Hallstatt (Bronze Age period and culture)

Refers to Late Bronze and Early Iron Age period and culture, dating from around 1100 BCE to around 450 BCE, and evident in central and western Europe. These Halstatt groups were independent of one another, politically, but interconnected by trade, types of tools, housing style, and farming techniques. The culture is named for the cemetery and salt mine at Halstatt, Austria. Burial practices and artistic styles varied at different times and in different areas, but in general the culture is characterized by the development of trade with surrounding areas, and by art that displays symmetrical designs, geometric decoration, bird and plant motifs, and the influence of Italian and possibly Greek art.