The people of west-central Europe (Belgium, eastern France, western Germany and Switzerland) began to bury important and wealthy people under large earth mounds. These earth mounds are called tumuli (or tumulus for one). Valuable goods, jewellery and weapons were buried with the body. Both women and men were buried this way, and they appear to have been religious and political leaders.

The trade of Baltic amber was well developed, with routes along the Rhine-Rhone river system to the Mediterranean coast in southern France, and along the Elbe River, to the Danube, and then over the Swiss passes to northern Italy. Amber, the petrified remains of resin from ancient evergreen trees, was used as a precious gem.

The "Sea Peoples" move into Greece and invade the eastern Mediterranean. These were a sea faring people, part of a great movement of Indo-European people from Asia into Europe. One large branch had moved into Asia Minor and would develop into the Armenian and Persian nations. The other branch would become the Greeks, Italians, Germans and Celts. In any case, the Sea Peoples were not one nation, but consisted of various clans. One group called Philistines settled in the area of modern Lebanon and Israel (Philistine=Palestine). Another group destroyed the Hittite kingdom (which was itself founded by an earlier group of Indo-Europeans) , while another, the Mycenaeans, conquered Crete. Yet another group attacked Egypt, but were defeated.