The history of the analysis and classification of British Beakers between I870-I960

is toa well known to need any lengthy restatemenJ here. This complex 'tradition' has

been summarised and restated i

,

n a more modem guise by Professor Piggott in his

recent paper (I963). All that I wish to do at this stage is to emphasise four salient

features underlying the current classification of British Beaker material:

i. Abercromby's scheme of 'A, B, C,' beaker groups (Abereromby, I9I2, p. I8) was

based on the "excellent" system of division by shape variation devised by Thumam

(I87I). The British Beakers were basically separated into three groups according to

their shape alone - "ovoid cups with recurved rims", "low brimmed cups" and "high

brimmed cups". Thurnam's 'eventually Piggott's 'Long neck, Bell and Short neck' Beaker groups. In these schemes

the decoration, motifs and zonal styles of the Beakers are not integrated into the

process of classification, merely being described for the classes aiready defined by

shape alone. This faet makes these schemes, or rather scheme, completely at variance

with modem ethnological/archaeological thought.