Kings of Bronze Age Europe: The Únětice Culture

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Over four thousand years ago in the early bronze age, great princes emerged to rule over central Europe. They controlled copper and tin production, creating vast amounts of bronze that made them rich. These powerful rulers also facilitated the amber trade along the so-called Amber Road, transporting the precious material from the Baltic to the civilisations of the Near East. They were so rich they could afford grand burials beneath enormous barrows, their tombs laden with gold weapons and jewellery. To protect their wealth they had standing armies of axe wielding warriors and officers bearing halberds and huge daggers. And they created the incredible Nebra Sky Disc, oldest depiction of astronomical phenomena in the world. This is the story of the Únětice Culture.

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Sources

The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age: https://amzn.to/3ZXIGh0
Papac et al, Dynamic changes in genomic and social structures in third millennium BCE central Europe (2021)
Haral Meller, Princes, Armies, Sanctuaries the Emergence of Complex Authority in the Central German Únětice Culture (2019)
Penske et al, Kinship practices at the early bronze age site of Leubingen in Central Germany (2024)
Nicklisch et al, Bioarchaeological investigations of the princely grave at Helmsdorf attesting to the violent death of an Early Bronze Age leader (2022)
André Spatzier, The enclosure complex Pömmelte–Schönebeck (2019)
Pavol Jelínek, Interpretation possibilities of the so-called collective graves in the milieu of the Únětice culture

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Thank you

Ancient Europeans for use of artwork:   / ancienteuropea1  
Únětice village reconstruction by Filip Ševčík: https://www.artstation.com/seva_3d

Video Chapters

00:00 The Únětice Culture
02:32 MyHeritage
04:20 Origins of the Únětice Culture
07:45 Houses and settlements
09:00 Únětice burial traditions
10:05 DNA and Family Structure
10:58 Pömmelte “Germany’s Stonehenge”
13:04 The Princely Graves
16:52 Bronze Hoards
22:22 Trade and the Amber Road
24:52 Early Bronze Age Europe
26:39 the Nebra Sky Disc
28:09 The Únětice legacy