DOI chapter:
Changing Worlds – The Spread of the Neolithic Way of Life in the North
DOI chapter:Raemaekers, Daan C. M.: A singularity in continuity? The transition to farming in northwest Europe (c. 5,000 – 3,500 calBC) re-examined from the perspective of multiculturalism
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66745#0302
Daan Raemaekers
301
The Blatterhohle cave is located about 10 km south
of Dortmund (Germany), in the border zone bet-
ween the central European mountainous area and
the north European plain. It is close to the Ruhr
area, a contributory river to the Meuse - its geogra-
phic location between different landscape zones is
reminiscent of Hude I.
The Blatterhohle cave holds a large number of
human remains dated to the period 9,210-3,020 cal-
BC, from the Early Mesolithic far into the Neolithic
period. Most relevant is the combination of 14C dating,
analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes, and
mitochondrial DNA analysis (Table 2; cf. Bollongi-
no et al. 2013). The analyses made clear that these
variables correlate to a strong degree. The first group
(Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic group 1) holds three
individuals of Mesolithic age (c. 8,800-8,600 calBC)
with mitochondrial DNA typical for European hunt-
er-gatherers (U-haplogroup) and a terrestrial diet. The
second group (Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic group
3) comprises nine individuals dated c. 3,800-3,400
calBC, again within the U-haplogroup. Their isotopic
signals suggest a high intake of freshwater fish. For
individual 8 of this group the genetic build-up was
analysed in more detail, indicating that 72.6 °/o of
its genetic background stem from European hunter-
gatherers (Lipson et al. 2017, extended data table
1). A third group (Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic
group 2) has a similar date (c. 3,900-3,400 calBC)
and genetics, but these three individuals have isoto-
pic signals that suggest that their diet depended on
herbivores, most likely domesticated animals. The
contemporaneity of groups 2 and 3 indicates that
for a period of some 400 years people with similar
genetic backgrounds made use of the cave for their
burials, while in daily life they may have functioned
rather separately, judging from the dietary signals.
A fourth group (Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic
group 2) appears in the second half of the 4th millen-
nium (c. 3,500-3,000 calBC) - these people had a dif-
ferent maternal genetic build-up, if one considers the
haplogroups. In contrast, their paternal ancestry must
have included hunter-gatherer forebears, because for
three of the eight individuals in this group the genetic
background from European hunter-gatherer popula-
tions has been calculated between 39.5 °/o and 51.9 °/o
(Lipson et al. 2017, extended data table 1). These re-
sults indicate a strong mixing of people with different
background at this time. The Blatterhohle data reveal
a complex interplay between genetics and diet. The
question is how unique this dataset is: what evidence
is there of genetic and isotopic variation in the period
and area under study here?
The burial record
The physical anthropology of the burials from the
period 5,000-3,500 calBC has been published in
detail.4 Where the Blatterhohle burials yielded 14C
dates, aDNA, and isotopes, but the burial ritual is
unpublished, the burials from our case study area
hold a different subset of data: 14C dates, isotopes,
and burial ritual. The 5th millennium dataset is rather
uniform in terms of body posture (all buried on their
back) and grave goods (limited to a small number of
beads or pendants from amber, jet, or animal teeth).
The burials from the Hazendonk group (sites Schi-
pluiden and Ypenburg) are more varied in terms of
body posture. Most were buried on their side in a
flexed position, but some were buried in ‘traditional’
fashion on their backs. Burial goods remained sparse
and limited to beads and pendants from amber and
jet. Schipluiden provides an unique spatial pattern as
well: the settlement seems to comprise four contem-
poraneously occupied yards, where all burials were
found at the westernmost yard. It suggests that burial
ritual may have been variable on household level.
Isotopic analyses of strontium and oxygen have
been carried out for ten individuals from Swifterbant
and seven from Schipluiden (see Fig. 1) - it allows
us to identify three individuals with deviant values,
one from Swifterbant and two from Schipluiden, to
be interpreted as non-local individuals. Intriguingly,
two of these three also had different carbon and ni-
trogen values (Fig. 2), suggesting a diet deviant from
the majority, and they are represented in the burial
record with single molars only. The authors conclude
‘it is notable that three of the identified immigrants
(SWH10, SCH6, and SCH7) are represented by iso-
lated molars only, and two of these individuals had
a diet lower in fish than others at these sites. The
sample size is very small, but, as these individuals are
not of local origin, this does raise the possibility that
differences in both diet and attitude towards burial
were associated with cultural identity’ (Smits et al.
2010, 24). Figure 2 also shows one individual from
Polderweg with a deviant low 815N signal - again this
individual is represented by a single bone and is not
one of the formal burials. These correlating results
(origin, diet, and burial ritual) indicate that we need to
reckon with cultural diversity in this period and time.
4 See Raemaekers et al. 2009 for an overview of the 5th
millennium calBC and references to the primary publications.
See Molthof/Baetsen (this volume) for the burials from
Nieuwegein. An overview of the burial record of the 4th millen-
nium cal. BC is provided by Raemaekers 2018.
301
The Blatterhohle cave is located about 10 km south
of Dortmund (Germany), in the border zone bet-
ween the central European mountainous area and
the north European plain. It is close to the Ruhr
area, a contributory river to the Meuse - its geogra-
phic location between different landscape zones is
reminiscent of Hude I.
The Blatterhohle cave holds a large number of
human remains dated to the period 9,210-3,020 cal-
BC, from the Early Mesolithic far into the Neolithic
period. Most relevant is the combination of 14C dating,
analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes, and
mitochondrial DNA analysis (Table 2; cf. Bollongi-
no et al. 2013). The analyses made clear that these
variables correlate to a strong degree. The first group
(Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic group 1) holds three
individuals of Mesolithic age (c. 8,800-8,600 calBC)
with mitochondrial DNA typical for European hunt-
er-gatherers (U-haplogroup) and a terrestrial diet. The
second group (Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic group
3) comprises nine individuals dated c. 3,800-3,400
calBC, again within the U-haplogroup. Their isotopic
signals suggest a high intake of freshwater fish. For
individual 8 of this group the genetic build-up was
analysed in more detail, indicating that 72.6 °/o of
its genetic background stem from European hunter-
gatherers (Lipson et al. 2017, extended data table
1). A third group (Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic
group 2) has a similar date (c. 3,900-3,400 calBC)
and genetics, but these three individuals have isoto-
pic signals that suggest that their diet depended on
herbivores, most likely domesticated animals. The
contemporaneity of groups 2 and 3 indicates that
for a period of some 400 years people with similar
genetic backgrounds made use of the cave for their
burials, while in daily life they may have functioned
rather separately, judging from the dietary signals.
A fourth group (Bollongino et al. 2013: isotopic
group 2) appears in the second half of the 4th millen-
nium (c. 3,500-3,000 calBC) - these people had a dif-
ferent maternal genetic build-up, if one considers the
haplogroups. In contrast, their paternal ancestry must
have included hunter-gatherer forebears, because for
three of the eight individuals in this group the genetic
background from European hunter-gatherer popula-
tions has been calculated between 39.5 °/o and 51.9 °/o
(Lipson et al. 2017, extended data table 1). These re-
sults indicate a strong mixing of people with different
background at this time. The Blatterhohle data reveal
a complex interplay between genetics and diet. The
question is how unique this dataset is: what evidence
is there of genetic and isotopic variation in the period
and area under study here?
The burial record
The physical anthropology of the burials from the
period 5,000-3,500 calBC has been published in
detail.4 Where the Blatterhohle burials yielded 14C
dates, aDNA, and isotopes, but the burial ritual is
unpublished, the burials from our case study area
hold a different subset of data: 14C dates, isotopes,
and burial ritual. The 5th millennium dataset is rather
uniform in terms of body posture (all buried on their
back) and grave goods (limited to a small number of
beads or pendants from amber, jet, or animal teeth).
The burials from the Hazendonk group (sites Schi-
pluiden and Ypenburg) are more varied in terms of
body posture. Most were buried on their side in a
flexed position, but some were buried in ‘traditional’
fashion on their backs. Burial goods remained sparse
and limited to beads and pendants from amber and
jet. Schipluiden provides an unique spatial pattern as
well: the settlement seems to comprise four contem-
poraneously occupied yards, where all burials were
found at the westernmost yard. It suggests that burial
ritual may have been variable on household level.
Isotopic analyses of strontium and oxygen have
been carried out for ten individuals from Swifterbant
and seven from Schipluiden (see Fig. 1) - it allows
us to identify three individuals with deviant values,
one from Swifterbant and two from Schipluiden, to
be interpreted as non-local individuals. Intriguingly,
two of these three also had different carbon and ni-
trogen values (Fig. 2), suggesting a diet deviant from
the majority, and they are represented in the burial
record with single molars only. The authors conclude
‘it is notable that three of the identified immigrants
(SWH10, SCH6, and SCH7) are represented by iso-
lated molars only, and two of these individuals had
a diet lower in fish than others at these sites. The
sample size is very small, but, as these individuals are
not of local origin, this does raise the possibility that
differences in both diet and attitude towards burial
were associated with cultural identity’ (Smits et al.
2010, 24). Figure 2 also shows one individual from
Polderweg with a deviant low 815N signal - again this
individual is represented by a single bone and is not
one of the formal burials. These correlating results
(origin, diet, and burial ritual) indicate that we need to
reckon with cultural diversity in this period and time.
4 See Raemaekers et al. 2009 for an overview of the 5th
millennium calBC and references to the primary publications.
See Molthof/Baetsen (this volume) for the burials from
Nieuwegein. An overview of the burial record of the 4th millen-
nium cal. BC is provided by Raemaekers 2018.