Archaeological data

It is considered to respond to a single occupation radiocarbon dated between 4780-4490 cal BC (Alcalde et al. 2008).

It is interpreted as a medium sized site of around 550 m². One circular dwelling structure of c. 45 m² was identified and it is thought that other similar structures would spread across the area. Unfortunately, it is likely that recent agricultural work in the area destroyed any other archaeological evidences from this site.

Remains of faunal bones are very scarce, but cattle and pigs are better represented than ovicaprines. Plant macroremains were only preserved in charred state.

3.1.6. 120 Cave

3.1.6.1. Location and history of investigations

120 Cave is located in Sales de Llierca (Alta Garrotxa), at 460 m a.s.l. It is situated on a cliff, with no easy access (Fig. 3.8a), but close to the valley of the Llierca River. This area is characterized by the presence of mountains of low to medium height (450-600 m a.s.l.). It was discovered in 1975. The first archaeological work took place in 1981 (Agustí et al. 1987). Eleven storage pits were identified in around 21 m² (Fig. 3.8b) and one of them (number 10) was extracted as a whole piece from the cave and taken to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in order to excavate it and perform several scientific analyses. This work took place in 2010. Some of the analyses are still on-going.

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Fig. 3.8a. View of the location of 120 Cave (image provided by X. Terradas).

3.1.6.2. Chronology and phases

Several phases were identified at the site. Nevertheless, our studied material was obtained from a single layer. Layer III is thought to belong to one phase of occupation (Agustí et al. 1987). It has recently been radiocarbon dated towards 4500 cal BC (X. Terrades, pers.com), although it had always been considered to belong to the Early Epicardial Neolithic. The geological nature of the area is of calcareous type.

Fig. 3.8b. Site plan of 120 Cave. The entrance is on the southern end of the left image. 1-11: pits (image adapted from (Agustí et al. 1987).

3.1.6.3. Settlement structure

Eleven pits of 93-150 cm of diameter and a maximum depth of 48 cm were uncovered in an area of c. 58 m² (Fig. 3.8b). Some of them contained fragments of large vessels, one had an intact vessel and two of them (including pit number 10) could have either been plastered with clay/dung (A. Balbo, analysis is in progress)

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or they could have contained vessels made of dry clay. The vessels were rather large, of 25-35 litres of capacity (Agustí et al. 1987). The total capacity of the structures is of c. 325 litres (Alcalde & Buxó 1991).

3.1.6.4. Palaeoecological and palaeoeconomic information

The results of charcoal analyses (only charred archaeobotanical material was recovered) show a predominance of deciduous oaks (Quercus sp. deciduous) and other supramediterranean taxa, such as yew (Taxus baccata) or boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) (Ros 1996). Some sparse faunal remains of cattle and goat/sheep were identified. A small number of charred grains were also analysed in previous archaeobotanical investigations. Naked cereals (naked wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum/turgidum) and naked barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare)) predominate in the assemblage. It is interpreted that the cave was used for grain storage (Agustí et al. 1987).

3.1.7. La Draga

3.1.7.1. Location and history of investigations

The open-air settlement of La Draga is located on the eastern side of the Lake of Banyoles (Banyoles, Pla de l’Estany), at 170 m. a.s.l. (Fig. 3.9a). The site is thought to be around 8000 m². It most probably stretched for over 100 m along the lake shoreline and around 80 m inland (Tarrús 2008). Fertile arable land was available at a close proximity to the site.

Fig. 3.9a. Aerial view of the lake Banyoles.

It was discovered in 1990 and excavations ran until 2005 (Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 2000, Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 2011, Tarrús 2008, Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 1999, Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 2006). Three main areas were excavated during this period (Fig. 3.9b): sector A, of approximately 284 m², sector B, of 126 m², and sector C, of 310 m². Sectors B and C remained under waterlogged conditions since the Neolithic period and a good preservation of uncharred plant material was possible. In contrast, sector A is on the southeastern part of the site, where the water table is around 70 cm below the archaeological layer.

This means that waterlogged conditions did not prevail until the present and the waterlogged organic material of the archaeological layer has disappeared. Only those tips of the wooden posts which still were under the water table were recovered (Tarrús 2008).

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A new field project started in 2008. The excavation took place in sector D, situated on the southern side of sector B, on a surface of c. 58 m², aiming to connect the excavated areas in sectors A and B (Fig. 3.9b) (Palomo et al. 2012). This project will continue, at least, until 2015. Most of the samples that have been analysed in this work come from this sector, though some samples from sectors B and C were also included.

Fig. 3.9b. Site plan of La Draga (left) and indication of the location of sector D (excavated during 2010-2012). Plan of the excavated area in 2010 (right) (adapted from an image provided by Equip Draga).

3.1.7.2. Chronology and phases

After the recent excavations of sector D, it is considered that there are two main settlement phases, with no clear hiatus in between but very different settlement patterns. The earliest occupation is a real pile dwelling site. Wooden huts were built right on top of the lake marl. This phase could last from c. 5300 to 5200 cal BC, based on the available radiocarbon dates (Bogdanovic & Piqué 2012). Immediately after the collapse of the dwelling structures, a rather large accumulation of several layers of clay of terrigenous origin (Balbo &

Antolín 2012) covered them and a new settlement was established, mostly using large travertine stones in order to produce an artificial floor. This second phase of occupation could have lasted until 5000 cal BC (see stratigraphy of sector D in Fig. 4.55).

It had long been argued that the site of La Draga responded to one single (and rather short) phase of occupation, though some diachrony seemed clear in certain areas (Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 2000, Tarrús 2008). Despite the taphonomic differences between the three sectors, the archaeologists considered that they all reflected the same phase of occupation. This led to some problematic conclusions, like the ones concerning the relation between paved floors of sector A and the wooden posts that were found below, and the absence of such structures in sectors B and C. It was considered that sector A had to be interpreted as a functionally specialized area (Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 2000). In relation to that, only 85 postholes were identified in sector A during the excavation of the archaeological layer, but a total number of 228 were identified after reaching the lake marl (where the tips of the posts were still in waterlogged conditions). The archaeologists considered that they missed these postholes during the excavation and that they belonged to the paved structures observed above (Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 2000), 81). Most of these posts could belong to an earlier phase of occupation, which was not detected in this area because the water table was below it and waterlogged preservation only affected some of the tips of those posts. Thus, the two phases of

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occupation that have recently been identified in sector D are probably found in a much larger area of the site.

A thorough revision of the initial work is in course and new radiocarbon dates on short-lived samples will be obtained.

3.1.7.3. Settlement structure

No house plans are yet available for the earliest settlement phase, since dendrochronological analyses have not been successful so far. This is due to the particular characteristics of Mediterranean woodlands and the limited amount of rings per post that have been obtained to date. Recent work in sector D allowed the recovery of large trunks and posts (P. Gassmann, in progress). It has been suggested, at a hypothetical level, that huts of around 40 m² existed during this phase and that they would be of rectangular shape (Tarrús 2008).

The second settlement phase is interpreted as a radical change, at least in terms of building techniques. Oval or ovoid huts with paved floors would have been constructed, without any evident spatial organization. The documentation of a large number of hearths led the archaeologists to conclude that these were open-air installations and that domestic activities would be much more public and prone to sharing (Bosch, Chinchilla & Tarrús 2011, Tarrús 2008, 9-14). As mentioned earlier, these interpretations need to be reviewed under the light of new evidences.

3.1.7.4. Palaeoecological and palaeoeconomic information

There is abundant information concerning palaeoecological and palaeoeconomic data from La Draga. I will only focus on the most relevant studies for this work.

Isotopic analyses carried out on oak wooden posts from La Draga recently confirmed that temperatures would be slightly lower during the early Neolithic and that there would be a higher precipitation (Aguilera et al. 2011).

Palynological data indicate that the area around the site would be densely wooded with oak, fir, pine and evergreen oak. Riparian forests would be important around the lake shore, where trees like hazel, ash, elm, alder and elder would grow (Burjachs 2000). The botanic diversity observed in charcoal analyses is rather similar. It confirms the generalized presence of oak in the immediacies of the site, but not pine or fir. These would grow in the nearest mountains located at about 15 km of distance (the Rocacorba mountains, of c. 970 m a.s.l.) (Piqué 1996, Piqué 2000, Burjachs 2000). Oak timber was used for building primarily. Oak, laurel and box were predominantly used as firewood. A wide botanical diversity of species is used to produce different wooden tools and handles, always taking into consideration the suitability of the properties of each wood.

Previous sampling strategies focused on large assemblages of charred cereal remains, which were particularly abundant in sector A, but also in sectors B and C. Previous work already showed that tetraploid naked wheat probably was the main cultivar at the site (Buxó 2007a, Buxó, Rovira & Sauch 2000, Antolín

& Buxó 2011b). Nevertheless, the results obtained for other taxa (especially wild taxa) remained rather unreliable, as demonstrated in other archaeological cases where a similar treatment of the samples was carried out (Tolar et al. 2010). The importance of agriculture at the site is corroborated by use-wear analyses of sickle blades (Gibaja 2000). Furthermore experimental works recently demonstrated that low harvesting was not possible, considering the sort of sickle hafts that were used (Palomo et al. 2011).

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A mixed herding strategy of ovicaprines, cattle and suidines provided most of the animal protein income to the human diet at the site. Sheep, goat, cattle and pigs were important resources. Mortality patterns seem to show that farming was oriented towards meat consumption, although a low number of bovines could have been exploited for traction (Tarrús et al. 2006, Bosch et al. 2008, Saña 2011) and there might be evidences of goat milk production (Saña 2011).