Hallstatt A-B1

  General Description   The Hallstatt culture, named after an archaeological site in Austria and traditionally divided into four phases, was the main cultural complex in Western Europe during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. It coincides with the North Alpine complex, extending over modern-day central and southern Germany, northern Italy, and Switzerland. ^[1]
Population and political organization
Across Europe, thousands of small-scale polities coexisted in the Hallstatt A period (c. 1100-1000 BCE); ^[2] the average independent political unit controlled a zone with a radius of 20 kilometres. ^[3] Most settlements identified archaeologically consisted of dispersed farms gravitating around a significant monument, a village or a fortification. ^[4]
At this time, elites had control over long-distance exchange networks, which encouraged the production of bronze objects such as helmets. ^[5] These elites also distinguished themselves in death, as they were buried in elaborate complexes of tumuli, which could include protective walls, stone markers and even four-wheeled wagons. ^[6]

[1]: (Brun 1995, 14) Brun, Patrice. 1995. “From Chiefdom to State Organization in Celtic Europe.” In Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems in Prehistoric Europe, edited by Bettina Arnold and D. Blair Gibson, Cambridge University Press, 13-25. Cambridge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RZWRCEPH.

[2]: (CNRS-ENS 2017) CNRS-ENS. 2017. “Atlas de L’âge Du Fer.” Accessed July 7. http://www.chronocarto.ens.fr/gcserver/patlas. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HUKZMF9J.

[3]: (Brun 2007, 381) Brun, Patrice. 2007. “Une Période de Transition Majeure En Europe: De La Fin Du IVe Au Début Du IIe s. Av. J.-C.(La Tène B2 et C).” In La Gaule Dans Son Contexte Européen Aux IV e et III e Siècle Avant Notre Ère, edited by Christine Mennessier-Jouannet, Anne-Marie Adam, and Pierre-Yves Milcent, 377-84. Lattes: Edition de l’Association pour le Développement de l’Archéologie en Languedoc-Roussillon. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/D2ET47FZ.

[4]: (Brun 1995, 15) Brun, Patrice. 1995. “From Chiefdom to State Organization in Celtic Europe.” In Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems in Prehistoric Europe, edited by Bettina Arnold and D. Blair Gibson, Cambridge University Press, 13-25. Cambridge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RZWRCEPH.

[5]: (Allen 2007, 119) Allen, Stephen. 2007. Lords of Battle: The World of the Celtic Warrior. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/F9D9PI8A.

[6]: Pare, Christopher FE. 1992. Wagons and Wagon-Graves of the Early Iron Age in Central Europe. Vol. 35. Oxford: Oxford University School of Archaeology. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XPKX7SNP.