ABSTRACT
In this chapter the changes observed in the European landscapes during the early period of post-Ice Age Europe, and chronicled in numerous archaeological studies, are reviewed through the lens of food procurement and processing during the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages. The natural warming of the climate soon after the retreat of the ice cap induced a dramatic change to land cover. Forests and wetlands replaced much of the tundra and cold steppes across central and northern Europe, displacing most of the megafauna that formed the staple diet of early hunter-gatherers. New skills in food procurement were developed by pre-agricultural communities, including the use of fire to control forest succession and to keep grazing lands open for medium sized prey species such as deer and auroch. The eventual transition to a Neolithic agro-economic existence is believed, by some authors, to have been a gradual process with variable mixtures of hunting, foraging, and farming. Substantial tracts of Europe’s wild lands were converted into mixed farming habitats, often characterised by small enclosed or open fields, pasturelands, including heaths, and woodlands – either remnant intact forest or wood pasture. An increase in human population exerted pressure on the natural resources, causing soil exhaustion in overexploited lands, and the removal of forest cover to secure new farming territory. Towards the end of the Neolithic period a much improved metal-based technology coupled with a more systemic approach to farming heralded in the Bronze and Iron Age cultures. Hunting and foraging for wild food was less important to survival and took on a more ritualised purpose. Field systems were larger and more formalised, often bounded by permanent hedges and ditches. The choice of crops grown was more selective with the emphasis on monocrops of wheat, barley, and millet. Enlargement of fields, crop selection, and livestock improvement are the hallmarks of modern-day agriculture. What is practiced today in European agricultural land use and food procurement is deeply rooted in history.
