Reconstructing Human-Centered Interaction Networks of the Swifterbant Culture in the Dutch Wetlands: An Example from the ArchaeoEcology Project

In archaeology, palaeo-ecological studies are frequently used to support archaeological investigations, but linking and synthesizing datasets and concepts from ecology, ethnography, earth sciences, and archaeology has historically been rare. While advances in computational approaches and standards of data collection have enabled more collaborative approaches to understanding the past, these endeavors are only now beginning to pick up pace. Here, we propose a method to collect data of these assorted types, synthesize ecological and archaeological understanding, and move beyond subsistence-focused studies to those that incorporate multifaceted economies. We advocate for the use of ‘human-centered interaction networks’ as a tool to synthesize and better understand the role of culture, ecology, and environment in the long-term evolution of socio-ecological systems. We advance the study of human-centered interaction networks by presenting an archaeoecological (archaeological-ecological) perspective on the Neolithic transition of the Swifterbant culture in the northwestern Netherlands (approximately 4700–4000 BCE). We employed network science to better understand the relationships of animal and plant species to the uses that people made of them. The analysis of the Swifterbant system reveals a highly connected set of interactions among people, plants, and animals, as could be expected on the basis of the hypothesis of an ‘extended broad-spectrum economy’. Importantly, this broad spectrum extends beyond the subsistence sphere.

RELIABILITY OF AMS 14C DATES OF MOSS TEMPER PRESERVED IN NEOLITHIC POTTERY FROM THE SCHELDT RIVER VALLEY (BELGIUM)

ABSTRACT Direct dates of pottery obtained from food crusts or other organic residues on the vessel surfaces can be affected by a reservoir effect and/or an old wood effect and therefore be unreliable. Hence, there is a need for alternative ways to directly date pottery. Moss is used as temper by several cultural groups of the late 6th to early 4th millennium cal BC in northwestern Europe. After the pottery is fired, charred moss remains are often preserved in the clay, so that relatively short-lived plant material with a direct chronological link to the pottery and human occupation is available for radiocarbon (14C) dating. In this study, charred moss temper is extracted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating from pottery of the Swifterbant Culture and Spiere group in the Scheldt river valley (Belgium). The moss dates are then compared to reference dates of organic macro-remains from the same sites and food crust dates with or without a reservoir effect of the same pottery. Eleven out of 13 moss dates are in line with the expected pottery age. The paired dates of moss temper and food crusts from the same potsherds confirm a freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) for the latter. We conclude that moss temper has great potential as a sample material for direct pottery dating. However, more research on the extraction and pretreatment of moss temper as well as on the reliability of moss dates is necessary in the future.

Phytolith aided paleoenvironmental studies from the Dutch Neolithic

There is increasing evidence for crop cultivation at sites of the Neolithic Swifterbant culture from ca. 4300 B.C. onwards. Presence of cereal fields at the Swifterbant S2, S3 and S4 sites has been corroborated from micro morphological studies of soil samples. Swifterbant sites with evidence for cultivated plants are still scarce though and only emerging, and have produced very low numbers of charred cereals only. The major aim of our work was to elucidate the environmental background of the Dutch Neolithic site Swifterbant S4 based on the investigation of phytolith remains retrieved from soil samples. In addition to find evidence for crop cultivation independently from other studies. Samples were taken at 1 cm intervals vertically from the soil section at the central profile of site S4. Additional samples were taken from pocket-like structures and adjacent horizons above and below. Pig coprolites yielded an astonishing phytolith assemblage which was compared to that of the soil samples. A pig tooth also yielded evaluable material via detailed investigation using SEM. The evaluation of phytolith assemblages retrieved from the soil horizons plus those ending up in the droppings of pigs feasting in the area enabled to draw a relatively reliable environmental picture of the area. All these refer to the presence of a Neolithic horticulture (cereal cultivation) under balanced micro-climatic conditions as a result of the vicinity of the nearby floodplain. These findings corroborate those of previous soil micro-morphological studies.

Becoming Neolithic. The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition and its impact on the flint and stone industry at Swifterbant (the Netherlands)

The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition is traditionally defined by a change in subsistence strategy. New ideas are picked up, and animal husbandry and cereal cultivation are adopted as hunter-gatherers evolve. This article examines whether these economic changes stand on their own or lead to changes in other aspects of life. The study will illustrate the innovations in the flint and stone industry (including ornaments) during the Swifterbant period (5000–3400 BC). These include changing debitage techniques and preferences, and the abandonment of the micro-burin technique, but also the introduction of grinding stones, polished axes and amber ornaments. The significance of these new features will be investigated as characteristics of the changing identity of the Swifterbant Culture.

The neolithisation of the Scheldt basin in western Belgium

This chapter focuses on the neolithization process in two different landscape zones of the Scheldt basin extending over western Belgium: first, the northern coversand lowland bordering the Atlantic coast; and second, the southern loess area of Middle Belgium. Although the neolithization of both areas seems to have had a different course, there is evidence of continuous and increasing contact and interaction between population groups occupying each region. In the loess hill land, neolithization can be distinguished in two phases, separated by an archaeological hiatus of several centuries. The first phase is related to the arrival of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) and the Groupe de Blicquy (BQY), while the second is connected with the Michelsberg culture (MK) occupation of the area. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine the place of local hunter-gatherers in this process. In the sandy lowland, on the other hand, Mesolithic hunter-gatherers culturally belonging to the Swifterbant culture seem to have survived much longer, probably until the end of the fifth millennium cal bc.