Research, Experimentation and Outreach in the Early Neolithic Site of La Draga (Banyoles-Spain)

Abstract

The exceptional preservation of organic material in the early Neolithic site of La Draga (Banyoles, north-east Iberian Peninsula) has allowed lines of research that had rarely been undertaken in the region. The research project carried out at the site of La Draga involves experimental archaeology as a methodological tool in order to characterize the technological procedures and to test the functional hypotheses of tools. Data obtained in these investigations are the foundation stones for the pedagogical project of La Draga, mainly based on hands-on experience. These outreach activities are held in the Archaeological Park of the Neolithic Settlement of La Draga, where early farmers’ dwellings, tools and agricultural plots have been replicated following the results of archaeological research. In this paper, some examples of the interaction between experimental research, digital technologies, and outreach activities will be described.

Keywords

• education
• wood working
• textile
• stone
• tools
• wood
• archery
• flint knapping
• neolithic
• spain