Landscape and forest exploitation at the ancient Neolithic site of La Draga (Banyoles, Spain)

Abstract

This work is focused on the use of firewood by the first farming communities of the settlement of La Draga (Banyoles, Spain). The two occupation phases have been dated between 5324 and 4980 cal. bc. Charcoal remains are used to represent the vegetation landscape. The comparison of the charcoal analysis data with other archaeobotanical studies carried out at the site enables an appreciation of how wood resources were used and the impact of this use on the environment. A total of 22 taxa have been identified; riparian communities and oak forests were predominant in the surroundings and provided firewood as well as wood for other uses. Deciduous Quercus sp. and Laurus nobilis make up the largest part of the identified remains. Lakeside vegetation and the deciduous forests suffered the first impact of the farming communities. In the more recent phase, Buxus sempervirens was also used intensely. The importance of box may have been the result of the greater expansion of these taxa, as a result of the degradation of vegetation in the surroundings.

Mid-Holocene vegetation history and Neolithic land-use in the Lake Banyoles area (Girona, Spain)

“…According to the charcoal record, the increase in shrubs (Buxus cf. sempervirens and Rosaceae/Maloideae), and the decrease in deciduous oak and riparian taxa, in the most recent phase of occupation indicates that these taxa had expanded as a result of the above-mentioned forest perturbation (Piqué, 2000;Caruso-Fermé and Piqué, 2014).…”

“…Nevertheless, climate cannot have been the main cause of this abrupt change, and the establishment of Neolithic communities apparently was a significant factor of disturbance in vegetation evolution. The intensive exploitation of oak forest to obtain firewood (Piqué, 2000;Caruso-Fermé and Piqué, 2014) and raw materials for the construction of dwellings was responsible for the major impact on vegetation dynamics (Revelles et al, 2014). The opening of farming plots, which were probably small and intensively managed (Antolín, 2013;Antolín et al, 2014), and without use of fire, had a relatively minor impact on the landscape.…”

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

“…Abundant archaeobotanical data were obtained from La Draga, including charcoal data (Piqué 2000;Caruso-Fermé and Piqué 2014), uncharred wood remains (O. López, ongoing PhD; Bosch et al 2006), seed and fruit remains (Buxó et al 2000;Antolín and Buxó 2011b;Antolín 2013), and amorphous plant tissues, including tubers (Berihuete, unpublished), completing an extraordinary palaeoecological record for the region. A detailed description of the systematic sampling strategy applied for the recovery of plant macro-remains in sector D, can be found in previous publications .…”

Punk’s not dead. Fungi for tinder at the Neolithic site of La Draga (NE Iberia)

“…According to their current hosts, all of the fungi identified at La Draga could have grown in the woods near the settlement. The charcoal and pollen data at the site have provided a detailed picture of the vegetation in the early Neolithic [ 36 – 39 ]. The settlement was located on a carbonated sand beach on the eastern bank of the Banyoles Lake.…”