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Rettungsgrabungen auf der Feuchtbodenfundstelle Bazel-Kruibeke erbrachten den ersten sicheren Nachweis von Kontakten zwischen Jägern / Sammlern und Ackerbauern bereits für die späte Bandkeramik. Von diesem Zeitpunkt an verstärkten sich wohl die Kontakte schrittweise und führten zu einer graduellen Einführung neolithischer Waren und Fertigkeiten. Um die Mitte des 5. Jahrtausends cal BC wurden von zeitgleichen Ackerbau betreibenden Gemeinschaften (Epi-)Rössener Tradition aus den Lößgebieten die Technik der Keramikherstellung und die Viehzucht adaptiert. An der Wende vom 5. zum 4. Jahrtausend cal BC hatte der Austausch mit der Michelsberg- / Spiere-Gruppe die fast komplette Akkulturation dieser lokalen Gemeinschaften zur Folge, die wohl gleichbedeutend mit der Einführung der Landwirtschaft im Unteren Schelde-Gebiet war., Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt, Bd. 45 Nr. 1 (2015): Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt

À l’occasion d’une fouille dans la vallée de l’Escaut, une étude géomorphologique a permis, à partir de données nouvelles, de mieux appréhender la dynamique sédimentaire de la rivière au cours de l’Holocène inférieur. Ces données montrent qu’un environnement fluvio-lacustre s’installe à la transition Weichsélien/Holocène et disparaît avec la densification des forêts de pins. Elles participent probablement à l’abaissement de la nappe phréatique, mais également à l’augmentation de la fréquence et de l’étendue des feux de forêt naturels amenant à une période d’instabilité des versants et à un accroissement de la dynamique alluviale. L’apparition des forêts mixtes moins sujettes aux feux entraine l’extension des marécages alluviaux. During an archaeological excavation in the Scheldt Valley, a geomorphological study allowed a better understanding of the sedimentary dynamics during the Early Holocene. The data provide evidence of a fluvio-lacustrine environment established at the Weichselian/Holocene transition which disappeared with the intensification of pine forests. The latter probably contributed to the lowering of groundwater, but also to the increase in the frequency and extent of natural forest fires leading to a period of slope instability and a renewal of alluvial dynamics. The emergence of mixed forests less prone to fires ultimately leads to the formation of alluvial swamps.

Dit rapport werd ingediend bij het agentschap samen met een aantal afzonderlijke digitale bijlagen. Een aantal van deze bijlagen zijn niet inbegrepen in dit pdf document en zijn niet online beschikbaar. Sommige bijlagen (grondplannen, foto’s, spoorbeschrijvingen, enz.) kunnen van belang zijn voor een betere lezing en interpretatie van dit rapport. Indien u deze bijlagen wenst te raadplegen kan u daarvoor contact opnemen met: bib.oe@vlaanderen.be

A laboratory-based X-ray fluorescence (XRF) methodology is presented for standardless quantified analysis based on a monochromatic X-ray spectrometer coupled to Monte Carlo aided quantification. This procedure will be valuable for many scientific fields (e.g. archaeology, geology, etc.) where the unique nature of the investigated samples calls for the application of non-destructive techniques. To illustrate the value of the methodology, a case study is presented where flint artefacts from the Scheldt basin are analyzed in an attempt to provenance them. So far, little geochemical research has been done in this area. Our results contribute to the creation of a database that will help assign lithic artefacts to specific geological outcrops and will aid further research in this field.

During the 5th millennium BC, the last hunter-gatherers (Swifterbant Culture) of northern Belgium and the Netherlands gradually adopted the knowledge of pottery production, animal husbandry and crop cultivation from farmers of the NW European loess areas. The social mechanisms behind this transition are still poorly understood. So far, there was no clear indication as to which farming populations were responsible for these knowledge transfers. Recently, all pottery and lithic remains from five transitional sites in the Scheldt river valley were studied in detail. The pottery technology and changes in the lithic industry of the hunter-gatherers in northern Belgium indicate that they had strong social relations with farmers of the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain Culture in central Belgium and northern France. This paper presents the main results of these studies. It combines information on pottery, lithic technology, raw materials and use with archaeobotanical-zoological data and radiocarbon dates. It is suggested that the hunter-gatherers of the Scheldt river valley adopted the knowledge of pottery production from BVSG potters, and possibly had their first direct contact with domestic animals as well as cereals through interactions with the BVSG Culture, between c. 4800 – 4600 cal BC.

In this paper the spatial distribution of Federmesser-Gruppen (FMG) sites in the Scheldt Basin is discussed. A clear pattern of focused occupation and exploitation of the dry banks of former dune slacks and freshwater lakes is observed, while the river floodplains were seemingly avoided. The latter may be due to the highly dynamic environment of the rivers, which were characterised by very high discharges and continuous erosion. During the late Allerød (GI-1a) and the transition towards the Younger Dryas (GS-1) the meandering rivers finally stabilised, gradually turning into slow running and shallow streams. This probably was the result of a general decrease of the ground water table, which also affected the inland lakes and ponds, reducing them to dry or swampy depressions. It is assumed that this marked hydrological event, which may be linked to cooling during the Intra Allerød Cold Period (GI-1b) and the subsequent Younger Dryas (GS-1), had a considerable impact on the settlement system of the FMG hunter-gatherers, who may have been forced to leave the Scheldt Basin.

This short note is a response to the paper from Huisman et al. (2020) “Arguments in favour of an anthropogenic origin of Mesolithic pit hearths. A reply to Crombé and Langohr (2020)”, which argues against a natural, ant-related origin of these features. Within this short note some inconsistencies and shortcomings in Huisman et al.’s argumentation are discussed, providing further support for the theory of organic dome-constructing ant nests affected by wildfires regularly occurring during the Early Holocene. The paper ends with some suggestions for further research into the origin of these charcoal-rich features, characteristic of the coversand area of NW Europe.