Amongst Seals, Cattle, and Boars

Abstract: This study utilises Correspondence Analysis to investigate the subsistence strategies of Scandinavia's Middle Neolithic Culture of the Pitted Ware Culture (PWC). The aim is to understand subsistence strategies' regional and local expressions across larger geographic areas. The studied material is derived from PWC settlements in Gotland, Åland, Central-Eastern Sweden, and South Scandinavia. The results confirmed previous findings that the Danish PWC settlements relied more on cattle than the Central-Eastern Swedish and the Baltic Sea Island sites. However, the latter two shared more similarities with minor regional differences. These findings suggest that local cultural identity and plausible hybridisation with contemporary farming groups occurred in regional areas within South Scandinavia. This study highlights the importance of contextualising subsistence strategies within the cultural and geographic context of the Middle Neolithic period. Furthermore, the findings provide new insight into the local cultural aspects of the PWC in Scandinavia and offer valuable insights for future research.