Hello and welcome back to the Viking Age podcast.

My name is Lee. This is episode 3, foragers to farmers.

In this episode, we will explore the period from about 4,100 to about 3,500 BCE,

during which time Scandinavia transitioned from a food economy based upon hunting and gathering

to one based upon agriculture. We will explore how and why this transition happened, and in the

process encounter competing theories uncertain evidence, and perhaps most importantly to our

long-term story, the concepts of status and reputation.

These themes will continue to be of extreme importance as we move forward to the Viking Age,

and the transition from wild to domesticated food sources provides a perfect vehicle for their

introduction.

Are you ready?

Let's do this. Last time, we talked about the first Scandinavians and what life may have been like for them.

You'll recall that the general picture their remains have left us with is one of a pretty good life.

They had abundant, varied food sources, relatively large, sedentary coastal settlements, and their bones show little

sign of malnutrition or food stress. Life was good. But all good things must come to an end,

or so I'm told. And that is indeed the case of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle in Scandinavia, because around 4,100

BCE, we start to see the first evidence of plant cultivation and animal husbandry being adopted by the peoples of Scandinavia.

This transition from hunting and gathering to farming and herding changed everything. In addition to the obvious changes and sources of food, the introduction of agriculture

brought about wide-ranging innovations in social and economic structures.

As long-distance trade expanded, permanent settlements became the norm,

and we start to see the first signs of the social stratification,

which will become so important to understanding later eras. This seismic shift in Scandinavian

...