DOI chapter:
Grenzgänger, traders and the last hunter-gatherers of the North European Plain
DOI chapter:Demirci, Özge; Lucquin, Alexandre; Klimscha, Florian; Craig, Oliver E.; Raemaekers, Daan C. M.: Lipid residue analysis of ceramics from Hüde I (Lower Saxony, Germany): New data to understand the transition to farming
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66745#0062
Stone Age Borderland Experience (MAN 60, 2022, 61-83)
61
Lipid residue analysis of ceramics from Hude I
(Lower Saxony, Germany): New data to understand
the transition to farming
Ozge Demirci, Alexandre Lucquin, Florian Klimscha, Oliver E. Craig and
Daan C. M. Raemaekers
Abstract This project is a pilot study aiming to question the use and function of the pottery from Hude I (4,700-3,500 calBC),
distr. Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany, through lipid residue analysis. The results from this project not only demonstrate
that lipids can be extracted from Hude I vessels, but also indicate that the vessels were directly associated with food prepara-
tion and/or cooking. The results also show a functional variation in pottery use, including processing aquatic (freshwater)
resources, terrestrial animals (both ruminant and non-ruminant), and dairy products as well as possibly food plants.
Keywords Lipid residue analysis, early pottery use, Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, northern central Europe, Hude I
Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag stellt Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie zum Gebrauch und zur Funktion der Ge fa be der Fundstelle
Hude I, Lkr Diepholz, in Niedersachsen, anhand von Lipidanalysen von Krustenresten an Keramik vor. Die Ergebnisse zeigen
nicht nur dass Lipide aus den GefaBen von Hude I extrahiert werden kbnnen, sondern belegen die Verwendung der Keramik
in der Nahrungszubereitung und/oder beim Kochen. Sie demonstrieren zudem eine funktionale Variabilitat im GefaBgebrauch.
Dazu gehbren die Verarbeitung von SuBwasser-Ressourcen, Wildtieren, Milchprodukten und vielleicht auch pfianziicher Nah-
rung.
Introduction
The site of Hude I, distr. Diepholz, Lower Saxony,
plays a key role in the discussion about the neolithisa-
tion of Europe. It is particularly important in refer-
ence to the transition from the Ertebolle culture to
the Funnel Beaker culture in southern Scandina-
via and northern Germany, but also in reference to
the Swifterbant culture chronology that spans the
Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. It maintains this
crucial position thanks to its long occupational
span - on the basis of the discovered ceramic finds,
dated 4,700-3,500 calBC (Raemaekers 1999, 87), the
preservation of bone material, and its location - in-
between the hunter-gatherer and farming communi-
ties (Fig. 1). More recently, researchers have stressed
the need to consider the transition at a regional or sub-
regional scale, moving away from the grand narra-
tives regarding the degree of migration versus au-
tochthonous change that have polarised the debate,
particularly during the latter half of the 20th cen-
tury. In northern Germany, during the majority of
the 5th millennium calBC, hunter-gatherer societies
of the Ertebolle culture to the north in southern
Scandinavia and of the Swifterbant culture to the
west in today’s Dutch wetlands, and early farming
groups such as Linearbandkeramik (LBK) estab-
lished to the south and east of the river Elbe (Fig. 1;
Terberger et al. 2009; Sorensen / Karg 2014) met
and interfaced each other. The contacts between
these hunter-gatherer and early farming groups are
evident by the presence of shared material culture
through exchange, especially of perforated adzes
(‘durchlochte Schuhleistenkeile’) and perforated
wedges (‘Breitkeile’).1
While the earliest Swifterbant pottery appeared
at c. 5,000 calBC (Raemaekers 2011) and was used
in a purely hunter-gatherer context, domesticated
animals and cereal cultivation were introduced
at around 4,400-4,300 calBC (Out 2008; 2009;
1 Fischer 1982; Czekaj-Zastawny etal. 2011; Raemaekers
2011; Raemaekers et al. 2011; Verhart 2012; Povlsen 2014.
61
Lipid residue analysis of ceramics from Hude I
(Lower Saxony, Germany): New data to understand
the transition to farming
Ozge Demirci, Alexandre Lucquin, Florian Klimscha, Oliver E. Craig and
Daan C. M. Raemaekers
Abstract This project is a pilot study aiming to question the use and function of the pottery from Hude I (4,700-3,500 calBC),
distr. Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany, through lipid residue analysis. The results from this project not only demonstrate
that lipids can be extracted from Hude I vessels, but also indicate that the vessels were directly associated with food prepara-
tion and/or cooking. The results also show a functional variation in pottery use, including processing aquatic (freshwater)
resources, terrestrial animals (both ruminant and non-ruminant), and dairy products as well as possibly food plants.
Keywords Lipid residue analysis, early pottery use, Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, northern central Europe, Hude I
Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag stellt Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie zum Gebrauch und zur Funktion der Ge fa be der Fundstelle
Hude I, Lkr Diepholz, in Niedersachsen, anhand von Lipidanalysen von Krustenresten an Keramik vor. Die Ergebnisse zeigen
nicht nur dass Lipide aus den GefaBen von Hude I extrahiert werden kbnnen, sondern belegen die Verwendung der Keramik
in der Nahrungszubereitung und/oder beim Kochen. Sie demonstrieren zudem eine funktionale Variabilitat im GefaBgebrauch.
Dazu gehbren die Verarbeitung von SuBwasser-Ressourcen, Wildtieren, Milchprodukten und vielleicht auch pfianziicher Nah-
rung.
Introduction
The site of Hude I, distr. Diepholz, Lower Saxony,
plays a key role in the discussion about the neolithisa-
tion of Europe. It is particularly important in refer-
ence to the transition from the Ertebolle culture to
the Funnel Beaker culture in southern Scandina-
via and northern Germany, but also in reference to
the Swifterbant culture chronology that spans the
Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. It maintains this
crucial position thanks to its long occupational
span - on the basis of the discovered ceramic finds,
dated 4,700-3,500 calBC (Raemaekers 1999, 87), the
preservation of bone material, and its location - in-
between the hunter-gatherer and farming communi-
ties (Fig. 1). More recently, researchers have stressed
the need to consider the transition at a regional or sub-
regional scale, moving away from the grand narra-
tives regarding the degree of migration versus au-
tochthonous change that have polarised the debate,
particularly during the latter half of the 20th cen-
tury. In northern Germany, during the majority of
the 5th millennium calBC, hunter-gatherer societies
of the Ertebolle culture to the north in southern
Scandinavia and of the Swifterbant culture to the
west in today’s Dutch wetlands, and early farming
groups such as Linearbandkeramik (LBK) estab-
lished to the south and east of the river Elbe (Fig. 1;
Terberger et al. 2009; Sorensen / Karg 2014) met
and interfaced each other. The contacts between
these hunter-gatherer and early farming groups are
evident by the presence of shared material culture
through exchange, especially of perforated adzes
(‘durchlochte Schuhleistenkeile’) and perforated
wedges (‘Breitkeile’).1
While the earliest Swifterbant pottery appeared
at c. 5,000 calBC (Raemaekers 2011) and was used
in a purely hunter-gatherer context, domesticated
animals and cereal cultivation were introduced
at around 4,400-4,300 calBC (Out 2008; 2009;
1 Fischer 1982; Czekaj-Zastawny etal. 2011; Raemaekers
2011; Raemaekers et al. 2011; Verhart 2012; Povlsen 2014.