Where the wild things were: how the rise of farming changed human-wildlife relationships

ongoing

WILDERFARM explores the significant changes in human-wildlife relationships that occurred with the rise of farming in western Europe between 6000 and 2000 BCE. Up until now, research on this period has focused strongly on the domestication of animals and plants and the emergence of the new relationship between humans and domesticates. WILDERFARM shifts the perspective, examining how farmers renegotiated the age-old relationship with wild animals and how the rise of farming and its activities, such as livestock grazing and crop husbandry, affected wildlife. WILDERFARM addresses three critical gaps in current research: wild animals are under-represented in archaeological research compared to domestic ones, particularly in research on farming societies; there is still much debate on the nature and timing of the Neolithic transition in western Europe; and in light of the current biodiversity crisis, archaeological perspectives on human-wildlife relationships are valuable but under-utilised. To achieve novel, multi-dimensional insights on the human-wildlife relationship, WILDERFARM integrates methods from zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, biomolecular science, and ecological modelling within a conceptual framework encompassing archaeology, multispecies anthropology, and conservation biology. Three case study areas in western Europe form the basis for a comparative, diachronic exploration of human-wildlife relationships: central Germany, the Netherlands, and southern Scandinavia. Through targeted dissemination and outreach, WILDERFARM seeks to generate an alternative perspective on the emergence of farming, increase awareness of the importance of wild animals in the human past, and offer valuable insights for today’s wildlife conservation education.