
File:Rhône culture bronze armband.jpg
File:Necklace IMG 4995.JPG
File:Età del bronzo,armi e oggetti da una tomba del 1800 ac circa, da thun 02.JPG
File:Età del bronzo,armi e oggetti da una tomba del 1800 ac circa, da thun 04.JPG
File:Età del bronzo,armi e oggetti da una tomba del 1800 ac circa, da thun 03.JPG
See also
*Únětice culture
The Únětice culture, Aunjetitz culture or Unetician culture (, , , ) is an archaeological culture at the start of the Central European European Bronze Age, Bronze Age, dated roughly to about 2300–1600BC. The eponymous site for this culture, t ...
* Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain is an era of British history that spanned from until . Lasting for approximately 1,700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the period of Iron Age Britain. Being categorised as t ...
* Armorican Tumulus culture
* Polada culture
The Polada culture (22nd to 16th centuries BCE) is the name for a culture of the ancient Bronze Age which spread primarily in the territory of modern-day Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino, characterized by settlements on pile-dwellings.
The name der ...
* Pyrenean Bronze
The Pyrenean Bronze (also known as Northeastern Bronze) is a regional European Bronze Age culture, known from archaeological facies, that spread through the Spanish provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Lleida and the eastern half of Huesca; also it sp ...
* Ottomány culture
The Ottomány culture, also known as Otomani culture in Romania or Otomani-Füzesabony culture in Hungary, was an early Bronze Age culture (–1400 BC) in Central Europe named after the eponymous site near the village of Ottomány (), today part ...
* Wietenberg culture
The Wietenberg culture was a Bronze Age Europe, Middle Bronze Age archeological culture in central Romania (Prehistory of Transylvania, Transylvania) that roughly dates to 2200–1600/1500 BCE. Representing a local variant of Usatove culture, ...
* Tumulus culture
The Tumulus culture (German: ''Hügelgräberkultur'') was the dominant material culture in Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age ( 1600 to 1300 BC).
It was the descendant of the Unetice culture. Its heartland was the area previously ...
* Nordic Bronze Age
The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from .
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Late Neolithic Dagger period, which is root ...
References
External links
{{Bronze Age footer Archaeological cultures of Europe Bronze Age cultures of Europe Archaeological cultures in France Bronze Age France