WHAT IS THE CORDED WARE ?

CORDED WARE: a Late Neolithic pottery ware decorated with twisted cord ornament found over much of north and central Europe in the 2nd half of the 3rd millennium bc. The commonest shapes are the beaker and the globular amphora. The ware is always associated with early agriculture, the stone battle ax, and usually with single burial under a small barrow or kurgan. The ware may derive from Denmark, central Germany (Saxo-Thuringia), eastern Poland, or the Ukraine. The culture received its name from the characteristic pottery. Some groups also had metal artifacts. There is some evidence that Corded ware people had domesticated horses and wheeled vehicles, and they are sometimes interpreted as nomadic groups – possibly Indo-European speaking – who spread across northern Europe from the east. Closely related are the Globular amphora and Funnel beaker cultures.