Early Neolithic forest farming at Seven Springs, Martlesham, Suffolk inferred from sedaDNA and pollen

Abstract

The importance of small wetlands and springs to Mesolithic cultures is well established. However, few studies have focused on their significance and use by Early Neolithic agro-pastoralists. Here we present a multiproxy palaeoenvironmental analysis, including sedaDNA, of the site of Seven Springs, Martlesham, UK, demonstrating that springs provided an attractive location for pastoral and ritual activity around a palaeochannel surrounded by dense woodland. The site is posited to have begun as a known location for the hunting of aurochs (Bos primigenius) and later became a site for the watering and pasturing of domestic animals, as well as hunting-related ritual deposition.