1 103 C Later farmers @ The richness of hunter-gatherer life encouraged its long survival in much of Europe, but by 3000 BC farming had been widely adopted. Rare waterlogged sites demonstrate both the sophistication of woodland management and the rich diversity of artefacts of these farmers, usually known only from their stone tools and pottery.
#Later farmers, remains of wooden house
2 102 D Europe's first metallurgists @ Simple copper- and gold-working began in the Balkans before 4000 BC; by 3000 a sophisticated industry had developed, producing mainly objects intended to enhance their owners' prestige, which were often deposited in graves. The limited distribution of metal ores was a powerful inducement to the expansion of trade networks.
#first metallurgists, Varna burial material
3 102 B Megaliths @ As populations grew, so did pressure on resources and the need for groups to demonstrate land ownership. In Atlantic Europe this was expressed by building massive stone tombs in prominent locations. In these, representatives of the community were buried over centuries, often after a complex sequence of other mortuary rituals.
#Megaliths, megalithic tomb
4 102 A Beakers @ Around 2500 BC, a distinctive type of pottery, the beaker, appeared in much of Europe, along with other objects, many of them connected with archery. Once believed to indicate the arrival of a new people, these artefacts are now more plausibly interpreted as a widespread fashion conferring prestige on their users.
