ABSTRACT
The major research problem is the transition from a purely hunting and gathering to a fully agrarian society: in what time trajectory and how and why this transition took place. The lowlands of the western Netherlands measure about 200 km along the delta-front coastline and extend over more than 100 km along the main rivers inland. The sand regions contrast in many respects with the lowlands. The loess zone has a more distinct relief of low hills. Slope erosion, colluviation, and alluviation, especially in Roman and post-Roman times, erased upland and buried valley-floor evidence of Neolithic occupation. The main characteristic of a research problem is that it never will be solved, at least not satisfactorily. It is a standing topic of study, embodying a whole range of more specific questions that can be made the objectives of well-defined individual research projects.
