In the Bronze Age between 2400 - 1300 BCE, the industrious Trzciniec people occupied areas of Central-Eastern Europe, such as Poland and parts of Lithuania. Through the centuries migration northward, southern warfare or mingling of tribal or clan groups pushed them up to the coast of the Baltic Sea, where they found the golden treasure and vanished.
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From the 17th century BCE, the mysterious sun stone, amber, made its way from the stormy Baltic shores into the treasuries and gravesites of Pharaohs. Later, Baltic amber traveled to the delighted inhabitants of Greece and the Mediterranean.
After 1300 BCE the Trzciniec people at the Baltic coast merged into the Lustatians. Cultural influences came from the Halstatt and Tumulus groups, both arising as dominant settlements. Before they dispersed into ancient history, the Trzciniec were a vital part of the shifting roles and territories of Bronze Age Europe.
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From 1600 - 1300 BCE the Tumulus to the south were a major power. Warlike and aggressive, they pushed other tribes into migration. The Tumulus culture refers to the people of the South German lands, although they also spread through Czech Republic, Austria, Carpathia, Switzerland and Poland.
The Tumulus are named for the grave mounds or tumuli (sing. tumulus). Although it wasn't the only culture to use burial mounds, it was one of the most distinct societies who did. The Tumulus refer to the south German culture specifically.
From 3000 - 2350 BCE, the areas of Europe and West Asia were the domain of three groups of Corded Ware cultures, so named because of the constructions and decorations of pottery.
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In the central Polish town of Rawa Mazowiecka, a look through the treasury in 1948 revealed a hoard, literally rooms of hidden treasure, from about 600 BCE. Further investigation uncovered an older treasure yet, dating back to Trzciniec origins c. 1700 BCE. Silver and gold have been found in other Trzciniec burial sites too.
The Trzciniec people were upwardly mobile, having chariots and horses to pull them. They used kurgans to bury their dead, mounds similar to the tumuli. A kurgan contained the body, tools, weapons, vessels, ornaments, personal items and sometimes horses.
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Depending on region a kurgan might serve as a grave site or a crematorium. By 1300 BCE two-horse burial sites appeared, linked to the use of chariots. The wooden chariots had spoked wheels. Wheel spokes developed in Anatolia c. 2000.
The Trzciniec people also had skill with metallurgy as evidenced by beautiful bronze work like this. Use of carved antler parts for bridles and bridle decorations also show considerable craftwork.
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In the Bronze Age people like the Trzcieniec drank a lot of sheep and goat milk, which helped strengthen bones, teeth and constitution. They ate less meat than today, with most of their diet being cereals and other products of agriculture.
There was no shortage of healthy foods and the average human diet improved considerably with advances in animal husbandry, crop and vegetable breeding. Life expectancy was 28 to 36 years. Better nutrition is one of the reasons for the early Bronze Age population explosion.
The Trzciniec people lived in semi-pit and surface habitations. They erected outbuildings on pilings for grain storage. Agriculture and animal husbandry was supplemented by hunting and fishing.
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As well as tools and weapons of flint and stone, archaeologists have uncovered a wealth of pottery, bronze decor and jewelry. Flint workshops were discovered at settlement sites. Even in the Bronze Age flint was a favorite stone for blades, tools and arrowheads as it broke with sharp edges and could be formed with simple tools, like rocks.
By the late Bronze Age and the approach of the Iron Age, the Trzcieniec people are around in a small area by the Baltic Sea. The ferocious Baltic storms surely must be conjured by demons, but they left nuggets of golden amber strewn over the beaches and shores, perhaps to be found by these early people.
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As time goes on, the Trzceineic culture is assimilated into other groups, either by sea or land, and vanishes into the nearby Lustatian society or the northern settlements. Meanwhile, the Nordic Bronze Age of Scandinavia, c. 1800, reaches unparalleled heights.
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