ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a review of the archaeobotanical evidence for the exploitation of plant, resources in the Mesolithic and Neolithic economies of southern Scandinavia. It spans the transition from a total reliance on collecting and gathering, to the advent and establishment of arable agriculture. The chapter also presents a summary of the local Mesolithic and Neolithic chronology. It describes that the plant resources in the Mesolithic were exclusively collected from wild plants, although some modification and management of the vegetation certainly took place. Archaeobotanical evidence for collection from the wild, typically charred or waterlogged wood, bark, hazelnut shells, acorns and concentrations of fruit stones and pips, has been routinely recorded over the years as hand-picked finds recovered during archaeological investigations. The chapter outlines the main plant resources likely to have been used at the sites. The systematic investigations of plant remains at late Mesolithic sites have revealed the breadth, depth and importance of resources exploited by southern Scandinavian hunter-gatherers.
