The Neolithic- Early farmers

You have just arrived in the Neolithic age; the New Stone Age, and it’s approximately 5300 BC. For thousands of years people from the Near-East have been farming in an area called the Fertile Crescent. This region contains a lot of fertile lands, enabling hunters and gatherers to start living a sedentary life on one location. They discovered they could grow their own crops and domesticate animals. Over time the population grew and people spread out over fertile grounds.  

Travelling through Eastern Europe, they arrived here, in Southern Limburg with their crops and livestock.

Now we cultivate cereals for bread, flax for clothing, peas, lentils and poppy to eat. Poppy can also be used as a painkiller.

We also keep cattle and pigs, and from the Near East goats and sheep were brought along. It will not be until the Romans come that we will have chickens or rabbits.

Life as a farmer is intense compared to our hunter-gatherers past. A big advantage however is that we don’t have to travel around like nomads anymore, so we can build bigger houses. Especially for the elderly and the young life is now easier. We band together with our family in villages that sometimes can contain 100 people!

Many people call this period the “Linear Pottery Culture”, named after the beautifully decorated pots we produce. You can find a picture in the app