Die Anfnge des kontinentalen Transportwesens und seine Auswirkungen auf die Bolerzer und Badener Kulturen

The earliest finds of wheeled vehicles in northern and central Europe date to 3900-3600 BC. However finds (34003300 BC) from the Bolerz sites of Arbon/Bleiche 3 and Bad Buchau/Torwiesen II, linked to pile-dwelling settlements, indicate methods of transport typical for higher altitudes (slides, sleds, etc.). The Bolerz and Baden cultures overlap in the Carpathian Basin between 33003000 BC and this period seems to have produced transport models that parallel finds in todays Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and other regions. These suggest that generally the Bolerz settlers inside the Carpathian Basin did not know, or use, the wheel in the fullest sense. Cart and wheel forms are indicated only from Grave 177 at Budakalsz (28002600 BC). The Hungarian Baden finds follow the Danube and to the East there are no certain vehicle remains. It is difficult to tell whether the Bolerz finds are linked to the wider Alpine zone, and the Baden finds are perhaps associated with the mixed-culture sites along the eastern slopes of the Carpathians. The four-wheeled wagon was a development linked to the plains and the Steppes (CucuteniTripolje, Pre-Yamnaja, Yamnaja). The nature of the finds relating to vehicles associated with lake and riverine settlements reveal technical and material features: there is evidence of a high degree of carving, if not decoration, and these communities pointed the way for future skills and developments in wheel and cart/wagon manufacture.