Archaeology, Department of Cultures, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 59, Unioninkatu 38, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
Arkeologikonsult, Optimusvägen 14, Upplands Väsby, 134 94, Sweden.
Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 18;9(1):4756. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41293-z.
The dynamics of the origins and spread of farming are globally debated in anthropology and archaeology. Lately, numerous aDNA studies have turned the tide in favour of migrations, leaving only a few cases in Neolithic Europe where hunter-gatherers might have adopted agriculture. It is thus widely accepted that agriculture was expanding to its northern extreme in Sweden c. 4000 BC by migrating Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) farmers. This was followed by intense contacts with local hunter-gatherers, leading to the development of the Pitted Ware Culture (PWC), who nonetheless relied on maritime prey. Here, we present archaeobotanical remains from Sweden and the Åland archipelago (Finland) showing that PWC used free-threshing barley and hulled and free-threshing wheat from c. 3300 BC. We suggest that these hunter-gatherers adopted cultivation from FBC farmers and brought it to islands beyond the 60th parallel north. Based on directly dated grains, land areas suitable for cultivation, and absence of signs of exchange with FBC in Sweden, we argue that PWC cultivated crops in Åland. While we have isotopic and lipid-biomarker proof that their main subsistence was still hunting/fishing/gathering, we argue small-scale cereal use was intended for ritual feasts, when cereal products could have been consumed with pork.
农业起源和传播的动态在人类学和考古学中是全球性争论的话题。最近，许多古代 DNA 研究扭转了局面，支持移民说，新石器时代欧洲只有少数几个狩猎采集者可能采用了农业的案例。因此，人们普遍认为，大约在公元前 4000 年，瑞典的移民漏斗颈大口瓶文化（Funnel Beaker Culture，FBC）农民将农业扩展到了其最北部。随后，与当地狩猎采集者进行了激烈的接触，导致了坑纹陶器文化（Pitted Ware Culture，PWC）的发展，尽管如此，后者仍依赖海洋猎物。在这里，我们展示了来自瑞典和奥兰群岛（芬兰）的考古植物学遗迹，表明 PWC 在公元前 3300 年左右使用了自由脱粒的大麦和带壳和自由脱粒的小麦。我们认为，这些狩猎采集者从 FBC 农民那里采用了种植技术，并将其带到了北纬 60 度以外的岛屿上。基于直接测年的谷物、适合种植的土地面积以及瑞典没有与 FBC 进行交换的迹象，我们认为 PWC 在奥兰群岛种植了作物。虽然我们有同位素和脂质生物标志物的证据表明，他们的主要生计仍然是狩猎/捕鱼/采集，但我们认为小规模的谷物使用是为了仪式性的宴会，那时可以与猪肉一起食用谷物产品。
