The Funnel Beaker Landscape of Vintrie-Svågertorp, Southwest Scania, Sweden

Abstract

In the autumn of 2011 a site with remains of huts, pits and burial monuments from the Early Neolithic–early Middle Neolithic was investigated in Malmö, southwest Scania, Sweden. The aim of this article is to relate the site to the surrounding settled landscape in order to understand some of its social significance during the time when it was initially used. In doing this, aspects of Funnel Beaker Culture landscape use will be discussed. This entails a discussion about our understanding of settlements as spatially clearly definable places and our often clear-cut categorization of sites. In the Early Neolithic I the burial site with two long barrows is connected to a farm of a possibly leading household living near the burials. Activities connected to the farm can be related to a large area. During the Early Neolithic II–early Middle Neolithic II there seems to be an increase in the number of farms in the area. Continued and intensified use of the burial site, including the construction of two long dolmens and the extension of one of them, indicates the importance of the burial site to all the farms in the area.