Spain

Project Description.

Technological innovations inherent to the development of Neolithic economy will be dealt with. These changes will be faced from the point of view of the circulation of raw materials, products, and ideas among the first farming communities established in the northeastern of Iberia. So, we will focus mainly on the technical productions implemented by the communities settled in the Early Neolithic site of La Draga (5300-4900 cal BC), located in Lake Banyoles (NE Spain). All these productions will be studied from different perspectives concerning the strategies developed for subsistence, regarding the management of resources for the procurement of raw materials as well as the activities related to their transformation into tools and utensils. The pattern of consumption of these goods will be likewise analyzed, studying their function, effectiveness, durability, amortization, and eventual recycling. We will try to reconstruct the spatial dynamics, whether at a macro-spatial (from the sources to the places where their consumption took place, reconstructing the economic organization of subsistence activities) or micro-spatial scale (within the settled spaces, showing the internal organization of settlements). This way we intend to establish the designs, traditions, and technical skills apprehended from the study of the assemblages, determining the degree of specialization achieved.