Lime Bast Winning: Know-How, Labour Input and Quantity Needed for the Production of Two Selected Neolithic Finds

Abstract

Chronostratigraphic analysis of plant remains from archaeological sites in the Circum-Alpine region dated between 4300 and 2600 BC prove that plant fibres played an important role in the daily life of prehistoric people. Numerous objects made of plant fibres are preserved, such as strings, ropes, containers, nets and clothes. Fibre identification shows that many objects are made of bast from trees. The amount of raw material needed for the production of these objects must have been enormous, and the production process was very labour intensive. In addition, the exploitation of tree bast must have had an impact on the forest composition around the settlements. Experiments with lime bast extraction in a forest on the Danish island of Zealand allow us to calculate the yield of bast and the extrapolation of the human labour that is necessary to harvest and process lime bast. Although only few tools are required for manufacturing objects from plant fibres, we could demonstrate that Neolithic brushes made of thorns from sloe or hawthorn were most probably used for splitting tree bast into fine and regular strips that could then be twisted or even spun into threads. Moreover, we calculated the amount of bast that is needed for the production of two selected Neolithic objects.