-Around 8200 calBP, large parts of the now submerged North Sea continental shelf ('Doggerland')

We report the discovery of a 50,000-y-old birch tar-hafted flint tool found off the present-day coastline of The Netherlands. The production of adhesives and multicomponent tools is considered complex technology and has a prominent place in discussions about the evolution of human behavior. This find provides evidence on the technological capabilities of Neandertals and illuminates the currently debated conditions under which these technologies could be maintained. 14C-accelerator mass spectrometry dating and the geological provenance of the artifact firmly associates it with a host of Middle Paleolithic stone tools and a Neandertal fossil. The find was analyzed using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, X-ray micro-computed tomography, and optical light microscopy. The object is a piece of birch tar, encompassing one-third of a flint flake. This find is from northwestern Europe and complements a small set of well-dated and chemically identified adhesives from Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age contexts. Together with data from experiments and other Middle Paleolithic adhesives, it demonstrates that Neandertals mastered complex adhesive production strategies and composite tool use at the northern edge of their range. Thus, a large population size is not a necessary condition for complex behavior and technology. The mitigation of ecological risk, as demonstrated by the challenging conditions during Marine Isotope Stage 4 and 3, provides a better explanation for the transmission and maintenance of technological complexity.

The North Sea bed host remains of Pleistocene and Early Holocene landscapes that were, mostly gradually, inundated following the last deglaciation. Archaeological remains from the seabed obtained by fishing, dredging, and sand suppletion include human skeletal remains. Radiocarbon dating reveals that most of these are Mesolithic although a few Late Palaeolithic and historic remains are represented. Samples with known stable isotope ratios δ 13 C and δ 15 N show that Mesolithic inhabitants of 'Doggerland' had a significant component of freshwater fish in their diet. This means the 14 C dates are subject to a reservoir effect mainly determined by the freshwater bodies at the time. Because of the lack of context, the magnitude of the reservoir effect cannot be derived, so that the 14 C dates cannot be precisely calibrated to absolute ages. However, a distinct correlation is observed between the δ 15 N values and the (uncalibrated) 14 C dates, suggesting a chronological development.

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A site beside the river Tjonger near Jardinga in the northern Netherlands is shown to be a rare Late Mesolithic kill and primary butchering site. Finds consist mainly of bones from aurochs and red deer, with a few flint artefacts. Radiocarbon evidence shows that there must have been two phases of use: the first around 5400 cal BC; the second, main phase around 5250–5050 cal BC.

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Pit hearth features form a common phenomenon in the Mesolithic of North-West Europe, and the Netherlands and adjacent parts of Germany and Belgium in particular. Using soil micromorphology, we investigated the genesis and taphonomy of several pit hearth features, embedded in sandy podzolic soils from Kampen (the Netherlands). This is one of the first studies to investigate one of such pits in its entirety, instead of only the lower, charcoal-rich fill. Our results show that the upper fill of these pits contains considerable amounts of noncharred degraded organic matter. The lower fill typically contains fragments of charcoal and some wood tar, but also black coatings around sand grains, that is interpreted as charred humus from a podzol B-horizon. These coatings indicate that material from the upper horizons of a podzol profile -e.g. in the form of turves -was used to control a fire on the floor of the pit.Fine charred material postdepositionally leached from the pit feature into the underlying deposits, associated with increased formation of limped clay coatings. This indicates that ash-induced alkaline charcoal degradation and associated clay translocation played a role in this process. The Kampen case provides strong evidence that fine charred organic material may contaminate underlying archaeological or sedimentary units.