This Must Be the Place

Farming and cattle herding were introduced in southern Scandinavia in approximately 4000 -3900 cal BC. In a long-term perspective, the introduction of farming and cattle herding is one of the most important changes for humanity. There are still questions to be answered. How did the innovations sprea [...]
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Farming and cattle herding were introduced in southern Scandinavia in approximately 4000 -3900 cal BC. In a long-term perspective, the introduction of farming and cattle herding is one of the most important changes for humanity. There are still questions to be answered. How did the innovations spread? What were the causes for change and who were the actors involved in the process? In this publication we are able to look inside the black box of transition. The empirical material consists of newly excavated Mesolothic and Neolithic sites in the county of Ostergotland in Eastern Middle Sweden. Settlements, artefacts and radiocarbon analysis tell the tale of both continuity and change. The study proves that the process of change from foraging to farming in this area can be regarded as alterations in the Mesolithic local communities and that the introduction of farming and animal husbandry was an apparent rather undramatic event. Traditional living continued but life never became the same again.