The construction of monumental landscapes in low-density societies: New evidence from the Early Neolithic of Southern Scandinavia (4000–3300 BC) in comparative perspective (November 5, 2015)

•Comparative study of the emergence of monumental landscapes in low-density societies.•A political economy approach to monumental landscapes.•Neolithization and the building of monumental landscapes in Southern Scandinavia.•Hopewellian monumental landscapes in Eastern North America.•Chiefs instituted regional polities by sponsoring feasts, building monuments and structure relationships.

The article presents new evidence from two recent, rescue excavations of Early Neolithic gathering and burial sites at Almhov and Döserygg in Scania, southern Sweden. Along with previous excavations of the Danish enclosures at Sarup, these central sites provide a sequence witnessing substantial development of monumental landscapes during a period of relatively low population density in Southern Scandinavia. An explanation for this rather surprising development is placed within a political economy approach: In situations of low-density populations, resource circumscription is thought to be ineffective as a means of political control. Rather, ceremonial monuments were built to create a strong and permanent allure of ritual spaces and ceremonies associated with mortuary practice, inheritance rights, and emergent leaders. Although inherently unstable, positive feedback apparently existed between the collection of food for feasts, labor to build ritual landscapes, and some central power based on authority. The construction of permanent monumental places helped create, we argue, overarching ownership rights represented in the engineered landscape. To demonstrate the generality of these hypothetical relations, the Southern Scandinavian sequence is compared to similar patterns of monumental construction associated with low-density populations during the prehistory of eastern North America.