High-resolution Bayesian chronology of the earliest evidence of domesticated animals in the Dutch wetlands (Hardinxveld-Giessendam archaeological sites)

Dreshaj, Merita; Dee, Michael W.; Brusgaard, Nathalie; Raemaekers, D.C.M.; Peeters, Hans

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280619

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…A decrease of beaver representation within faunal assemblages can already be observed from the Middle to Late Mesolithic onwards, however, well before this poignant transition. In the Netherlands, sites with the first clear evidence for crop and animal management date to around 4250 BC (Brusgaard et al, in press; Dreshaj et al, 2023) and continue to yield relatively high percentages of beaver remains. While beaver abundances decline later in the Dutch Neolithic, this is the case for wild animals in general, in tandem with the increase of domesticated livestock (Çakirlar et al, 2019; Lauwerier et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The same chronological scheme is applied to Northwestern Europe, where the Early Mesolithic comprises the earlier phase of the Maglemose complex as recently defined for Southern Scandinavia, including Northern Germany, and Britain (Milner et al, 2018a;Sørensen et al, 2018). The Middle Mesolithic is more-orless synonymous with the later phase of Maglemose complex (Groß, 2017), and the Late Mesolithic/Early Neolithic accommodates the Dutch Swifterbant Culture (Dreshaj et al, 2023;Raemaekers and De Roever, 2010) and the Ertebølle complex (EBK) in Southern Scandinavia (Price, 2000(Price, , 2015.…”

Section: Beavers In the Early And Mid-holocene Of Northern Europementioning

confidence: 99%

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Human-beaver cohabitation in the Early and Mid-Holocene of Northern Europe: Re-visiting Mesolithic material culture and ecology through a multispecies lens

Hussain,

Brusgaard

2023

The Holocene

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The Eurasian beaver ( Castor fiber) was an important member of Early and Mid-Holocene landscapes and animal communities in Northern Europe. Previous zooarchaeological research has established the alimentary roles of beavers for Mesolithic societies and their importance for fur procurement. In this paper, we develop an integrated biocultural approach to human-beaver interactions, examining the position of humans and beavers in Mesolithic and Early Neolithic multispecies systems. We contextualize beaver landscape agency in hydroactive environments with human behaviour, synthesizing currently available data on mammalian assemblages, ichtyofauna and beaver-related material culture across Northern Europe. This cross-cultural, diachronic analysis reveals previously overlooked facilitations of human behaviour by beaver practices and ecological legacies. We show that long-term trajectories of human-beaver cohabitation differed between northern European regions. While in Southern Scandinavia, human-beaver intersections witnessed major re-organizations during the Mid-Holocene, beavers retained a key role for human societies across Northeastern Europe throughout much of the Holocene and played an important part at the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Dutch wetlands. Divergent pathways are also evidenced by Mesolithic beaver-related material culture, highlighting the cultural keystone status of Castor fiber in higher latitude European landscapes. We argue that this keystone status is grounded in the supply of human hunting, fishing, and gathering affordances by the animals, pointing to the generative commensality between Mesolithic foragers and their beaver neighbours. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the importance of the beaver in the making of Early and Mid-Holocene forager societies in Northern Europe and illustrate the fruitfulness of deploying an integrated multispecies approach.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Beavers In the Early And Mid-holocene Of Northern Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Human-beaver cohabitation in the Early and Mid-Holocene of Northern Europe: Re-visiting Mesolithic material culture and ecology through a multispecies lens

Hussain,

Brusgaard

2023

The Holocene

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“…Lower Rhine basin ( Fig. 1 A ), where domesticated animals and cultivated cereals appear within the SWB cultural groups at around 4300 BCE ( 16 ) prior to the appearance of exogenous Neolithic material culture [Funnel Beaker (TRB) and Michelsberg] in the 4th millennium cal BCE. b.…”

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confidence: 99%

The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe

Lucquin,

Robson,

Oras

et al. 2023

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the introduction of domesticated animals and plants. Overall, there was surprising continuity in the way that hunter-gatherer-fishers and farmers used pottery. Both aquatic products and wild plants remained prevalent, a pattern repeated consistently across the study area. We argue that the rapid adaptation of farming communities to exploit coastal and lagoonal resources facilitated their northerly expansion, and in some cases, hunting, gathering, and fishing became the most dominant subsistence strategy. Nevertheless, dairy products frequently appear in pottery associated with the earliest farming groups often mixed with wild plants and fish. Interestingly, we also find compelling evidence of dairy products in hunter-gatherer-fisher Ertebølle pottery, which predates the arrival of domesticated animals. We propose that Ertebølle hunter-gatherer-fishers frequently acquired dairy products through exchange with adjacent farming communities prior to the transition. The continuity observed in pottery use across the transition to farming contrasts with the analysis of human remains which shows substantial demographic change through ancient DNA and, in some cases, a reduction in marine consumption through stable isotope analysis. We postulate that farmers acquired the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed from local hunter-gatherer-fishers but without substantial admixture.

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Pottery use across the Neolithic transition in northern Belgium: evidence from isotopic, molecular and microscopic analysis

Teetaert,

Vannoorenberghe,

Van de Velde

et al. 2024

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This study represents the first extensive residue analysis of prehistoric pottery from northern Belgium. It examines pottery use and culinary practices across the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, from the late 6th to the early 4th millennium cal BC. Residue analyses were performed on more than 200 samples from nine archaeological sites, representing different cultural groups from this transitional phase. This includes the analysis of charred food residues encrusted on the vessel surfaces by elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), stereomicroscopic analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), as well as the analysis of absorbed lipids by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). This study provides the first evidence of ruminant dairy fats in Early Neolithic Limburg pottery, supporting the hypothesis that this pottery was produced and used by LBK farmers rather than hunter-gatherer populations. The first indigenous pottery of the Swifterbant culture was frequently used to process freshwater fish (often together with plant foods) and ruminant meat, although several of the studied vessels likely contained mixtures of resources which could also include porcine products. Ruminant dairy is nearly absent from this pottery. Similar results were obtained for pottery of the subsequent Michelsberg culture/Group of Spiere of the late 5th and early 4th millennium cal BC. The limited presence of ruminant dairy fats in this pottery contrasts with the findings for Middle Neolithic pottery from neighbouring regions, providing further evidence for the existence of regional variations in pottery use or culinary practices throughout prehistoric NW Europe. However, our current view of pottery use during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in northern Belgium might be biased by the difficulties in distinguishing between wild and domesticated ruminant adipose fats as well as in detecting plant foods through lipid residue analysis.

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High-resolution Bayesian chronology of the earliest evidence of domesticated animals in the Dutch wetlands (Hardinxveld-Giessendam archaeological sites)

Cited by 4 publications

References 39 publications

Human-beaver cohabitation in the Early and Mid-Holocene of Northern Europe: Re-visiting Mesolithic material culture and ecology through a multispecies lens

Human-beaver cohabitation in the Early and Mid-Holocene of Northern Europe: Re-visiting Mesolithic material culture and ecology through a multispecies lens

The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe

Pottery use across the Neolithic transition in northern Belgium: evidence from isotopic, molecular and microscopic analysis

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