ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the spread of domestic animals into northern Europe, from the northern edge of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic into southern Scandinavia. The possibility that some Erteblle/Swifterbant hunter-gatherers had a few domestic animals has been much discussed. Domestic animals might be acquired by huntergatherers from farmers provided that the two groups were contemporary and lived not far apart. A forager-farmer overlap has been discussed in two distinct ways and it is important to distinguish clearly between them. Domestic animals are listed as coming from three Mesolithic sites: Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin; Brandwijk-Kerkhof; and Schokland. In continental Europe from Hardinxveld in the west to Dbki in the east, beavers and otters testify to exploitation of the lacustrine and riverine environments in the poorly drained lowland region. The chapter examines the overlap that denoting the 1500-year long farming standstill after LBK reached northern edge of the loess. This is geographically on a much larger scale, extending from the Low Countries to Poland.
