Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between ‘cultural transmission’ and ‘demic diffusion’, many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest ‘urnfields’ can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of the Iron Gates. During the subsequent collapse of the tell system, around 1500 BC, the urnfield model spread into some of the neighbouring regions. The adoption, however, appears more radical in the southern Po plain, as well as in the Sava/Drava/Lower Tisza plains, while in Lower Austria, Transdanubia and in the northern Po plain it seems more gradual and appears to have been subject to processes of syncretism/hybridization with traditional rites. Other areas seem to reject the novelty, at least until the latest phases of the Bronze Age. We argue that a possible explanation for these varied responses relates to the degree of interconnectedness and homophily among communities in the previous phases.

考古学研究目前正在重新定义史前时期大规模的变化是如何发生的。除了“文化传播”和“人口扩散”之间长期存在的理论二分法之外，许多借鉴社会学的替代模型都可以用来解释创新的传播。欧洲青铜时代中晚期瓮场的出现无疑是这些大规模现象之一。传统上通过使用通用术语Urnenfelderkultur/zeit（从公元前 1300 年左右开始）来强调其广泛分布。借助新的证据，我们现在能够绘制出一幅更全面的图景，其中显示了各地区对新丧葬习俗引入的各种反应。最早的“瓮场”可以在匈牙利中部发现，位于公元前 2000 年左右纳吉列夫/瓦蒂亚文化晚期的特尔社区中。从公元前十九世纪开始，瓮场模型就在塞尔维亚东北部、铁门以南的社区中被记录下来。大约公元前 1500 年，在随后的特尔系统崩溃期间，瓮场模型传播到了一些邻近地区。然而，在波河平原南部以及萨瓦/德拉瓦/下蒂萨平原，这种采用似乎更为激进，而在下奥地利、跨多瑙河和波河平原北部，这种采用似乎更加渐进，并且似乎受到了限制。与传统仪式的融合/杂交过程。其他地区似乎拒绝接受新奇事物，至少在青铜时代的最后阶段是这样。我们认为，对这些不同反应的可能解释与先前阶段社区之间的互联性和同质性程度有关。