Chapter Twenty-Three

Mammals

23.1 Lake Annecy became an attractive environment some 5500 years ago for one particular mammal, homo sapiens. We know this because the remains of their prehistoric pile dwellings or palafittes (houses built on stilts) have been found around the lake. These are examples of 937 such sites found across the alpine region in France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany and Slovenia. In 2011, one hundred and eleven of the oldest and best preserved sites were selected as a group to be included as a UNESCO world heritage site. Of these, three sites are in France, and one is by the shore of lake Annecy, just off Allee le Beau in St Jorioz. They can be seen on an excellent database at

http://sites.palafittes.org

23.2 These architectural structures of entire settlements and excellently preserved organic remains provide comprehensive insight into the history of early farmers in Central Europe. Nowhere else in the world is the development of Late Stone Age and Metal Age settlement communities as clearly understandable : researchers can highlight in detail the culture, economy and environment of prehistoric times.

23.3 The pile dwellings are the first world heritage sites submerged in water. That is why they are so important. The unique anaerobic conditions in the muddy floor of these lakes have preserved organic remains with miraculous detail and quality. While it is important to promote public awareness of pile dwelling sites as a cultural heritage, for instance in museums, the scientific potential of the pile dwellings and their significance with regard to our history and culture are more important than ideal marketing opportunities.

23.4 The exceptional conservation conditions for organic materials provided by the waterlogged sites, combined with extensive under-water archaeological investigations and research in many fields of natural science, such as archaeobotany and archaeozoology, over the past decades, has combined to present an outstanding detailed perception of the world of early agrarian societies in Europe. The precise information on their agriculture, animal husbandry, development of metallurgy, over a period of more than four millennia, coincides with one of the most important phases of recent human history: the dawn of modern societies.

23.5 In view of the possibilities for the exact dating of wooden architectural elements by dendrochronology, the sites have provided exceptional archaeological sources that allow an understanding of entire prehistoric villages and their detailed construction techniques and spatial development over very long time periods. They also reveal details of trade routes for flint, shells, gold, amber, and pottery across the Alps and within the plains, transport evidence from dugout canoes and wooden wheels, some complete with axles for two wheeled carts dating from around 3,400BC, some of the earliest preserved in the world, and the oldest textiles in Europe dating to 3,000 BC. This cumulative evidence has provided a unique insight into the domestic lives and settlements of some thirty different cultural groups in the Alpine lacustrine landscape that allowed the pile dwellings to flourish.

23.6 Because the wood is so well preserved it allows extremely precise dendrochrological dating (dating based on growth rings in cross sections of wood) – ie to the year – over a tremendously long period of time - 5000 years. For instance the site at St Jorioz shows evidence of human slaughter of animals from 3791 to 3783 b.c.

23.7 The site was discovered as recently as June 1989 during a feasibility study for a project to restructure the commune’s shoreline. Subaquatic investigations from 1990 to 1994 revealed a total of 706 wooden stakes driven into the lake floor over an area of 1172 sq metres.

23.8 Investigations of the muddy floor of the lake revealed small, well-preserved organic material, including plant debris, remains of fauna, and Neolithic implements including axes and adzes in greenstone, flint blades, grinders and hammers, as well as jar fragments.

23.9 Nowhere in Europe can the development of civilisation, its technologies, economics and environment be followed as closely as in the region of the Alpine lakes.

The genesis of various types of settlement, the development from simple farming tech- niques to plough cultivation, the changes in the range of cultivated plants and the history of domesticated animal husbandry can all be traced there – against the background of environmental changes. Important innovations such as the origins of copper and bronze metalworking that began to change social structures from 2200 BC onwards, highlight the intellectual and religious development of these early societies.

23.10 Suitable locations on lakeshores were often re-settled time and again. That is why the remains of settlements from various periods often lie on top of each other like the layers of a cake. Therefore, the detailed observation of their position provides information about their development over the course of time. In other places, settlements were relocated.

23.11 Dugout canoes were the earliest means of transport used by the pile dwellers. A large number of these 12 m long boats have been found in these Alpine lakes, often found in the vicinity of the settlements. The pile dwellings have also yielded the ear- liest preserved wheels in Europe. They probably belonged to two-wheeled carts that were drawn by oxen. From approximately 3400 BC onwards, these carts facilitated the transportation of building materials and agricultural produce. The horse as a mount or as a beast of burden was only introduced from around 2000 BC onwards.

23.12 It is actually a miracle: even perishable objects survived in the anaerobic conditions of the wetland settlements. Besides wickerwork and woven plant fibres these objects also include a great number and variety of tools and vessels made of wood and bark. Bowls and cups were usually made from maple. Composite vessels such as those made from strips of bark were sewn together with bast, mostly from oak or lime trees. Fine-toothed objects are thought to be hair combs. In the Late Stone Age, these were made from fine viburnum shoots.

23.13 Because the sites cannot be overtly presented in situ, they are interpreted in museums. An over-arching presentation framework needs to be developed that allows coordination between museums and an agreed standard of archaeological data to ensure understanding of the value of the whole property and how individual sites contribute to that whole.

This site is the oldest of the lake preserving an organic level and a stratigraphy. The sedimentological and palynological studies permit the reconstitution of the environment of this littoral settlement. Dendrochronological dating shows a felling date between 3791 and 3783 BC. In a small test excavation, and for the first time on Lake Annecy, stone and pottery artifacts of the Middle Neolithic suggest Chasseen influences and minor Cortaillod features; in cultural terms, this enables us to situate the Savoyan Lakes within the cultural spheres of the mid-Rhone valley, the Jura and the Swiss Plateau.

The underwater sites of Lake Annecy are included in State’s public property ensuring them a high pres- ervation level. The lake and its approaches benefits of a good level of legal environmental measures contributing to the preservation of the archaeological remains. An archaeological zone on the commune of Saint-Jorioz incloses largely the archaeological sites. Les Marais deposit has been registered in the additional inventory of Historical Monuments in 2010. In 2011, the proceedings will lead in the classification purview (the highest level of legal heritage measures, ÿManagement Plan Version 

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