DOI Kapitel:
Changing Worlds – The Spread of the Neolithic Way of Life in the North
DOI Kapitel:Amkreutz, Luc: A view from Doggerland – interpreting the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the wetlands of the Rhine-Meuse delta (5,500 – 2,500 calBC)
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66745#0319
318
A view from Doggerland - interpreting the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the wetlands of the Rhine-Meuse delta
Fig. 5 A number of skeletal remains
dating to the Mesolithic that yielded iso-
topic information on diet (photo: Rijks-
museum van Oudheden).
these days and includes lithics, faunal remains with
cut marks, as well as bone and antler tools (e. g. Am-
kreutz / Spithoven 2019; see Fig. 4). Among these are
also numerous human remains that potentially date
to the Mesolithic (Fig. 5). These types of secondary
surface finds have often been accused of having little
scientific value due to the absence of contextual infor-
mation. While this is partly true, their often excellent
preservation and quantitative numbers make them
valuable research material. In a recent study (V\.n der
Plight et al. 2016), the human remains from beaches
were combined with those that mainly derived from
fishing nets and all were studied for their isotopes,
both 14C and the stable isotope ratios of carbon o13C
and nitrogen o15N. This C/N value is informative as a
proxy for the (palaeo) diet of individuals in roughly
the last decade of their life. It points out both the tro-
phic level and the aquatic component of freshwater,
or marine resources in the diet. The information is
therefore indicative of the environment, the diet and
behavioural changes therein.
The study comprised 55 specimens, of which 32
had a Mesolithic date. The overall composition of
the C/N ratio indicated that most individuals fell into
the terrestrial / freshwater regime, with only a few
coastal dwellers and a few with an ‘inland’ terrestrial
signal (Van der Plight et al. 2016, 115). This aquatic
signature is readily comparable to that of the Late
Mesolithic wetland site of Hardinxveld (Smits / Van
der Plight 2009) and contrasts with Mesolithic in-
land sites such as those in a study of the Meuse valley
(Bocherens et al. 2007). While we cannot estimate the
effects of differential preservation it is clear that there
is much emphasis on a freshwater aquatic diet, which
ethnographically is one of the richest environments
for hunter-gatherers (Nicholas 2007). Moreover, the
study also mapped the diet signals over time. While
the reservoir effect prevents calculating the dates to
absolute ones, the relative pattern demonstrates that
the diet of the Doggerland inhabitants became more
aquatic over time. Therefore the older dates are more
in line with an inland signal as the coast was not yet
close, while the younger dates are clearly wetland
oriented. These people made use of the extensive
freshwater wetlands and their resources that arose in
front of the encroaching coastline. This development
indicates that the Doggerland inhabitants were very
capable of dealing with changing circumstances by
shifting their diet to aquatic resources. The dynamics
of the landscape and its changes appear to have been
embraced by the occupants (Nicholas 2007,116). For
Neolithic purposes this also nuanced the well-known
debate of there being a distinct shift from marine to
terrestrial sources with the onset of the Neolithic (e. g.
Schulting 2011). It rather appears that there is a
strong tendency to make use of freshwater wetland
environment and that there is a flexible disposition
among these hunter-gatherers to make the most of
changing circumstances and resources.
Living in a dynamic landscape
It is difficult to establish to which extent the wetland
hunter-gatherers of the 7th and 6th millennium BC are
the actual ancestors of the Mesolithic communities
living in the LRA wetlands before and during the
process of neolithisation. While some have suggested
an inland relocation of hunter-gatherer groups (e. g.
Newell 1973), it is up to future aDNA research to
actually establish these connections (Amkreutz et al.
2017). Nonetheless it is plausible that the wetland
landscape and its dynamics are comparable to a cer-
tain extent. The wetland zone where the sequence
of cultural groups from the Late Mesolithic to the
Vlaardingen culture may be situated lies roughly be-
tween the rivers Scheldt and Elbe (Raemaekers 2019,
93; see Fig. 1). The Meuse and several Rhine channels
run east to west, and the area was under continuous
influence from the rising sea level. The coastal envi-
A view from Doggerland - interpreting the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the wetlands of the Rhine-Meuse delta
Fig. 5 A number of skeletal remains
dating to the Mesolithic that yielded iso-
topic information on diet (photo: Rijks-
museum van Oudheden).
these days and includes lithics, faunal remains with
cut marks, as well as bone and antler tools (e. g. Am-
kreutz / Spithoven 2019; see Fig. 4). Among these are
also numerous human remains that potentially date
to the Mesolithic (Fig. 5). These types of secondary
surface finds have often been accused of having little
scientific value due to the absence of contextual infor-
mation. While this is partly true, their often excellent
preservation and quantitative numbers make them
valuable research material. In a recent study (V\.n der
Plight et al. 2016), the human remains from beaches
were combined with those that mainly derived from
fishing nets and all were studied for their isotopes,
both 14C and the stable isotope ratios of carbon o13C
and nitrogen o15N. This C/N value is informative as a
proxy for the (palaeo) diet of individuals in roughly
the last decade of their life. It points out both the tro-
phic level and the aquatic component of freshwater,
or marine resources in the diet. The information is
therefore indicative of the environment, the diet and
behavioural changes therein.
The study comprised 55 specimens, of which 32
had a Mesolithic date. The overall composition of
the C/N ratio indicated that most individuals fell into
the terrestrial / freshwater regime, with only a few
coastal dwellers and a few with an ‘inland’ terrestrial
signal (Van der Plight et al. 2016, 115). This aquatic
signature is readily comparable to that of the Late
Mesolithic wetland site of Hardinxveld (Smits / Van
der Plight 2009) and contrasts with Mesolithic in-
land sites such as those in a study of the Meuse valley
(Bocherens et al. 2007). While we cannot estimate the
effects of differential preservation it is clear that there
is much emphasis on a freshwater aquatic diet, which
ethnographically is one of the richest environments
for hunter-gatherers (Nicholas 2007). Moreover, the
study also mapped the diet signals over time. While
the reservoir effect prevents calculating the dates to
absolute ones, the relative pattern demonstrates that
the diet of the Doggerland inhabitants became more
aquatic over time. Therefore the older dates are more
in line with an inland signal as the coast was not yet
close, while the younger dates are clearly wetland
oriented. These people made use of the extensive
freshwater wetlands and their resources that arose in
front of the encroaching coastline. This development
indicates that the Doggerland inhabitants were very
capable of dealing with changing circumstances by
shifting their diet to aquatic resources. The dynamics
of the landscape and its changes appear to have been
embraced by the occupants (Nicholas 2007,116). For
Neolithic purposes this also nuanced the well-known
debate of there being a distinct shift from marine to
terrestrial sources with the onset of the Neolithic (e. g.
Schulting 2011). It rather appears that there is a
strong tendency to make use of freshwater wetland
environment and that there is a flexible disposition
among these hunter-gatherers to make the most of
changing circumstances and resources.
Living in a dynamic landscape
It is difficult to establish to which extent the wetland
hunter-gatherers of the 7th and 6th millennium BC are
the actual ancestors of the Mesolithic communities
living in the LRA wetlands before and during the
process of neolithisation. While some have suggested
an inland relocation of hunter-gatherer groups (e. g.
Newell 1973), it is up to future aDNA research to
actually establish these connections (Amkreutz et al.
2017). Nonetheless it is plausible that the wetland
landscape and its dynamics are comparable to a cer-
tain extent. The wetland zone where the sequence
of cultural groups from the Late Mesolithic to the
Vlaardingen culture may be situated lies roughly be-
tween the rivers Scheldt and Elbe (Raemaekers 2019,
93; see Fig. 1). The Meuse and several Rhine channels
run east to west, and the area was under continuous
influence from the rising sea level. The coastal envi-