Assessing the Role of Wooden Vessels, Basketry, and Pottery at the Early Neolithic Site of La Draga (Banyoles, Spain)

Abstract

Organic containers are rarely preserved in archaeological contexts. As a result, the work involved in their production and their functions remains invisible unlike other containers commonly better represented, such as pottery. The early Neolithic site of La Draga (5300–4900 cal BC), located on the shore of the Lake Banyoles (Spain), has provided several containers made of wood and plant fibres besides a significant amount of ceramic remains. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the vessels at La Draga to assess the importance of organic containers in a context where pottery technology is well known and employed for several functions. The importance of the different types of containers in the context of this farming society is assessed through the analysis of the number of remains, their sizes and shapes, and their spatial distribution. The exceptional preservation of the organic vessels allows comparisons to generate hypotheses about their function. Wooden containers are associated with consumption, while baskets may have been used to transport or store foodstuff, and ceramic vessels also for cooking. The spatial distribution of basketry remains tends to show an area that could be linked to the storage of cereals.