Jordi Revelles

Landscape transformation and economic practices among the first farming societies in Lake Banyoles (Girona, Spain)

Abstract This paper focuses on the high-resolution pollen analysis of one new pollen record from Lake Banyoles (Girona, Spain) and its contextualisation with other archaeobotanical records (charcoal, seed and wood remains) from the early Neolithic lakeshore settlement of La Draga. Around ca.7250 cal BP, coinciding with the first settlement phase of La Draga, a rapid fall of the pollen values of deciduous Quercus sp. is observed, and a stabilisation of these values is found until ca. 6000 cal BP. The causes for such changes in vegetation cover are discussed, taking into consideration environmental data to calibrate the role of climate in vegetation dynamics, as well as archaeobotanical data to evaluate impact of the management of vegetal resources on the landscape. The discussion of the data shows that climate could not have been the main cause for the decrease of broadleaf deciduous forests, and that the need of gathering raw material for the construction of dwellings played a major role in this change. The fact that these plant community does not recover during the occupation or after the abandonment of La Draga would confirm that human impact continued over time and that forest clearances were maintained for various purposes.

Farming Practices in the Early Neolithic According to Agricultural Tools: Evidence from La Draga Site (Northeastern Iberia)

La Draga is an open-air settlement located on the shoreline of Lake Banyoles in the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. To date, two occupation phases have been differentiated, both attributed to the Early Neolithic (5300–4900 cal BC). The proximity of the lake has meant that a large part of the site has been covered by the water table; as a consequence organic materials are well preserved. The preservation of wooden artefacts offers an excellent opportunity to study the techniques and crafts developed in the first Neolithic villages. This chapter presents the wooden tools related to agricultural practices. This assemblage consists of 45 pointed sticks, 24 of which can be interpreted as digging sticks according to ethnographic and archaeological parallels and the results of a specific experimental program, and 7 sickle handles, one of which holds a flint blade still inserted in its original position. The information these implements provide for the knowledge of the first agriculture is discussed and compared with data supplied by several archaeobotanical proxies. The two approaches are seen to contribute complementary data allowing a more comprehensive reconstruction of the farming practices of Early Neolithic communities in the Western Mediterranean.

42. Lake Banyoles SB2 core (Girona, north-eastern Iberia, Spain)

The study site is located in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula, 35 km from the Mediterranean Sea and 50 km south of the Pyrenees (Figure 1). Lake Banyoles is a karst lake associated with a large karst aquifer system located in a tectonic depression, fed by underground water. The lake is approximately 2100 m long and 750 m wide with an average depth of 15 m that in several locations can reach up to 46 m (Casamitjana et al. 2006; Höbig et al. 2012). The climate in the Banyoles region is defined as humid Mediterranean, with an annual precipitation of 750 mm and a mean annual temperature of 15 °C. The average maximum temperature during July and August is 23 °C, and the minimum average is 7 °C in winter. The minimum monthly precipitation (10 mm) occurs during summer and in December. Dense vegetation formations in the mountains surrounding Lake Banyoles, are dominated by a mixed forest of evergreen oak (Quercus ilex L., Q. coccifera L., Rhamnus alaternusL., Phillyrea mediaL., Phillyrea angustifolia L.), deciduous oak (Q. humilis Mill., Buxus sempervirens L., Ilex aquifolium L.) and pine forest (Pinus halepensis Mill.) (Figure 1). In this context, shrublands (Erica arborea L., Rosmarinus officinalis L.) are well represented. Along the lakeshore, there are helophytic communities represented by Phragmites australis (Cav.) Steud., Typha angustifolia L., Lythrum salicaria L. and several cyperaceous species (Gracia et al. 2001). The SB2 core was obtained from the western shore of the lake (42° 07′ 44.70′′ N, 2° 45′ 06.64′′ E, altitude 174 m above sea level [a.s.l.]). The SB2 core is located 160 m away from the present lakeshore and was drilled by a Van Walt/Eijkelkamp mechanical drilling machine near the Riera del Castellar River, the main watercourse draining to the lake.

The Distribution and Use of Box (Buxus sempervirens L.) in the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula During the Holocene

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to evaluate the distribution of box (Buxus sempervirens L.) in the Holocene vegetation of NE Spain and its use during prehistory. The scarcity of box in pollen reco...