Abstract
In many societies, livelihood strategies are based on a combination of economic strategies, including natural resources such as trees for wood, leaves, and fruits. Archeological wood charcoals are residues of human activity related to fire. They provide evidence of fuelwood and, in some contexts, timber, handcraft activities, and fruit production. They represent a detailed record of the way ancient woodlands were exploited. However, charcoal analyses are often confined to the study of taxa and their relative frequency, and socio-economic interpretations are thus limited. In the last two decades, dendro-anthracological studies have been developed. Tree-ring widths, radius of curvature, and carbon isotope contents are increasingly used as indicators of wood gathering practices, woodland management and climate. Nevertheless, in the absence of standards, measurement procedures and data processing are very diverse. The challenge for archeological charcoal analyses is thus to improve analytical tools, especially on dendro-anthracological and isotopic aspects, in order to improve the interpretation of archeological assemblages and advance the discipline. As an example, we present a new approach for taxa growing in Western Europe combining (i) different dendro-anthracological parameters, (ii) an anthraco-typological approach based on modern-day wood stands, (iii) identification of anatomical signatures revealing particular forestry practices, and (iv) stable carbon isotopes. This opens the discussion on methodological perspectives and the associated scientific questions focusing on woodland exploitation and climate, and on the interest of a systemic approach for the analysis of charcoal in archeological contexts.
Highlights
Tree-ring widths, radius of curvature, and carbon isotope contents are increasingly used as indicators of wood gathering practices, woodland management and climate
This opens the discussion on methodological perspectives and the associated scientific questions focusing on woodland exploitation and climate, and on the interest of a systemic approach for the analysis of charcoal in archeological contexts
This approach aims (i) to avoid branch measurements whose δ13C variations are less controlled by climate than those of the trunk (Heaton, 1999), (ii) to analyze heartwood and sapwood separately as their 13C content may differ significantly (Baton et al, 2017), and (iii) to combine tree-ring width and carbon isotopes for past climate reconstructions
Summary
Reflection about wood gathering practices for fuel and timber is mainly based on a list of taxa and their frequency and often reduced to concepts of selection or opportunism. Charred wood preserved as charcoal in archeological sites is the most frequent and informative record of past woodland exploitation These residues of wood gathered and transported by people are valuable artefacts reflecting social actions depending on techniques, economic strategies, and the environment (Asouti and Austin, 2005; Picornell-Gelabert et al, 2011; Dufraisse, 2012, 2014; Figure 1). The factors influencing growth are multiple, highlighting environmental events and human practices that affect the tree throughout its life These are recorded within the wood tissues i.e., tree-ring anatomy and density, chemical and isotopic wood composition, and depend on age and tree organ (trunk or branch). In the absence of adequate tools to explore the information contained in charcoal tree-rings, the first dendro-anthracological developments started at the beginning of the 20th century (for a review, see Marguerie et al, 2010)
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