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To Tame a Land: Archaeological Cultures and the Spread of the Neolithic in Western Europe

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Abstract

This paper explores the significance of “archaeological cultures” for the investigation of the neolithisation of Europe (i.e. introduction of agriculture of livestock raising). Instead of resorting to general preconceived models, the use of archaeological cultures as a unit of analysis forces to consider the multiplicity of processes of cultural transmission at play in this transition. This study explores these questions for western Europe, especially present-day France and British Isles. It is shown that this large area witnesses multiple episodes of neolithisation, corresponding to an original recombination of the material traits in presence, partly related to the demographic history of the human communities involved. Elements of comparison with the eastern Mediterranean sequence suggest the recurrence of this process of recombination, which suggests the existence of a level of coherence behind the mosaic of local idiosyncrasies that characterise the neolithisation of Europe.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Leverhulme Fund and the “Formation of Europe – prehistoric population dynamics and the roots of socio-cultural diversity” program of the European Commission (NEST). The constant support by members of the latter project, especially A. Shukurov and J.-P. Bocquet-Appel, made the realisation of this paper possible. Several other colleagues have also been instrumental in the (very long) shaping of these ideas, in particular Richard Bradley, James Conolly, Cameron Petrie, Ryan Rabett and my co-editor, Ben Roberts. Special thanks to Frank Herbert and Steve Harris for the title. Of course, I remain solely responsible for all mistakes, omissions and/or misinterpretations to be found here.

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  1. School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Marc Vander Linden

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  1. Dept. Prehistory & Europe, British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG, United Kingdom

    Benjamin W. Roberts

  2. , School of Archaeology and Ancient Histor, Leicester University, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom

    Marc Vander Linden

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Linden, M.V. (2011). To Tame a Land: Archaeological Cultures and the Spread of the Neolithic in Western Europe. In: Roberts, B., Vander Linden, M. (eds) Investigating Archaeological Cultures. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6970-5_15

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