Los objetos elaborados con fibras vegetales del Neolítico Antiguo de Coves del Fem, Ulldemolins (Tarragona)

Los objetos manufacturados con materias orgánicas raramente se conservan excepto bajo condiciones ambientales específicas, ya sea en medios de sequedad constante, en contextos anaeróbicos sumergidos, bajo congelación o por carbonización. Por ello, las técnicas de cestería y cordelería, así como las materias primas utilizadas están escasamente documentadas en el registro arqueológico del Neolítico peninsular. Se aporta aquí nueva información acerca de las técnicas cesteras y de cordelería, así como de las materias primas utilizadas en Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona). Estos restos fueron recuperados en una fosa adscribible al Neolítico antiguo. La cestería estudiada se encuentra manufacturada a través de la técnica de espiral cosida, mientras que en el caso de la cordelería se trata de un único fragmento torsionado. Se discute su funcionalidad en un contexto de hábitat en cueva, así como su tecnología y materias primas usadas, contextualizándolos con otros ejemplos de cestería de espiral cosida de la península ibérica.Plant-based artefacts are considered one of the first technologies used by human populations playing an important role in the daily life of all societies. Even though, they are made of perishable material which usually disappears in archaeological contexts except for some specific environmental conditions that permit their conservation as arid, anaerobic, waterlogged atmospheres or carbonization. Some examples of the f irst implements produced by organic materials are baskets and cords which are documented since the very beginning of human populations. Nevertheless, these fibre-based materials have been excluded from archaeological studies. The lack of knowledge in this vegetal technology is a consequence of the difficulty of organic material preservation and the non-suitable analysis and identification methodologies. Even they represent a living material culture as history and ethnography demonstrate, vegetal fibres were probably used for producing indispensable everyday objects and artefacts in the past. The aim of this paper is to provide new information about vegetal technology as basketry and cordage techniques, as well as the raw materials used in Neolithic chronologies in the North-East of the Iberian Peninsula. The materials analyzed in this study were recovered at the site of Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona) which is a rock shelter preserved thanks to the fallen rock blocks. Basketry and cordage fragments came from the archaeological fieldwork of 2019 and were recovered inside a pit in levels of the final Early Neolithic. They were preserved thanks to the carbonization and dehydration they were submitted to. Both basketry and cordage examples from Coves del Fem, were deeply described considering their morphology and technology, as well as the raw materials they were made of. The methodology consisted of describing the technique used and taking measures of the different fragments aiming to obtain information about the way the basket and the cord were made. The identification of raw materials was performed by observing cross, peridermal and longitudinal sections of samples using a transmitted optical microscope. Descriptions were based on microanatomical observation by comparing with reference modern material and specialized technical literature. The results showed the basketry assemblage was produced using the coiling technique and all the fragments belong to a single object. In the case of the cordage fragment, it was made by twisting the fibres which had been previously mechanically processed. The identification of raw materials revealed at least the use of sedges for basketry and non-identified herbaceous plants for making cordage. The functionality of the objects is discussed, and they are also contextualized with other Neolithic fibre productions examples from the Iberian Peninsula and the Middle East, both technologically and the chosen raw materials. In summary, fibre-based productions from Coves del Fem, along with the assemblage from the lake dwelling site of La Draga, fill the gap of this archaeological record from the Iberian Peninsula to Europe, demonstrating the long history of the technical skills related to plant exploitation

Darreres intervencions arqueològiques al poblat neolítc de La Draga i a l'estany de Banyoles (Banyoles, Pla de l'Estany)

Presentem les darreres actuacions arqueològiques (2008 - present) desenvolupades al poblat neolític de La Draga i l'entorn lacustre de Banyoles. Aquestes intervencions s'emmarquen dins del projecte de recerca La Draga i les ocupacions lacustres prehistòriques de l'Estany de Banyoles dins del context de la l'Europa Occidental (2008-2013). Els esforços d'aquest projecte han anat dirigits vers l'assoliment de dos objectius, d'una banda, entendre la dinàmica de l'ocupació prehistòrica de l'Estany de Banyoles, tant en els moments previs com posteriors a les ocupacions neolítiques de La Draga, i de l'altra, caracteritzar les estratègies econòmiques i organitzatives dels pobladors neolítics que es van establir a La Draga

Arqueología al oeste de Homs: sondeos en los yacimientos de Jeftelik (Natufiense), Tell Marj (Neolítico cerámico) y prospecciones de monumentos megalíticos: campaña 2009

RESUMEN: En el artículo se presentan los resultados de los trabajos de campo desarrollados en el marco del proyecto "Arqueología al oeste de Homs" en 2009. Se han excavado los yacimientos de Jeftelik y Tell Marj y se ha continuado la prospección de las necrópolis megalíticas en la región. Jeftelik es un yacimiento natufiense antiguo en el que se ha localizado una probable estructura de habitación a la que está asociado una gran cantidad de material lítico tallado. Sus características y cronología ponen en cuestión los modelos convencionales sobre el origen y expansión del natufiense. Tell Marj es un poblado construido al final del neolítico en el que las casas cuentan con muros de basalto bien escuadrados. En el lugar se han reconocido dos fases de ocupación por el momento, la más antigua de las cuales muestra varias reconstrucciones y superposiciones de casas. Entre el material arqueológico destaca la extraordinaria abundancia de puntas de proyectil y la presencia de restos que sugieren la implantación de formas económicas y sociales complejas, con intercambios a larga distancia y almacenamiento a gran escala. Las necrópolis megalíticas reconocidas destacan por la gran extensión de las áreas ocupadas, de decenas de km., y por la existencia de monumentos complejos que a veces asocian otro tipo de estructuras a las construcciones funerarias propiamente dichas.ABSTRACT: This paper presents the results of the fieldwork carried out within the Project "Archaeology to the West of Homs" in 2009. The sites at Jeftelik and Tell Marj have been excavated and the work surveying the megalithic necropolis in the área has continued. Jeftelik is an early Natufian site, with a probable habitation structure associated with a large amount of knapped lithic objects. Its characteristics and chronology question conventional models about the origin and expansion of the Natufian. Tell Marj is a late Neolithic settlement, with houses with well-built rectangular basalt walls. Two occupation phases have been identified to date, in which the older phase exhibits several stages of re-building and superimposition of houses. The archaeological material found includes large numbers of projectile points and remains suggesting the incorporation of complex economic and social forms, with long-distance exchange networks and large-scale storage. The megalithic necropolises that have been studied cover large areas, several tens of square kilometres. Complex monuments have been identified, sometimes, associated with other types of structures apart from the funerary constructions themselves.Este proyecto está financiado por el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (proyectos i+D+i HUM2007-66128-C02-01 y 02), el Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural de España del Ministerio de Cultura, el programa EXCAVA de la Generalitat de Catalunya, la Universidad Saint-Joseph de Beirut y la Universidad de Cantabria