Reconstructing intra-site patterns in Neolithic lakeshore settlements : the state of archaeobotanical research and future prospects

In the past 25 years information on the daily life of man in the Neolithic has been elaborated substantially. At least for some time-spans and regions, we know rather precisely what was cultivated and gathered. But what other information have we gained? Information about intra-site patterns is of particular interest . Only when such patterns are known is it possible to interpret differences between settlements. But up till now we have only limited information on intra-site patterning. Although many rescue excavations were carried out in Switzerland, there are only a few settlements that have been investigated in a representative manner. In addition, there are some regions for which information is fragmentary. For almost half of the 86 settlements investigated since the 1960s, statistically usable data are not available. In this article we describe available results concerning intra-site patterns, and discuss which sampling strategies should be used for obtaining statistically reliable data. We suggest that in future a standardised procedure be followed for sieving and quantification of the data