Rhône culture

{{Short description|Bronze Age culture in France and Switzerland}}

{{Infobox archaeological culture

|name = Rhône culture

|map = Dagger-P4140344-black.jpg

|mapalt =

|altnames =

|horizon =

|region = Eastern France, western Switzerland

|period = Early Bronze Age

|dates = {{Circa|2200 BC}}-1500 BC

|typesite =

|majorsites =

|extra =

|precededby = Bell Beaker culture

|followedby = Tumulus culture

}}

{{See also|Bronze Age France|Bronze Age Switzerland}}

The Rhône culture was an archaeological culture of the Early Bronze Age ({{Circa|2200}}-1500 BC) located in eastern France and western Switzerland, centred along the Rhône river.{{cite journal |last1=Piccardo |first1=Paolo |date=2020 |title=Metallographic investigation of Early Bronze Age armbands from Western Switzerland (ca. 2200–1500 BC): new highlights about early manufacturing processes |journal=Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences |volume=12 |issue=9 |doi=10.1007/s12520-020-01178-z |s2cid=221183203 |quote=Archaeological studies thoroughly describe the Rhone culture that extends between Eastern France and Western Switzerland along the Rhone River during the EBA (ca. 2200–1500 BC).|doi-access=free |hdl=11567/1060650 |hdl-access=free }}{{cite book |last=Mordant |first=Claude |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hefUAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA404 |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-957286-1 |editor-last1=Harding |editor-first1=Anthony |pages=571–593 |chapter=Chapter 32: The Bronze Age in France |publisher=OUP Oxford |quote=The Rhône culture, in its strictest sense, occupies the Franche-Comté, eastern Burgundy, the northern Alps close to the Swiss Plateau, and the Valais, but a wider definition of this entity could be said to cover the whole of the Rhône Valley, extending even beyond part of the Massif Central (Gallay 1996). The fact remains that certain types of metallurgy or particular characteristics of pottery thought of as ‘Rhodanian’ spread right across eastern and central France and the Rhône corridor. This highlights the significant impact of metal production, which used metal resources from the western Alps during the late part of the Early Bronze Age. |editor-last2=Fokkens |editor-first2=Harry}} The culture developed from the local Bell Beaker culture, possibly with further migrations from central Europe.{{cite web |date=2009 |title=Civilisation du Rhône |url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/010205/2009-12-07/ |website=Dictionaire Historique de la Suisse}} According to Sergent (1995) the Rhône culture represents a southern variant of the Unetice culture.{{Cite book |author=Bernard Sergent |title=Les Indo-Européens. Histoire, langues, mythes |publisher=Payot |year=1995 |isbn=2-228-88956-3 |editor=Payot |editor-first=Catherine |page=416}} Rhône culture metalwork and pottery are particularly similar to those of the Straubing group in Bavaria.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology |chapter=Rhône culture|last=Kipfer |first=Barbara Ann |date=2000 |publisher=Kluwer Academic|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XneTstDbcC0C&pg=PA479 |pages=479 |isbn=9780306461583 |quote=The Rhône culture is the Swiss and east French counterpart of the Early Bronze Age cultures of central Europe. The metalwork and pottery are similar to those of the Straubing group in Bavaria.}}{{cite book |title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology |chapter=Straubing|last=Kipfer |first=Barbara Ann |date=2000 |publisher=Kluwer Academic|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XneTstDbcC0C&pg=PA479|pages=538 |isbn=9780306461583 |quote=Straubing: Early Bronze Age regional variant of the Unetice culture in Lower Bavaria, Germany.}}