Pomeranian culture

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The Pomeranian culture was an Iron Age culture in Poland. It grew out of the Kashubian group of the Lusatian culture and had its centre between the lower Vistula and the Western coast of the bay of Gdansk in the East and the rivers Słupia and Brda in the West. Burial urns with faces or in the form of houses were very characteristic. The urns were often contained in stone cists. The face-urns have lids in the form of hats, often miniature ear-rings of real bronze are added. The faces are sometimes modelled very naturalistically, and no two urns show the same face. Incised drawings on the urns show hunting scenes, chariot races or riders. Brooches of Tłukom-type and necklaces of multiple bronze rings are typical examples of metal work.

The economy was similar to that of the Lusatian culture. Rye was systematically cultivated for the first time, but still forms a minor component of the cereals. There are less hill forts than in the area of the Lusatian culture further west. Southern imports were sparse as well.

In the later Iron Age, the Pomeranian culture spread West, into the area formerly belonging to the Lusatian, Wysoko- and Milograd cultures. In Masovia and Poland this mixture led to the development of the group with bell-shaped burials (Glockengräbergruppe).