The Transition to Agriculture

A review of ideas about the spread of agriculture from the Near East into Europe introduces a bioarchaeological investigation of the question. Strontium isotopeStrontium isotopes analysis is used to make an important point about the transition to agriculture, rather large datasets are available from two areas where the transition to agriculture is well defined and where there are a substantial number of burials—in the Danube GorgesDanube Gorges between Serbia and Romania and in Southern ScandinaviaScandinavia. This paper will discuss each area separately prior to a more general synthesis of the results. The moral of the story has to do with mobilityMobility and sedentism.