The Púchov culture was an archaeological culture

Archaeological culture

An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...

 named after site of Púchov

Púchov

Púchov is an industrial town in the centre of Púchov District in Slovakia, with a population close to 20,000.-Geography:It is located on the main train line between Bratislava and Košice...

-Skalka in Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

. Its probable bearer was the Celt Cotini

Cotini

Cotini was a Celtic tribe most probably living in today's Slovakia, and in Moravia and southern Poland. They were probably identical or constituted a significant part of the archaeological Púchov culture, with the center in Havránok.The tribe was first time mentioned in 10 BC in the Elogium of...

 tribe. It existed in northern and central Slovakia (although it also plausibly spread to the surrounding regions) between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE. The Púchov culture developed from the Lusatian culture

Lusatian culture

The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age in most of today's Poland, parts of Czech Republic and Slovakia, parts of eastern Germany and parts of Ukraine...

 and it was influenced later by Illyrian culture

Illyrians

The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...

, Celts, and, by the beginning of the Christian era, by Dacians

Dacians

The Dacians were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians. Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia...

. Settlements were situated on moderate hill sides and near streams. The largest known religious, economic, and political center of the Púchov culture was the hill-fort of Havránok

Havránok

Havránok is an important archaeological site in northern Slovakia. It is located on a hill above the Liptovská Mara water reservoir around 2 km from the village of Bobrovník, about halfway between Ružomberok and Liptovský Mikuláš in the Liptov region...

, famous for its traces of human sacrifice. As the result of the Dacian and Germanic tribes expansion at the beginning of the Common Era

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

, the Púchov culture and its settlements started to decline, as its bearers were assimilated into Dacians and other migrating tribes.

Sources

• Bolchazy Ladislaus J., Caplovic Dusan (2006) Illustrated Slovak History: A Struggle for Sovereignty in Central Europe, Publisher: Bolchazy Carducci Pub, ISBN-10: 0865165009, ISBN-13: 978-0865165007