Neolithisation at the site Brandwijk-Kerkhof, the Netherlands

Another example of partial neolithisation

W.A. Out (2008)
"Neolithisation at the site Brandwijk-Kerkhof, the Netherlands:
natural vegetation, human impact and plant food subsistence"
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 17(1):25-39

HTML <http://www.springerlink.com/content/hx57k723j125q281/fulltext.html>
or http://tinyurl.com/yrwbnt
PDF <http://www.springerlink.com/content/hx57k723j125q281/fulltext.pdf>
or http://tinyurl.com/2285cu

"The botanical data from Brandwijk reveals new
information on the Neolithisation process in the central
Dutch wetlands: there is evidence for introduction of
Tricium dicoccum (Emmer), Hordeum vulgare var.
nudum (Naked Barley) and Papaver somniferum ssp.
setigerum (Poppy) between 4220 and 3940 cal b.c.
There are, however, no strong indications of local crop
cultivation at the site itself and the details of the
process of introduction of crop cultivation remain
unknown. Considering the function of the site, the
variety of wild food plants and the indications against
local crop cultivation, the importance of crop plants in
subsistence seems to have been limited."


The cultural setting
"The Neolithic started in the Netherlands with arrival of
the fully Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture in the
southern loess region of the Netherlands at ca. 5300
cal b.c., resulting in a long-lasting open frontier
between Mesolithic and Neolithic societies. From ca.
4750 b.c. onwards, the Neolithic Rössen culture was
present in the loess region, followed by the
Michelsberg culture at ca. 4300 b.c. In the remaining
parts of the Netherlands, the Neolithisation process
was gradual, characterised by introduction of pottery
at ca. 5000 b.c., introduction of domestic animals at
ca. 4700 b.c. and introduction of crop plants at least
by ca. 4300–4000 b.c., although earlier introduction of
crop plants (after 4500 b.c.) cannot be excluded. It is
not, however, known how far this reconstruction of the
gradual Neolithisation process, based on wetland sites
where preservation of organic remains is excellent, is
representative of southern and eastern sandy regions
in the Netherlands.

Brandwijk-Kerkhof (Alblasserwaard, Zuid-Holland),
named Brandwijk here, is a site of the Neolithic
Swifterbant culture. This culture covered large parts of
the Netherlands as well as wetland regions of
northwestern Belgium and northwestern Germany in
the period 5000–3400 b.c. The site was occupied
periodically from ca. 4600 to 3630 cal b.c. Other sites
in the Alblasserwaard that are highly comparable with
Brandwijk are Hardinxveld-Giessendam Polderweg
(5500–5000 b.c.), Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin
(5500–4500 b.c.) and the Hazendonk (4000–2500
b.c.).

All sites are interpreted as places where people came
primarily for hunting, fishing, fowling and gathering. The
first two stages of the gradual Neolithisation process
are present at Hardinxveld-Giessendam Polderweg and
De Bruin and are characterised by introduction of
pottery first and domestic animals later, while
cultivated plants are absent. In contrast, the
Hazendonk is a fully Neolithic site. Interestingly, the
Brandwijk site fills part of the gap in time and data
between the Hardinxveld-Giessendam sites and the
Hazendonk. In order to study the developed stage of
the Neolithic at Brandwijk, pollen and macrofossil data
from the site are presented here."


Abstract
"Brandwijk-Kerkhof (ca. 4600 to 3630 cal b.c.) is a
Neolithic site, located on a river dune in the Dutch
Rhine/Maas river area. The natural vegetation and
human impact upon it have been investigated by
analysis of pollen and macroremains from four cores
that are located at increasing distances up to 20 m
from the site. The relationship between the strength of
human impact on the vegetation and the distance of
the cores from the river dune has been investigated as
well.

The results show that the natural vegetation on top of
the river dune consisted of deciduous woodland, while
in the surrounding wetlands alder carr and eutrophic
marsh vegetation dominated. Human impact of limited
strength resulted in more open and disturbed
vegetation. There is no correlation between the
strength of the evidence of human impact in the pollen
diagrams and the distance of the cores from the river
dune.

The evidence for presence of crop plants from the
cores is compared with evidence from the excavation.
The first presence of crop plants from ca. 4200 b.c.
onwards corresponds with data from other Dutch
wetland sites. Large-scale local crop cultivation
cannot however be demonstrated."

Keywords Pollen analysis - Botanical macroremains
Human impact - Neolithisation - Crop cultivation
Swifterbant culture


BTW. This issue (Jan 2008) of Vegetation History and
Archaeobotany is in honour of Prof. Corrie Bakels on
the occasion of her 65th birthday.
See <http://www.springerlink.com/content/qk7222234vv77619/fulltext.htm>
or http://tinyurl.com/2vjgvo

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p.a.



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