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Neolithic Period

A new way of life began with the arrival of the first farmers: the new Stone Age (Neolithic Period). Agriculture and cattle breeding enabled people to get more food out of a small environment. Agriculture originates in the Middle East and reached this country via south-eastern Europe.

The first farmers settled on the fertile loess soil in the very south of this country.

They grew wheat, peas, lentils, poppy and flax. Besides, they had their livestock of cows, sheep, goats and pigs.

The First Farmers or the Linear Pottery Culture.

Contrary to the hunter-gatherers, the farmers remained in one place. The farmhouse in Archeon is typical for the architectural style of the first farmers. They built large farmhouses of oak with walls of loam. The roof was made of straw or strips of bark, as in these loamy areas there was not enough reed to be found, for thatching such a large surface. People often lived together in small villages.

The farmers introduced a new material in the Netherlands: earthenware. They made beautifully decorated pottery, which they used for cooking, fetching water or for storing provisions. Archaeologists have named the culture of these early farmers after the distinctive linear and spiral decorations they made on their pottery: the Linear Pottery Culture.

This earthenware was made by hand and fired in an open fire.

In the north and west of the Netherlands people still lived mostly as hunters and gatherers. There, the transition to the agricultural life was a slow process. After all, old customs do not disappear easily. Besides, a farmer had to work hard and not all soil is suitable for agriculture.

Opposite the farmhouse, next to the monastery garden is a half-open house. This building is not always open to visitors. It is used by Archeon as an educational room for (school) groups.

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Neolithic Period