Scientific Reports publishes article on early cultivation in Northern Europe

Professor Volker Heyd has co-authored an article on maritime hunter-gatherers adopting cultivation in Northern Europe 5000 years ago. The article was published recently in Scientific Reports, a multidisciplinary, open-access journal from the publishers of Nature.

The article "Maritime Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Cultivation at the Farming Extreme of Northern Europe 5000 Years Ago" (Santeri Vanhanen, Stefan Gustafsson, Håkan Ranheden, Niclas Björck, Marianna Kemell & Volker Heyd) presents archaeobotanical remains showing that Pitted Ware Culture hunter-gatherers adopted cultivation from Funnel Beaker Culture farmers, and brought it to islands beyond the 60th parallel north. The main subsistence for these hunter-gatherers was still hunting, fishing, and gathering, but the recent article argues that small-scale cereal use was intended for ritual feasts.

The article in full can be read online on the Scientific Reports website.