6. Who were the Beaker people? What was distinctive about their graves?

Return to *History 8 The End of the Stone Age Video Notes

The Beaker people were immigrants who were named for their pottery that was the first pottery to be in the shape of a beaker, made to drink beverages. Unlike Neolithic people, they buried their dead in inddividual graves with grave goods inside, rather than having a grave for multiple people. They brought the art of smelting to Europe and also had pack horses. They mixed tin and copper to make bronze, which was a huge step forward in making tools.

Sources: End of the Stone Age Video Notes

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol1/pp36-41

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/research/directory/beaker-people-parkerpearson

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/57200/Beaker-folk

Bryan Trammell