Approach to plant craft techniques from the mat impressions on the bases of Early Bronze Age ceramic vessels: The case of Cova Fonda (Spain)

Abstract

Evidence of prehistoric plant crafts is scarce in the Iberian Peninsula. The few sites that have provided samples of baskets are restricted to the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, where dry conditions have favoured the conservation of plant-based implements, like textiles, baskets, and ropes. In the north-east of the Peninsula, the environment is not appropriate for their conservation and examples are still rarer. However, indirect evidence of plant craft techniques is found in mat and basketry impressions on the base of ceramic vessels. They appear in the northeast of the Peninsula during the Early Bronze Age (circa 2000–1500 BCE). These vessels have usually been studied from the perspective of pottery analysis and little attention has been paid to their significance in terms of crafts technology. The objective of this paper is to explore the study of mat impressions to shed light on the evolution of plant crafts technology in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. 3D scanning and experimentation have been combined to identify craft techniques at Cova Fonda (Salomó, Spain), where eight pieces with impressions on their bases were recovered. The impressions allow us to identify coiling techniques and details of the production process for mats.