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Video abstract for the article 'Anisotropic dispersion, space competition and the slowdown of the Neolithic transition ' by Neus Isern and Joaquim Fort (Neus Isern and Joaquim Fort 2010 New J. Phys. 12 123002). Read the full article in New Journal of Physics at http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/12/12/123002/fulltext/. GENERAL SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY Introduction and background. Agricultural economics (Neolithic) replaced hunter-gatherer economics (Mesolithic) in the Near East about 10 000 years ago. This was the Neolithic transition, one of the most important socioeconomic changes in human history. Later, this transition spread gradually across Europe. This spread has been widely studied using physical models in recent years. It slowed down as Northern latitudes were reached, but this slowdown has not previously been modelled. Main results. We present a new model in which the dispersal and reproduction of farmers is limited by the density of hunter-gatherers. Because the density of hunter-gatherers was greater at Northern latitudes, it is found that this model can potentially explain the slowdown of the Neolithic transition in Europe. Wider implications. The model presented in this work could be applied to many examples of invasion fronts in which the indigenous population and the invasive compete for space in a single biological niche, both in natural habitats and in microbiological assays.