Origin
The Urnfield culture grew from the preceding tumulus culture. The transition is gradual, in the pottery as well as the burial rites. In some parts of Germany, cremation and inhumation existed simultaneously (facies Wölfersheim). Some graves contain a combination of tumulus-culture pottery and Urnfield swords (Kressborn, Bodenseekreis) or tumulus culture incised pottery together with early Urnfield types (Mengen). In the North, the Urnfield culture was only adopted in the HaA2 period. 16 pins deposited in a swamp in Ellmoosen (Kr. Bad Aibling, Germany) cover the whole chronological range from Bronze B to the early Urnfield period (Ha A). This demonstrates a considerable ritual continuity. In the Loire, Seine and Rhône, certain fords contain deposits from the late Neolithic onwards up to the Urnfield period.
The origins of the cremation rite are commonly believed to be the Balkans, where it was widespread in the eastern part of the Tumulus culture. The neolithic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture of modern day northeastern Romania and Ukraine were also practicing cremation rituals as early as approximately 5,500 BC. Some cremations begin to be found in the Proto-Lusatian and Trzciniec culture.
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