Zug takes its name from an old term for hauling in fishing nets (zuc)1. Current research underlines the significance of the use of wetland resources at several sites from at least the Neolithic onwards. The excellent preservation conditions at wetland sites allow us to make a distinction between various patterns of resource management at different sites. The abundance and composition of the recorded finds (including animal and plant remains) seem to vary depending on the location, function, and seasonality of each individual site.
At Cham-Eslen, around 4000 BC, a single building on a shallow seems to have been used predominantly for fishing, as we can tell from the discovery of fishing gear and a large amount of fish bones2. Transdisciplinary studies carried out on a large bone midden and its overlying loam layers at the site of Zug-Riedmatt (around 3200 BC) revealed evidence of seasonally differentiated subsistence activities including intense red deer hunting, fishing, gathering, and processing of different wetland species in and around the river delta and lakeshore3. The Roman mill at Cham-Hagendorn – preserved in an abandoned riverbed – gives us a glimpse of the use of a watercourse as a source of energy4. Finally, a recent excavation in a silted-up small lake called “Bibersee” (beaver lake) yielded a very rich assemblage of fishing gear (traps, fences, a dugout) from the Middle Ages, which fit in well with the site of Steinhausen-Sumpfstrasse West5.
When tracing backwaters and wetlands in pre-industrial Canton Zug, a variety of waterscapes emerge. Lakes, deltas, riparian zones, rivers and swamps of different sizes cover a large area of Canton Zug and paint a picture of abundant food resources as well as transport and communication routes and energy sources over the course of time.

References

1) Dittli, B. (2007) Zuger Ortsnamen. Lexikon der Siedlungs-, Flur- und Gewässernamen im Kanton Zug. Lokalisierung, Deutung, Geschichten. Bd. 5: Namenlexikon T-Z (Zug), 308 f.
2) Huber, R./Rehazek, A. (2014) A Neolithic Fishing Lodge at Cham-Eslen (Canton of Zug, Switzerland)? Poster presentation for the Conference on Culture, Climate and Environment Interactions at Prehistoric Wetland Sites, 11-14 June 2014, University of Bern, Switzerland. https://www.academia.edu/7327351/Renata_Huber_Andr%C3%A9_Rehazek_2014_A_Neolithic_Fishing_Lodge_at_Cham-Eslen_Canton_of_Zug_Switzerland_
3) Billerbeck, S./Hüster-Plogmann, H./Ismail-Meyer, K. et al. (2014) New taphonomic research in archaeological wetland deposits: the bone midden of Zug-Riedmatt (Central Switzerland). Poster presentation for the Conference on Culture, Climate and Environment Interactions at Prehistoric Wetland Sites, 11-14 June 2014, University of Bern, Switzerland. https://www.academia.edu/8098246/S.Billerbeck_H.H%C3%BCster_Plogmann_K.Ismail-Meyer_B.Steiner_%C3%96.Akeret_E.Eckmeyer_A.Heitz-Weniger_E.Gross_S.Jacomet_Ph.Rentzel_G.F.Schaeren_J.Schibler_New_taphonomic_research_in_archaeological_wetland_deposits._thebonemiddenofZug.RiedmattCentralSwitzerland
4) Schucany, C./Winet, I. (2014) Schmiede – Heiligtum – Wassermühle. Cham-Hagendorn (Kanton Zug) in römischer Zeit. Grabungen 1944/45 und 2003/04. Antiqua 52, Basel.
5) Roth Heege, E. (2007) Früh- und hochmittelalterliche Fischfanganlagen am Zugersee: Ergebnisse der Rettungsgrabungen Sumpfstrasse-West 1998/99. In: B. Röder/R. Huber, Archäologie in Steinhausen “Sennweid” (Kanton Zug). Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen von 1942 bis 2000. Antiqua 41, Basel, 181-197.