Settlement and Land Use at the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in Southern Scandinavia

Abstract

Abstract This contribution is a critical survey and discussion of patterns of settlement and land use at the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Southern Scandinavia. The Ertebolle Culture (EBK) and the earliest stage of the Funnel Beaker Culture, early Neolithic I (EN I), are thoroughly examined, leading to a comparison between the two periods. It is found that our view on the settlement system of the EBK needs revision. In recent years, the EBK has been characterised according to the model of complex hunters. Large groups that live a sedentary life on big year-round base camps have been anticipated, whereas the smaller settlements have been perceived as seasonal extraction camps, exploited by task-groups radiating from a base camp. This model is considered here to be insufficient. Instead, it is proposed that EBK settlement comprised a number of small groups rotating between sites on a seasonal basis within a confined territory, but perhaps periodically aggregating at key localities. It is concluded that...