A lake village on the edge of Lake Neuchâtel, and type site of the earliest Neolithic culture in western Switzerland. The houses were built on wooden frames with walls of clay set on closely spaced timbers; the roofs were probably thatched. The inhabitants practised mixed farming, but supplemented their diet with the products of hunting and fishing. The round-based dark burnished pottery demonstrates connections with the Chassey culture of France. The lakeside positions of many Cortailiod sites has ensured the survival of a large number of wooden and birch-bark utensils and containers, and also many plant remains, including fruits and nuts, as well as cereals, pulses and flax. Dates for the Cortaillod culture begin c3000 be (c3800 bc).
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied