The Bell Beaker Phenomenon in Europe: A harmony of difference

REVIEW BY OLIVIER LEMERCIER To begin with, the Bell Beaker referred only to a small ceramic cup with a very recognisable morphology and decoration. In burials, this drinking vessel was often associated with weapons (particularly daggers and archery equipment) and sometimes copper and gold ornaments. As early as the 19th century, these objects were being unearthed in many regions of Europe. The nature of this diffusion – datable to the Neolithic–Bronze Age transition in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC – as well as its origin have been debated ever since, without reaching a real consensus. The result is a Bell Beaker that remains ‘an enigma’, sometimes considered ‘one