Specialized cattle farming in the Neolithic Rhine-Meuse Delta: Results from zooarchaeological and stable isotope (δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) analyses

Schipluiden (3630-3380 cal BC), the earliest known year-round settlement in the Rhine-Meuse Delta in the Netherlands, is a key site for addressing the nature of Neolithic subsistence in the wetlands of northwestern Europe. A preliminary zooarchaeological study suggested that cattle husbandry was a major activity at Schipluiden. In contrast, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human remains from the site indicated a marine-oriented diet, implying that the Mesolithic-Neolithic dietary transition continued well into the mid-4th Millennium BC in this region. Here, we re-investigate the role and nature of cattle husbandry at Neolithic Schipluiden using mortality profiles and stable isotope analysis (δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) of animal bone collagen and tooth enamel. The age-at-death analysis suggests that cattle were managed for both meat and milk production. The δ18O and δ13C analysis of tooth enamel provide evidence that calving spread over five-and-a-half-months, which would have led to a longer availability of milk throughout the year. Cattle were grazing in open, marshy environments near the site and winter foddering was practiced occasionally. The faunal isotopic data also reveal that the high 15N in human bone collagen is more likely to signal the consumption of products from cattle that grazed on 15N-enriched salt marsh plants around the site, rather than a marine-oriented diet. This undermines the previous interpretation of the dietary practices at Schipluiden by showing that human diet in mid-4th millennium BC Rhine-Meuse area was fully "Neolithic", based primarily on products from domesticates, especially cattle, with some input from wild terrestrial and aquatic resources available in their surroundings, contrary to what has been proposed before. Collating these results demonstrates a high level of investment in cattle husbandry, highlighting the social and economic importance of cattle at the lower Rhine-Meuse Delta during the 4th millennium BC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lipid residue analysis on Swifterbant pottery (c. 5000-3800 cal BC) in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area (the Netherlands) and its implications for human-animal interactions in relation to the Neolithisation process

This paper focuses on the functional analysis of Swifterbant pottery (c. 5000–3800 cal BC) in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area (the Netherlands). It examines pottery use across the transition to agriculture and aims to assess temporal changes in human-animal relations during the 5th millennium BC in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area through lipid residue analysis. We conducted lipid residue analysis of 49 samples from four Swifterbant sites: Hardinxveld-Giessendam Polderweg, Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin, Brandwijk-het Kerkhof, and Hazendonk. A combined approach using both GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS of residues absorbed into the ceramic was employed to identify their context. Their context was then compared to published faunal datasets to present the relative abundance of taxa detected in the lipid residues. Evidence of processing freshwater fish was found in all sites, presenting that it was a continuous and primary function of Swifterbant pottery in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area starting from its first appearance at c. 5000 cal BC till the end of 5th millennium BC regardless of vessel form, size, decoration or temper. The results of our analysis also present temporal changes in the exploitation of food resources from the early to the late 5th millennium BC. From the mid 5th millennium BC onwards, vessels were also used to process different ranges of foodstuffs such as terrestrial resources and dairy products. The identification of dairy residue is the first direct evidence so far from Swifterbant pottery. We tentatively explain these results as an indication of presence of different culinary practices that had developed through the 5th millennium in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area and that the use of Swifterbant pottery is a direct reflection of changing cultural preferences on food preparation and consumption

First lipid residue analysis of Early Neolithic pottery from Swifterbant (the Netherlands, ca. 4300–4000 BC)

This paper focuses on the functional analysis of Swifterbant pottery from North-western Europe (ca. 4300–4000 BC) through lipid residue analysis. The main aim is to understand the role of pottery in terms of its relation to hunter-fisher-gatherer lifestyle, and the change in available food resources brought about by the arrival of domesticated animal and plant products. We conducted lipid residue analysis of 62 samples from three Swifterbant sites S2, S3 and S4. A combined approach using both GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS of residues absorbed into the ceramic was employed to identify their context. Our results demonstrate that Swifterbant ceramics were used exclusively for processing aquatic resources. We also found no evidence of inter-site variation in the use of pottery or variation based on both typological and technological features of the pottery. We found no evidence for any domesticated resources despite their presence in the faunal and botanical assemblages

A monumental burial ground from the Funnel Beaker Period at Oosterdalfsen (the Netherlands)

In 2015 a rescue excavation took place at Oosterdalfsen (municipality of Dalfsen, Overijssel, the Netherlands) yielded traces of a burial ground, an earthen monument and a house plan, all dating from the Funnel beaker period. In total c. 137 graves were found. In several burial pits a corps silhouette was still visible indicating that these deceased were positioned in Hocker position. In total 123 pots were found in the graves. The decorated pots can be dated in Brindleyhorizon 4–7 (c. 3200 – 2700 BC). One large structure consisted of a ditch with a proximal length of 30 m and width of 4 m. Because the presence of a central grave is not ascertained we do not interpret this ditch system as the remnants of a monumental grave, but rather as an ditch-delimited arena for burial rituals. The house was two-aisled in construction, similar to the ones found at Flögeln 1 and Penningbüttel. The Oosterdalfsen community seems to have created amonumental expression in earth – the ditched feature. The large number of burials allows defining both norm and variation in burial rites in a meaningful way. The analysis of the pots, in combination with spatial analysis, will perhaps allow us to better understand the social built-up of the community that used the site for their burial rites