beaker
beaker [Ar].Generally, a ceramic or metal drinking vessel of suitable size and shape to hold in the hands. The precise type is normally specified by reference to form or fabric, thus BUTT BEAKER, ROUGH-CAST BEAKER, etc.
Specifically, a kind of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age ceramic vessel characteristic of the BEAKER CULTURE. First defined by Lord ABERCROMBY in the early 20th century ad, beaker pottery, also known as drinking cups by earlier scholars, is distinctive in its range of shapes and style of decoration. Three main forms are recognized—the bell beaker, the short-necked beaker, and the long-necked beaker—each with numerous variations.
Bell beakers are often decorated with twisted cord impressions across the whole outer surface and these are known as all-over-corded beakers (AOC beakers). Where the outer surface...
[The entire page is 416 words long]
