Corded Ware Culture

a group of archaeological cultures of the late Aeneolithic period and the Bronze Age in Central and Eastern Europe and of the Neolithic period in Northern Europe. Among the common features shared by the cultures are the pottery, decorated with cord impressions or with hatching resembling cords, as well as polished perforated stone battle axes, (hence the alternate name of the Corded Ware culture—the Battle-ax culture). The cultures also have many differences, and therefore the question of whether they belong to a single ethnic group has yet to be resolved, although it is believed that their bearers were Indo-European tribes, ancestors of the Slavs, Germans, and Baits.