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This study provides new multi-proxy indications for management of animals in the period 4240–4050 BC, and potentially as early as 4240–4160 BC, in the Dutch wetlands, which included control over diet and/or grazing environment. The discovery of two distinct dietary groups is, to our knowledge, the only example of this in Early Neolithic Europe.

The reasons for this distinction remain enigmatic and could reflect different management strategies and/or the acquisition of livestock from elsewhere. We aim to explore this through further analyses. The combined evidence from S3 and S4 suggests that domestic cattle and caprines were managed by Swifterbant communities. Loose pig management may also have taken place, with the continued hunting of wild boar and their interbreeding with the Swifterbant suids.

These results have implications for understanding the adoption of farming practices in northern Europe. Indications for livestock management at Swifterbant in combination with cultivated fields points to communities practising agriculture 4240–4050 BC in an area where the start of the Neolithic is generally placed after 4000 BC.