The Jastorf culture is an Iron Agematerial culture in northern Europe, dated from about 600 BC to 1. It is named after a site near the village of Jastorf, Lower Saxony. Its area is delimited by the Weser in the West, the Aller in the South, and the Danish Islands in the North. It was part of the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the south Scandinavian cultures further north were closely related to this culture.
The cultures of the Pre-Roman Iron Age (and its predecessor the Nordic Bronze Age) is sometimes hypothesized to be the origin of the Germanic languages. Its geographical distribution seems at least to have corresponded to the West Germanic languages. Its technology for gaining iron ore from local sources may have served as a driver for language spread.
Of all this cultures the Lüneburger group is probably the most direct ancestor of the Jastorfculture, some researchers believe that the Unstrut group was the first Germanic culture but that is still controversial so I will not go much further into that.
The Funnelbeaker culture inhabited roughly the same area as the later Germanic culture, this culture also built the so called "Hunebeds", which were megalithic tombs of large stones covered with earth, the "Funnelbeaker culture" has been named after the funnel-shaped beakers they created.
Some historians believe that the Funnelbeaker culture was an Indo-European culture that was the result of a fusion of the native northern European culture and later Indo-European influences though most historians agree that the Funnelbeaker culture was the native (Pre-Indo-European) culture of northern Europe and that the Indo-European influences started much later.
From the Hallstatt culture, the Iron Age spreads west with the Celtic expansion from the 6th century BC.
In Central Europe, the Iron Age is generally divided in the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture (HaC and D, 800-450) and the late Iron Age La Tène culture (beginning in 450 BC).
Northern Germany and Denmark was dominated by the Jastorfculture, whereas the culture of the southern half of the Scandinavia was dominated by the very similar Nordic Iron Age.
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