The oldest evidence of forest management found in the Neolithic site of La Draga

2023-07-17 14:29:01

A scientific team from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has identified the oldest evidence of forest management, based on the analysis of several anthropic marks located on pillars of laurel wood (A noble laurel) from La Draga (Banyoles, Girona), the only Neolithic lake site in the Iberian Peninsula, of between 7,200 and 6,700 years old.

The research has been carried out by Oriol López-Bultó, Ingrid Bertin and Raquel Piqué, researchers from the University’s Department of Prehistory, and the archaeologist Patrick Gassmann, and has been published in the International Journal of Wood Culture after its presentation at the congress From forests to heritageheld in Amsterdam (Netherlands).

The study indicates that the trees were marked with several blows made with adzes. About the scars that left the marks the wood continued to grow, and between five and ten years later the trees were felled and turned into pillars that were used in the initial phase of the construction of the town.

Until now, it was difficult to know when and how the first human groups began to manage forests, given the natural degradation of wood

Marks such as those found at La Draga have previously been identified at the Swiss site of Hauterive-Champréveyres, but these date back at least a thousand years.

The importance of the finding lies in the usual difficulty of finding archaeological evidence about “when and how the first human groups began to manage the forests, given the natural degradation of wood over time,” according to Oriol López-Bultófirst author of the article.

La Draga is one of the few European deposits in which the wood logs have been preserved in good conditionsby remaining submerged in the water table around Lake Banyoles.

“We had indications that the communities of La Draga managed the forests, but until now we have not been able to demonstrate it with such compelling physical evidence,” he explains. raquel piqueco-author of the research.

“The results also allow us to confirm the presence in the territory of the group that inhabited La Draga years before it was established as a town by selecting, marking and controlling the forest.”

A little exploited wood in the Neolithic

The laurel wood it was rarely mined during Neolithic Europe, despite its availability, mainly in places near lakes.

Of the 1,200 pillars recovered so far at the site, laurel accounts for only 1.4%, compared to 96.6% for oak

In the case of La Draga, it is documented in the remains of homes, tools and very few construction elements, with a very secondary role compared to the Oak.

In fact, of the 1,200 pillars recovered so far at the site, laurel accounts for only 1.4%, compared to 96.6% for oak.

The forest management marks of La Draga have only been observed, however, on the laurel pillars, a fact that puts on the table the reasons for the intentional marking of this type of wood.

“It could have responded to avoid its use for practical reasons, such as territorial, or even symbolic, but more studies will be needed to help clarify the issue,” the researchers point out.

Knowledge of natural resources

The researchers had verified in previous studies that the inhabitants of La Draga had a deep knowledge of the natural resources in the vicinity of the site. They managed plants and animals and made massive use of oak, with a careful selection of the shapes and dimensions to make the pillars on which they built the cabins.

“Forest management is a highly relevant economic and social activity, which requires knowledge, planning and social organization to carry it out. Our study demonstrates, once again, the importance and economic development that the inhabitants of La Draga already had and, in general, the Neolithic groups of the western mediterranean”, says López-Bultó.

To carry out the study, different methodologies have been combined, such as direct observation and recording, traceology and experimental archaeology, three-dimensional scanning, taxonomic identification and dendrochronology.

A unique lake site in Spain

The archaeological site of La Draga, discovered in 1990 on the eastern edge of the lake of Banyolesis one of the oldest settlements of farmers and ranchers in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula and one of the first Neolithic lake settlements in Europe (5,200-4,800 BC).

The location of the deposit, in permanent contact with the water table, has led to an exceptional conservation of organic materials

During its occupation, the town had the shape of a peninsula that jutted out into the lake, with a gentle and continuous slope. From surveys, it is assumed that he had a extension approximate of about 8,000 square meters.

The situation of the site, in permanent contact with the water table, has led to an exceptional conservation of organic materials, from the wooden pillars of the cabins to tools (adz handles, sickles, digging sticks, etc.), remains of basketry or even strings. This fact makes La Draga one of the capital sites for studying the European Neolithic.

The excavation work is part of a four-year research project (2022-2025). coordinated by the Archaeological Museum of Banyoles. This is carried out in collaboration between the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Banyoles Archaeological Museum (MACB), the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the Archeology Museum (MAC) through its Center for Underwater Archeology of Catalonia ( CASC).

Reference

López-Bultó, O., et al. “Sorting the Trees: The Role of Laurus nobilis in the Woodland Management Practices at La Draga (Banyoles, Spain)”, International Journal of Wood Culture (2023)