Contrary to the Dutch pattern that considers Rhine Europe as the origin of the Bell Beaker culture, the author places the genesis of the maritime beaker in southern Europe, at the heart of Late Neolithic (or Chalcolithic) cultures. Towards the middle of the 3rd millennium ВС, two areas would thus be distinguished: on the one hand, a western Mediterranean and Iberian sphere with international-style beakers, active metallurgy and collective graves and, on the other, a northern sphere marked by the custom of the individual tomb (cf. also Central Europe) and the permanence of lithic traditions (cf. Grand-Pressigny), perforated axes and large beakers derived from the Corded style. The later spread of the Bell Beaker culture to a large part of Europe hardly changed the burial traditions of the autochthonous substrata. Each wide European area affected by this phenomenon coped with the Bell Beaker process according to its specific codes and values: this statement of fact means that any overall explanation attempts are likely to be dubious.