STUDIA HERCYNIA XXIII/2, 22–35
Tes ing Reinecke’sch onology o he Ea ly B onze Age wi h
adioca bon da ing– New e idence om Sou he n Ba a ia
Ken Massy– Philipp W. S ockhamme
ABSTRACT
In his a icle we p esen ac i ical iew o he cu en ch onological amewo k o Ea ly B onze Age bu ials
om Sou he n Ba a ia, by using adioca bon da ing o e ‑examine Paul Reinecke’s ela i e ch onological
classi ica ion sys em. We also examine ch onological di isions es ablished by o he schola s based on his
sys em. The esul s o ou s udy show acomplex pa e n o local g oups app op ia ing new ypes o s yles o
objec s om o he s, which hen in luences he imeline o he appea ance o such ype objec s. Ou indings
show ha e e y egion had i s own socio ‑cul u al his o y wi h asligh ly di e en ch onology.
KEYWORDS
Radioca bon da ing; Sou he n Ba a ia; Lech Valley; Ea ly B onze Age; bu ials.
INTRODUCTION
Paul Reinecke’swo k on he ch onological amewo k o he Ea ly B onze Age (Reinecke 1902;
1924) in Cen al Eu ope was he beginning o along ‑las ing deba e ega ding how bes o pu
diagnos ic ype objec s in o ala ge amewo k and a ange hem in ch onological o de . A
he ime he unde ook his in es iga ions, he numbe o a chaeological con ex s ha could
be e alua ed was qui e small, so he had o use si es om ala ge geog aphic a ea. This was
one o he easons why schola s om all o e Eu ope s a ed o es ablish hei own sys ems
mos ly based on Reinecke’s ela i e ch onological di isions, so ha hei pa icula sys ems
would be be e calib a ed o hei unique locale.
The ch onological amewo k used in cu en esea ch on he Ea ly B onze Age in Sou he n
Ba a ia is s ill based on Paul Reinecke’ssys em, bu i has been adjus ed se e al imes wi h di ‑
e en me hods and wi h ega ds o a ious ma e ials. In summa y, wo schemes ha e e ol ed:
one e lec ing Reinecke’sbisec ion (B A1 and B A2; Reinecke 1924) wi h sub ‑di isions (e.g.
Ruckdeschel 1978, 293–304; Inne ho e 2000, 18–19, 239–241), and he o he di iding he
Ea ly B onze Age in o h ee pa s based on cul u al de elopmen s ha could be seen in he
Danubian koiné (e.g. Ch is lein 1964; S ein 1976, 62–63, 80; Möslein 1998; Da id ‑Elbiali–
Da id 2009, esp. ig. 11).
Since he 1980s, ahuge numbe o Ea ly B onze Age bu ials ha e been disco e ed in he
hea land o Paul Reinecke’sdomain in he cou se o la ge ‑scale escue exca a ions. Fo ou
p ojec , which was unded by he Heidelbe g Academy o Sciences wi hin he WIN ‑Kolleg
P og am ‘Times o Uphea al: Changes o Socie y and Landscape a he Beginning o he B onze
Age’, one subs an ial goal was o es ablish ach onological amewo k based on adioca bon
da es ha would help o cla i y he ime ‑based cul u al changes wi hin he esea ch a ea. We
analysed 136 indi iduals da ing o he Ea ly B onze Age and ea ly Middle B onze Age in he
Lech Valley, ele en om he ceme e y in Singen (Lake Cons ance) and ou om he ceme‑
e y in Al enma k (Gäuboden). Ou indings challenge he long ‑ e m unde s anding o he
23KEN MASSY– PHILIPP W. STOCKHAMMER
ch onological sequence o echnological changes in his a ea and he socie al changes ha came
wi h hem.1 In he ligh o ou indings, he di ision in B A1 wi h shee me al objec s and B
A2 wi h cas a e ac s in pa icula , as well as he ansi ion o he Middle B onze Age, mus
be pa ially e ised and econside ed. The aim o his wo k was no o disc edi he elabo a e
ypo ‑ch onological wo k done by esea che s in he pas wi h a sigh edness, bu o make
people awa e o he p oblems ha occu when combining ela i e ch onological phases wi h
absolu e da es. Radioca bon da ing has become much mo e p ecise o e he las ew decades.
This allows i o be used as apowe ul ool o add ess hese p oblems, and o po en ially sol e
hem wi h new scien i ic me hods (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Compila ion o he same adioca bon age wi h h ee de ia ions di e ing in p ecision. The
i s one (± 26 yea s) complies wi h he a e age de ia ion o he Augsbu g sample se (G aphic:
Ken Massy).
RESULTS OF RADIOCARBON DATING
All adioca bon da es p esen ed in his s udy we e ob ained om inhuma ion bu ials spanning
he pe iod om he Co ded Wa e Complex ill he beginning o he Middle B onze Age, mos
o hem om he Lech Valley (Fig. 2). F om he beginning o he Bell Beake pe iod, small
bu ial g ounds we e ounded. Ceme e ies g ew la ge h oughou he Ea ly and Middle B onze
Age wi h up o 73 indi iduals pe si e. In his pape , we concen a e on he adioca bon da es
ob ained om bu ials belonging o he Ea ly B onze Age (EBA).
We conduc ed Bayesian modelling o he Bell Beake pe iod and he EBA, wi h he assump‑
ion ha he bu ials assigned o he Bell Beake pe iod we e ea lie han he bu ials assigned
o he EBA. The esul s e y clea ly showed ha he e has nei he been asigni ican o e lap
no ahia us be ween he wo pe iods. The EBA bu ials s a ed a ound 2140 BC.This is he da e
om which Reinecke’sphase B Abegins no only in he Lech Valley, bu also u he wes .
Analysis ecen ly pe o med on ma e ial om he ceme e y o Singen shows he same esul s
(S ockhamme e al. 2015, 8, ig. 5).2
The idea o pu ing a e ac s in ach onological o de has o en led o an e olu ionis ic no‑
ion o how objec s ha e changed in shape and o namen a ion as well as in he echnique wi h
which hey a e made. These p econcei ed no ions we e hen used o de e mine ype objec s
o speci ic ch onological phases. Fo many objec s o he EBA, he heo ies ega ding how
objec ypes would con inuously e ol e has p o en o be co ec . Good examples a e pendan s
1 Fo sampling s a egy and sampled si es o he Lech Valley see: S ockhamme e al. 2015, 4, ig. 2;
Knippe e al. 2017, 10087–10088. Fo sampled bu ials o Al enma k see: Massye al. 2018.
2 E en in neighbou ing egions, e.g. he Wes e n Ca pa hian Basin, he end o he Bell Beake Complex
could be de e mined ia adioca bon da ing o be a ound 2150 BC (Szabó 2017, 107).
24 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXIII/2
made o boa usks o he Final Neoli hic, which we e hen eplaced by me al shee pendan s
o alunula shape, copying he boa usk pendan s o he p eceding pe iod (Be emes– Heyd
2015, 569, ig. 5). In a hi d phase, he o namen s which cons i u ed he adi ional elemen o
hese objec s we e ans e ed o me al shee discs and eo de ed due o he new shape. The
adioca bon da es con i m he ela i e ‑ch onological o de o hese phases (Fig. 3).3
3 The adioca bon da es om Schwabmünchen ‑Mi els e en we e conduc ed and inanced as pa
o he DFG ‑p ojec (ME 3372/6–1) ‘Ein auße gewöhnliches G ab de F ühb onzezei mi Zinnpe len
aus Baye isch ‑Schwaben’ unde he di ec ion o Ca ola Me zne ‑Nebelsick (Ludwig ‑Maximilian‑
‑Uni e si y Munich).
Fig. 2: Sum calib a ions o ceme e ies and adioca bon da ed single bu ials om he Lech Valley.
CW: Co ded Wa e, BB: Bell Beake , EBA: Ea ly B onze Age MBA: Middle B onze Age (G aphic:
Ken Massy).
25KEN MASSY– PHILIPP W. STOCKHAMMER
Fig. 3: Radioca bon da es o bu ials om he Bell Beake pe iod ( op) and Ea ly B onze Age
(o he s) om he Lech Valley associa ed wi h pendan s and me al shee pla es (G aphic: Ken
Massy).
REGIONALITY AS APROBLEM FOR WIDE RANGE RELATIVE CHRONOLOGY
Pins and hei classi ica ion ha e been one o he main ools used o de ine he ch ono‑
logical phases o he EBA. They a e a ypical g a e good and he e o e a e o en ound in
combina ion wi h o he objec s. Howe e , one main issue is ha mos o he bu ials con ain
only one single pin, making i almos impossible o de elop acombina ion s a is ic solely
based on pins. The de ini ion o he ela i e ch onological phases and sub ‑phases has been
de eloped and e ined by many schola s (e.g., W. Ruckdeschel, W. Da id, F. Inne ho e , e c.).
Such schola s ha e used he nomencla u e de eloped by Reinecke ‘B A1’ and ‘B A2’ o e e
o EBA phases and use pins as acen al indica o o assign hese ch onological phases. The
phase B A1 is gene ally di ided in o wo, namely B A1a and BzA1b, which ideally should
e lec successi e phases.
We can es he assump ion ha he objec s assigned o hese wo phases a e consecu i e
by using he adioca bon da es o bu ials wi h pins om B A1a and B A1b in o aBayesian
model (Fig. 4).4 The ag eemen indices o he single da es nea he end o phase B A1a and a
he beginning o B A1b a e a below 60, as is he alue o he en i e model (A: 5). This means
ha as ic sequence is no plausible, e en i i is he case ha some o he sub ‑phase B A1b
pins we e in use longe han he ones om B A1a.5
4 Fo he de ini ion o he pin ypes and hei ela i e da ing see S ockhamme e al. 2015, 8.
5 The discussion o he indi idual da es and measu emen s is discussed in de ail in Massy 2018.
26 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXIII/2
Fig. 4: Bayesian modelling o an
assumed sequence o B A1a
and B A1b pin ypes
(G aphic: Ken Massy).

27KEN MASSY– PHILIPP W. STOCKHAMMER
This inding cons i u es he co e o ou challenge o P.Reinecke’s ela i e ch onological
classi ica ion sys em. I we ake aclose look a dis ibu ion maps om pins a ibu ed o he
sub ‑phases B A1a (e.g. K ause 1988, ig. 25– paddle headed pins) and B A1b (K ause 1988,
ig. 34– pins o he ype Ho kheim; Ge lo 1993, ig. 3– loop headed pins), some in e es ing
obse a ions can be made. The dis ibu ion o pins om bo h ela i e ‑ch onological ‘sub‑
‑phases’ e eal a eas whe e only B A1a ypes could be ound, e en when he o al numbe
o bu ials in ha e y egion was e y high (e.g. he Munich G a el Plain o he Nö dlinge
Ries). When he e is ahigh numbe o bu ials, one would expec o ind bu ials belonging o
bo h ime pe iods, including B A1b (Pl. 2/1).
Pins a e no he only objec ha has been used o es ablish ela i e ‑ch onological o de s.
Ce ain coppe a e ac s ha we e pa o headd esses wo n by women p e iously seemed o
i in he Reinecke sys em. Spi al ‑ u uli we e ch onologically di ided by hei size, such ha
he smalle and cone ‑shaped ones ( ype Zamdo ) we e assigned o B A1a, and la ge ones
wi h aspike in he middle ( ype Eisens o ) we e assigned o B A1b and A2a (Ruckdeschel
1978, 189; Böhm– Möslein 2003, 67; Da id 2015, 91). The same di ision was assumed o me al
shee ubes, whe e size was seen as an indica o ha he objec belonged o an ea ly o la e
ime pe iod. Howe e , aking he dis ibu ion o hese objec s (Pl. 2/2) and he adioca bon
da es om he ele an g a es in he Lech Valley (Fig. 5) in o accoun , he same esul eme ges
as we ha e p e iously discussed wi h pins. The objec ypes a e dis ibu ed in geog aphically
dis inc pa e ns, a he han showing ach onological o de .
Compa ing he communi ies o he Lech Valley (Lechg oup) wi h hose o he Munich
G a el Plain (Isa g oup), he p e iously men ioned di e ences can be summed up as ollows:
in he Lechg oup, pins assigned o bo h ela i e ch onological sub ‑phases (B A1a and A1b) a e
well ep esen ed, whe eas he bu ials om he Isa g oup lack pins assigned o phase B A1b.
Howe e , he lack o B A1b pins is no due o alack o bu ials in he Isa g oup da ing o he B
A1b ime pe iod. I a he shows ha pins o he B A1a ype we e s ill being placed in o g a es
in ha egion a a ime when inhabi an s o he Lech Valley we e al eady choosing o he ypes
o pins, he B A1b ype, as bu ial goods. The examples o he spi al ‑ u uli and long me al shee
ubes u he ein o ce his inding. This indica es ha we ha e o be awa e o mic o ‑ egional
di e ences in bu ial cus oms when so ing ype objec s in o a ela i e ch onological o de .
A ecen ly published compila ion o adioca bon da es o eyele pins– p e iously unan‑
imously assigned o he ela i e ch onological phase B A2a (Ruckdeschel 1978, 127–130,
299–300; Ruckdeschel 1985, 168; Da id 1998, 113–117; Böhm– Möslein 2003, 63; Ba elheim
1998, 65; Laue mann 2003, 558–561, 614–618)– om he ‘Ci cumha ze G uppe’ in Cen al
Ge many illus a es ano he p oblem wi h he exis ing ela i e ch onological o de (Knoll–
Melle 2016, 296, ig. 11). This ype o pin has been seen as decisi e o de ining he s a o B
A2 in asup a ‑ egional con ex . Fi e o he i een adioca bon da es om bu ials wi h eyele
pins in Cen al Ge many (g oup 1) ha e 2‑sigma anges om a ound 2030–1900 BC, while
he o he ones da e o a ound 1900–1700 BC.Compa ing hese adioca bon da es wi h hose
o pin ypes assigned o B A1 om he Lech Valley, one inds inconsis encies in he iming o
he change om B A1 and A2, ac ucial u ning poin in Reinecke’ssys em. The as majo i y
o absolu e da es o B A1 (aand b) pin ypes in he Lech g oup alls wi hin his pla eau in
he calib a ion cu e om 2040–1880 BC and can he e o e be seen as con empo aneous wi h
he ea ly examples o eyele pins o he ‘Ci cumha ze G uppe’ (S ockhamme e al. 2015, 26
ig. 6).6 Fu he mo e, he la e da es o B A1b pins o he Lech g oup a e mo e ecen han
6 The same could also be ecognised ega ding he adioca bon da es o loop headed pins om he
ceme e y P ague ‑Miško ice in Cen al Bohemia (E née 2015, ig. 174).
28 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXIII/2
he ea ly B A2a pins om Cen al Ge many (Fig. 6). The da es o B A2a (b) pins om he
Lech Valley (eyele pins, slee e ‑headed pins and pins wi h sphe ical heads) a e he same as
he mo e ecen da es o hei no he ly coun e pa s.
The eyele pin, in gene al, hus canno be aken as a ype objec o he ela i e ch onological
phase o B A2a.7 Howe e , amo e de ailed classi ica ion o eyele pin ypes, especially based
on hei o namen a ion, es ablished by F. Knoll and H. Melle has shown ha eyele pins can be
subdi ided in o h ee majo ch onologically dis inc g oups. The mos ecen g oup (g oup 3:
ca. 1900–1700 BC) has ho izon al lines on he necks o he pins (Knoll– Melle 2016, ig. 12).
7 Fo ada ing o eyele pins in phase B A1b see: Knoll– Melle 2016, 297.
Fig. 5: Radioca bon da es o bu ials and hei sum calib a ion om he Lech Valley associa ed wi h
small and la ge spi al ‑ u uli as well as long me al shee ubes (G aphic: Ken Massy).
29KEN MASSY– PHILIPP W. STOCKHAMMER
One o hese was ound in bu ial 37 ( ea u e 119) in he ceme e y o Kleinai ingen – Gewe ‑
begebie No d in he Lech Valley and could be da ed o 1883–1737 BC (88.3%) and 1716–1696 BC
(7.1%). This ma ches pe ec ly wi h he da es o eyele pins om Cen al Ge many, app ox‑
ima ely 1900–1700 BC.So a , no eyele pins ha ma ch Knoll’sand Melle ’sea lie g oups 1
and 2 ha e been ound in Sou he n Ge many (Knoll– Melle 2016, ig. 8b),8 which is likely
he eason o a ela i e ‑ch onological da ing o eyele pins in his a ea o he B A2 phase.
We now know ha adioca bon da es o B A1 pin ypes om he Lech g oup also all on o
he pla eau o he calib a ion cu e a e 1880 BC and ha he e a e ce ainly B A2a pins om
he ‘Ci cumha ze G uppe’ whose 2‑sigma anges o he adioca bon da es end be o e his
calenda da e. A he same ime, i is clea ha eyele pins show a ime ‑based e olu ion ha
s a s in he Úně ice Cul u e, when B A1 pin ypes in Sou he n Ge many we e mos com‑
mon. The pin ypes cu en ly classi ied as B A1 and B A2 can hus be pa ly seen as di e en
exp essions/p e e ences in used/deposi ed a e ac s a he same ime in di e en egions,
a he han indica ions o objec i ely sequen ial ime pe iods.
The small ceme e y o Al enma k ‑Am S ad wald a he eas e n bo de o he Danube
G oup is ano he example ha highligh s he issue o egionali y as ap oblem o ela i e
ch onological da ing. Fou indi iduals we e adioca bon da ed and all o he measu emen s
showed su icien collagen p ese a ion abo e 3%. G a e 6 con ained apin wi h ape o‑
a ed and sphe ical head (sch ägdu chloch e Kugelkop nadel) o he Ma zhausen ype, which
was o me ly assigned o he ela i e ch onological phase B A2a–b (Da id 1998, 118). Two
pins wi h ape o a ed and sphe ical head and wis ed sha o he Malching/Langquaid
ype we e ound in g a es 8 and 10. These ypes o pins a e cha ac e is ic o he phase B
A2b (Da id 1998, 118–119). Su p isingly, he adioca bon da es show once mo e whe e he
limi s o ela i e ch onology lie. The 2‑sigma anges o he mo e ecen adioca bon da es
o he g a es (g a es 6, 7, 10) end be o e 1680 BC, and he e o e canno close he gap o he
Middle B onze Age (beginning a ound 1600–1550 BC), e en i pins assigned o phase B
A2c a e no p esen in he ceme e y (Fig. 7; Ha ne – Su e 2003, 337; Mülle – Loh ke
2009, 28–32; Da id 2015, 106–107; Inne ho e 2013, 448–449). E en mo e impo an a e
he ea ly da es assigned o he indi idual and accompanying g a e in en o y om g a e
8. The 2‑sigma ange o his pa icula da e spans om a ound 2020–1880 BC and alls
8 The eyele pins o he mos ecen g oup (g oup 3) co esponds o ‘ ype 1’ in he dis ibu ion map.
Fig. 6: Sum calib a ions o B A1a ( op) and B A1b (middle) pin ypes om Sou he n Ba a ia and
sum calib a ion o eyele pins om Cen al Ge many (bo om) (da a o eyele pins: Knoll–
Melle 2016, 308–355; g aphic: Ken Massy).
30 STUDIA HERCYNIA XXIII/2
on o he s eep pa o he calib a ion cu e be o e he pla eau om 1880–1770 BC.This
indica es ha he B A2b ‑ ype pin is ac ually con empo aneous wi h some B A1‑pins om
Sou he n Ba a ia.
Fig. 7: Radioca bon da es o he bu ials om Al enma k , Am S ad wald (G aphic: Ken Massy).
The adioca bon da ed pins om he ceme e y a Al enma k a e in e es ing in and o hem‑
sel es, and when aking he dis ibu ion o hose pin ypes in o accoun , he same p oblem
eme ges as was p e iously desc ibed in ela ion o eyele pins (Fig. 8). Pins wi h sphe ical
and pe o a ed heads o he Ma zhausen ype a e well known in many pa s o Ea ly B onze
Age Sou he n Ba a ia, Bohemia, and Mo a ia, whe eas hose wi h wis ed sha s (Malching/
Langquaid ype) show adi e en dis ibu ion, wi h mos o he inds being loca ed along he
Danube Ri e . In he case o he ‘S aubing Cul u e’ in Sou he n Ba a ia, only he Danube
g oup has asu icien numbe o g a es wi h a e ac s assigned o phases B A1 and B A2 (b
and c) o ca y ou a ela i e ch onological compa ison. In he o he pa s o Sou he n Ba a ia,
such a ela i e ‑ch onological compa ison o ype a e ac s om hose wo phases is no eally
possible, because o he insu icien amoun o pins.
GRAVE GOODS AND BURIAL CUSTOMS AS APROBLEM/CHANCE FOR RELATIVE
CHRONOLOGY IN THE LATER EBA
The ceme e y o Kleinai ingen ‑Gewe begebie No d is c ucial o unde s anding he di icul ies
aced when es ablishing ach onological amewo k based on ypo ‑ch onology. In Fig. 2, he
long occupancy o he g a eya d is isible wi h he 2‑sigma anges o he da es o he mos
ecen g a es eaching 1500 BC.F om a ypo ‑ch onological poin o iew, on he o he hand,
he bu ials would ha e da ed om he B A1 (a) phase (Rude kop nadel/pin wi h paddle ‑shaped
head) o he B A2a o B A2b phase (pin wi h pe o a ed sphe ical head ype Ma zhausen)
a he la es (Da id 1998, 118–119; Da id 2015, 100). I s main pe iod o occupancy would ha e
been assigned o he sub ‑phase B A1b, which adi ionally would no ha e been la e han
1950 BC (Ha ne – Su e 2003, 337; Da id 2015, 92).
221PLATES
Pl. 2/3: Radioca bon da es o Ea ly B onze Age (g een) and Middle B onze Age ( ed and yellow)
wi h hei 1‑sigma ange and median plo ed on o he calib a ion cu e (G aphic: Ken Massy).