Wood Charcoal Assemblages Research Articles

Wood lots and horticultural intensification in Prehistoric Tucson, B.C. 2,100-A.D. 500

This study presents the results of a long-term, large-data set paleoethnobotanical study of wood use along the Santa Cruz River floodplain, near Tucson, Arizona. Over the interval from 2,100BCE to A.D.50, local villagers depleted regional saltbush stocks by overharvesting them for fuel. At the same time, they became increasingly reliant on mesquite. We explore the implications of the reduction of saltbush, and the dependence on mesquite. We combine information from ancient wood charcoal assemblages, an ancient pollen assemblage, estimates of likely per capita fuelwood consumption rates, and estimates of mesquite and saltbush productivity. We show that vast amounts of land had to be set aside for sustainable mesquite harvesting. We suggest that the need for mesquite management for fuel emerged coevally with agricultural intensification prior to A.D. 50. Thereafter, additional demands for fuel during the Agua Caliente phase further escalated the need for managing wood lots. This study is germane for scholars of the prehistoric American Southwest, and also for people studying pre-pottery early agricultural societies or prehistoric community resource ownership worldwide.

Open canopy forests of the loess regions of southern Poland: A review based on wood charcoal assemblages from Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites

This review paper presents a comprehensive study of all available up to date anthracological assemblages recovered from 79 archaeological settlements of the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods from the loess regions of southern-Poland. The aim of the research is to reconstruct the character of the woodland developed in the loess belt (1) in the Atlantic phase, with a focus on the primeval forests, the successive cultural phases and their impact on local forests, and (2) in the Subatlantic phase, characterized by a late-migrating of trees such as hornbeam, beech and fir. For the Early Neolithic period, related with the first appearance of the stable and agrarian settlement, the research aims at testing the hypothesis about the existence of open oak-dominated forests in the Atlantic phase , with patches of steppe-like vegetation. The anthracological data indicate that indeed open canopy forests prevailed in the loess-mantled areas and this result has important implications for understanding the expansion of the first farmers into Central Europe, who settled mainly in loess belt zones. It is likely that open oakwoods played a significant role in the selection of the landscape suitable for settle down as well as was an indicator of rich soils developed on loess-substratum. Finally, the last-arriving trees in southern Poland, that are principal constituents of present-day forests communities, appeared in high shares in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC, but became important forest components mostly in the Carpathian Foothills.

Vegetation change in southeastern Greece during the Late Pleistocene. The wood charcoal record from Klissoura Cave 1 (Peloponnese, Greece)

The late Pleistocene and early Holocene vegetation of southeastern Greece is coming to light through the study of well-preserved wood charcoal assemblages from cave sites in the Peloponnese dating from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. New anthracological results from Klissoura Cave 1 in the Argolid are presented. These, alongside the recently published charcoal sequence from Franchthi Cave (Asouti et al., 2018) and preliminary anthracological results from Kephalari Cave are integrated in a synthetic discussion, which tracks changes in the vegetation from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene. Specific markers of vegetation change are looked for in the anthracological record, i.e. Olea europaea, deciduous Quercus, Juniperus sp., Amygdalus, Maloideae. The charcoal sequence from Klissoura Cave 1 spans from 123 ka BP to 35 ka cal BP. The results show that, during the MIS 5e, thermophilous Olea/mesophilous deciduous Quercus woodlands prevailed in the area under the influence of warm and relatively humid conditions. Lower precipitation after MIS 5e and in the course of MIS 5 resulted in the expansion of thermophilous Olea woodlands under increasingly drier conditions. Open Amygdalus woodland expanded in the later part of MIS 5 in agreement with progressively drier and cooler conditions. Juniperus woodland prevailed at the beginning of MIS 3 while progressively warmer and more humid interstadial conditions favoured the expansion of mesophilous Quercus woodland. Drier conditions during the later part of MIS 3 would have resulted in changes in the composition of the mesophilous woodlands and another cycle of expansion of Amygdalus open vegetation. Changes in the vegetation during MIS 2 and the Lateglacial follow similar patterns according to complementary anthracological evidence from the Kephalari and Franchthi caves.

Fuelwood collection as daily practice: a wood charcoal study for the colonial period North Carolina Piedmont

ABSTRACT European colonization brought innumerable changes and choices to Native groups across the Southeast. Scholars continue to examine the various ways communities navigated these disruptions. Studying the remains of daily practice offers a window into how communities negotiated continuity and change. Wood charcoal, representing the remains of daily fires, provides an important, but underutilized, method for examining people’s daily routines and interactions with their surrounding landscapes. This paper examines wood charcoal assemblages from several sites in the North Carolina Piedmont that span the precontact to early colonial periods (AD 1400–1705). Fuelwood collection models are used to consider the environments, practices, and preferences that influenced the composition of wood charcoal assemblages. Comparison of these datasets shows a consistent significant pattern of high-quality fuelwood selection with additional patterns potentially related to long-term use of the same environment and factors related to colonialism. Altogether, these patterns suggest continuity of some daily practices despite disruptions to other aspects of life.

Trees and shrubs in the sanctuary. Wood charcoal analysis at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros

Wood charcoal analysis at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros aims to provide information on the vegetation of the area and its management and on the range of plants used in the activities taking place at the sanctuary. During the excavations of 2003–2005 in Areas D and C, systematic samples from fills and features from all the excavated strata were recovered and water flotation was used for the separation of wood charcoal from the sediment. Wood charcoal was found in two pits dated to the Early Iron Age, near the supposed altar of the Archaic period (Feature 05), in a deposit of the Hellenistic period (the “dining deposit”), in floor deposits (Early Iron Age and Late Classical/Early Hellenistic periods), and fills of different chrono-cultural periods (Archaic–Early Roman). All the taxa identified in the wood charcoal assemblages are thermophilous Mediterranean elements, most of them evergreen broad-leaved. The assemblages show that the most frequent taxon is the olive, followed by the prickly oak, the Fabaceae, and the heather. In most assemblages mock privet/buckthorn, strawberry tree, the pear and Prunus family species are present, while Aleppo pine, lentisc, the fig, and the carob trees are less frequent. Olive cultivation was an important economic activity during the whole life of the sanctuary and probably olive pruning constantly provided the sanctuary with fuel. The woodland would be the additional source of firewood for the sanctuary’s needs for fuel for mundane activities such as heating and cooking, for more formal ones, such as sacrifice, but also for industrial activities such as tile firing. Activities related to the reorganization of space and the expansion of the sanctuary may be reflected in charcoal of carpentry by-products as the fir, cypress, and maybe pine remains.

The character of the Atlantic oak woods of the Great Hungarian Plain

The aim of this paper is to compare the wood charcoal assemblages from several archaeological sites near Polgár (north-eastern Hungary) with the pollen records of the same area in order to infer the character of forest communities that developed between 7500 and 6500 cal. yr BP. One question of particular interest is the structure of the woodlands in the mid-Holocene, particularly during the Holocene Climatic Optimum, when summer mean temperatures were higher than today. Pollen studies in this period suggest the dominance of wooded steppe with significant, naturally open, steppe-covered habitats. Hazel (Corylus avellana) and oak (Quercus sp.) were the most important pollen components. On the other hand, the anthracological records suggest considerably less hazel, more oak admixed with several other woody taxa, particularly heliophilous Cornus sp. and Rosaceae trees or shrubs that still remain either invisible or are poorly represented in the pollen diagrams. The two types of data thus complement each other, and serve to better characterise this key time interval when Neolithic agriculture spread across the Great Hungarian Plain. Special attention is given to the joint occurrence of cornelian cherry (Cornus sp. cf. C. mas) and European smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria), as these commonly occur in the Sub-Mediterranean-subcontinental wooded steppe and thermophilous oak forest associations in SE Europe these days, under warmer summer conditions than those experienced in Hungary today. Their appearance and, in the case of cornelian cherry, abundance in the Atlantic wood charcoal assemblages suggest that, during the Atlantic phase, the wooded steppes of the north Great Hungarian Plain could have been of a Sub-Mediterranean character.

Evaluating the impact of water flotation and the state of the wood in archaeological wood charcoal remains: Implications for the reconstruction of past vegetation and identification of firewood gathering strategies at Tell Qarassa North (south Syria)

The development of water flotation during the second half of the 20th century constituted a milestone in archaeobotany, since it allowed the systematic recovery of plant macroremains by processing large amounts of sediment for the first time. However, little attention has been paid to the fact that in certain cases, hyper-fragmentation or complete destruction of charred plant macroremains occurs as soon as they come into contact with water. At the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Tell Qarassa North (south Syria) the destruction of wood charcoal remains was documented during the flotation process. The aim of this work is to evaluate the assemblage and to determine the factors that conditioned the preservation or disintegration of wood charcoal remains. In particular, attention is paid to the distribution of the alterations (e.g. vitrification, decayed wood) by taxa, and the proportions with which they are present before and after flotation. To test some of the patterns observed in the archaeological material a small-scale experiment on modern wood charcoal remains is carried out. The results enable a critic reconstruction of the type of vegetation and firewood gathering strategies at Tell Qarassa North. This work has, overall, important implications for the understanding of the taphonomic factors that affect wood charcoal assemblages.

The use of Firewood in Ancient Maya Funerary Rituals: A Case Study from Rio Bec (Campeche, Mexico)

In this paper, we examine wood charcoal assemblages that were recovered from ash layers in Terminal Classic (A.D. 800–950) burials at the Maya site of Rio Bee to understand the use of fuel wood in funerary rites. Compared to charcoal deposits from domestic and non-funerary contexts, the spectrum of wood taxa used in the burial deposits is unique, which suggests specific fire-related practices. Members of the Sapotaceae family and Cordiasp. dominated all contexts and were clearly primary fuels. In contrast, the use of pine (Pinus sp.), which does not grow locally today, was limited to ritual practices. In addition, it seems that a deliberate effort was made to maximize the taxonomic richness of the fuel wood used in burials. Funerary charcoal deposits appear to have been carefully and intentionally “composed” for burning during funerary rites. We propose that this practice materialized the relationship between fire, ash, and the cycles of life and death, which are often symbolized by plant life cycles in the worldview of ancient Maya societies. This study also emphasizes the contribution of anthracological (wood charcoal) analysis to the reconstruction of human behavior and the importance of systematic paleoethnobotanical sampling in funerary contexts.

Six centuries of anthropogenic forest change on a Polynesian high island: Archaeological charcoal records from the Marquesas Islands

It is widely recognised that Polynesian settlers developed central Pacific islands into productive economic landscapes, but the character and tempo of these transformations are poorly understood. Archaeological wood charcoal assemblages are uniquely suited to inform on landscape change, especially when the principal food crops were arboreal. We use a large archaeological charcoal collection, drawn from numerous geographically and functionally varied contexts, to develop a multi-scalar vegetation history of Marquesas Islands' lowland forests. Our aims were to: 1) reveal historical patterns of plant biogeography, including introductions by Polynesian settlers; 2) detail the nature and timing of anthropogenic impacts on native Marquesan forests; and 3) track the emergence of economically productive arboreal landscapes. A collection of 6510 fragments identified to 59 taxa inform on a ∼600-year sequence of human activities. The earliest samples indicate rich forests were encountered by human colonists, comprised of a mix of dicotyledonous hardwood species and woody monocots. These included members of two now-extinct Sapotaceae genera, Planchonella and cf. Sideroxylon, along with Allophylus, a Sapindaceae apparently extirpated from Nuku Hiva. Two important coastal trees, Calophyllum inophyllum and Thespesia populnea, also appear to be indigenous. Polynesian impacts were rapid and widespread, irrevocably altering the indigenous vegetation and disrupting native ecosystems. Samples from later occupations document on-going modifications to lowland vegetation communities. This included inter-valley variability in the timing of transformations and the development of mosaic formations, comprised of native forest interspersed with areas of cultivation and habitation. By 1650 CE, low and mid-elevation vegetation was extensively remodelled, as anthropogenic forests of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit), Inocarpus fagifer (Tahitian chestnut), and other economic species became widely established and cultivation intensified. Mimicking natural forests, these arboricultural systems helped protect the island's fragile soils and landscapes from recurring climate extremes. Intriguingly, some translocated taxa, including Tahitian chestnut, Casuarina equisetifolia (ironwood), and Morinda citrifolia (Indian mulberry), may have been post-settlement introductions. This analysis demonstrates the potential of archaeological wood charcoal assemblages to inform on Pacific Island vegetation histories, anthropogenic processes, and the evolution of arboricultural economies.

Explaining changing patterns of wood presence across the Bronze and Iron Age at Kaman-Kalehöyük, central Anatolia

Previous anthracological research on multi-use pit fills at Kaman-Kalehoyuk in central Turkey shows a sudden and dramatic increase in pine use from the Early Iron Age onwards, accompanied by a decline in taxa richness from the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age. This paper explores whether fuel choice was the driving factor behind this pattern of change through a comparative taxonomic analysis of wood charcoal assemblages derived from multi-use pits, domestic hearths, and room fills accumulated during the Middle Bronze Age to Late Iron Age occupation at the site. Results from the hearth assemblages parallel those from the pits, documenting a decline in taxa richness from the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age, particularly during the Hittite Empire period, followed by a dramatic increase in pine in the Iron Age. However, the room fill composition does not match the same pattern. Results confirm that changes in taxonomic representation represented in the pit fills at Kaman-Kalehoyuk was driven by fuel wood selection, with remains from room fills reflecting different selection behaviour relating to construction activities.

Fuelwood, crops and acorns from Iritegi cave (Oñati, Basque Country)

We present the analyses of plant macroremains from Iritegi, a cave from Northern Iberia with archaeological levels dated from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age. Wood charcoal assemblages are dominated throughout the sequence by Fraxinus. Other important taxa are Quercus subg. Quercus, followed by Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Ilex aquifolium, Taxus baccata and Ulmus. Acer, Alnus and Maloideae occur in very low numbers. The high percentages of Fraxinus are possibly result from the selection of ash for fodder. Evidence for the use of crops (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum/durum) comes only from the Chalcolithic contexts. The identification of acorns in one Chalcolithic hearth shows that roasting of these nuts was taking place maybe to improve taste and to facilitate further processing or to improve storage conditions. The results show that plant food gathering still played a role within the subsistence of farming human groups in the region.

Climate, human palaeoecology and the use of fuel in Wadi Sana, Southern Yemen

This study integrates analysis of wood charcoal assemblages with climate proxies, palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data sets in hyper-arid Wadi Sana, Yemen, to address the availability and use of wood fuels by South Arabian hunter-herder groups from the Early Holocene (8000–7700 cal. b.p.) to Middle Holocene (6900–4800 cal. b.p.) periods. The Early Holocene environment, regulated by a stronger Southwest Asian monsoon, was moister than the present, providing a marshy winter grazing area for cattle herders, whose construction of hearths and food preparation strategies changed over time. This study provides an insight into long term stability of land cover and use as well as the dynamics of human contributions to landscape change. We suggest that complex environmental and cultural processes affect species availability, fuel choice and land use management. Despite environmental and economic changes in Wadi Sana, our dataset does not show changes in fuel choice from the Early to Middle Holocene.

Identifying the woody resources of Diepkloof Rock Shelter (South Africa) using scanning electron microscopy of the MSA wood charcoal assemblages

This article presents the results of the anatomical identification of wood charcoal from pre-Still Bay, Still Bay and Howiesons Poort assemblages at Diepkloof Rock Shelter (South Africa) using scanning electron microscopy. In the earliest phases, with pre-Still Bay stone tools, the charcoal shows a predominance of Afromontane forest taxa, some riverine woodland species, mesic thicket and proteoid fynbos vegetation. With a change in lithic technology in Still Bay contexts, the balance of Afromontane and thicket taxa shifts towards favouring the latter. A more diverse array of proteoid fynbos species emerges, and there is evidence for the use of plants from the local wetlands of the Verlorenvlei. In Howiesons Poort contexts, typified by a different lithic technology, the charcoal shows some Afromontane forest persisting, but the overwhelming change is towards greater species diversity, with the woody taxa being increasingly representative of thicket and shrubland. Some of the fynbos and thicket species are typical of vegetational communities which inhabit well-drained soils, rocky or dry locations at the present day. More wetland plants from the Verlorenvlei were selected for use.The range of taxa in pre-Still Bay, Still Bay and Howiesons Poort contexts and the diversity of their preferred habitats (modelled on present-day recorded distributions) cannot be interpreted in a simplistic manner to reflect a unilinear change in climatic or soil moisture conditions. Whilst such factors may have played a significant part and contributed to some or all of the taxa having very different phytogeographical distributions compared to their modern counterparts (as at the nearby Elands Bay Cave), it is also necessary to consider to what extent people might have collected these diverse woody resources from a mosaic of vegetational communities, some local, some far away. These scenarios are not mutually exclusive and future collaborative work, which aims to include detailed local mapping of all woody taxa present in the sequence, will be crucial for presenting a resolved palaeoenvironmental and phytogeographical reconstruction through time.

Coastal Occupation at the GS-1 Site, Cook’s Bay, Mo‘orea, Society Islands

Excavations at the GS-1 site uncovered buried stratigraphic deposits of some depth. Site stratigraphy and artifact content suggests the area was first used as a coastal habitation prior to being covered by substantial colluvial deposits and in historic times, modern fill. Wood charcoal samples recovered from the site were identified to short lived species for AMS radiocarbon dating. The wood charcoal identifications were also used to identify indigenous versus introduced species in order to clarify the depositional events associated with the stratigraphic deposits. The lowest deposits at GS-1 date to as early as the 11th century Ad. Colluvial deposits overlying the lowest strata were definitively related to human activities, as Polynesian introductions are present in the wood charcoal assemblages. Finally, the frequency and types of artifacts recovered suggest the area served as an adze manufacturing locale through time.

Anthracological analysis from Kovacevo, southwest Bulgaria: woodland vegetation and its use during the earliest stages of the European Neolithic

Wood charcoal analysis from Kovacevo in southwest Bulgaria, one of the earliest Neolithic sites in southeastern Europe, provided information about the first stages of anthropogenic impact on vegetation during the Early Neolithic (6159–5630 cal b.c.). Deciduous oak was the most abundant and frequently used taxon in the wood charcoal assemblages. Cornus charcoal was also abundant, probably connected with the use of its twigs as building material in wattle and daub structures. The dominant deciduous oak forest was opened during the Kovacevo I period, as shown by evidence from the Kovacevo Ia and Kovacevo Ib occupation phases. Other types of vegetation, like Black pine (Pinus nigra) woodland, riverine forests and some sub-Mediterranean elements, were used only sporadically, indicating high and sustained availability of wood resources in the oak forests. Anthropogenic impacts were gradual, a pattern that matches contemporary studies elsewhere in the region.

Woodland vegetation and fuel exploitation at the prehistoric campsite of Pınarbaşı, south-central Anatolia, Turkey: the evidence from the wood charcoal macro-remains

This paper presents the results of the analysis of wood charcoal macro-remains from the multi-period prehistoric rock shelters of Pınarbaşı in the Konya plain, south-central Anatolia. Retrieval and analytical methods are also reported in detail, together with some methodologies previously untested in the field of charcoal analysis aiming at the quantitative description of context-related variation in the preservation status of archaeological wood charcoal assemblages. The patterns observed in the charcoal record are interpreted as a reflection of the prehistoric strategies for firewood exploitation in their local and regional palaeoenvironmental context.

Fossil wood charcoal assemblages from Elands Bay Cave, South Africa: implications for Late Quaternary vegetation and climates in the winter‐rainfall fynbos biome

Summary Aim The aim of this paper is to analyse fossil charcoal deposits, largely identified to the species level and spanning a sequence from the late Holocene to < 40,000 BP, in order to reconstruct Late Quaternary vegetation and climatic patterns in the western (winter‐rainfall) fynbos biome of South Africa. Location The charcoals were excavated from the Elands Bay Cave (32°19S, 18°20E) on the semiarid (200–250 mmyr−1), winter‐rainfall coastline of the western fynbos biome. Methods Patterns in the charcoal data set over time were sought by manual sorting of the charcoal×sample matrix, as well as by subjecting the data to multivariate analysis. Palaeoclimatic reconstruction was attempted by comparing the climatic controls on contemporary vegetation communities that resembled the fossil assemblages. Charcoal diversity was modelled using sample age and number of charcoal fragments as explanatory variables. Results The fossil assemblages ranged from xeric communities (similar to those presently occurring at the site) during the Holocene, to more mesic thicket and fynbos vegetation in the terminal Pleistocene, to Afromontane forest and riverine woodland communities after about 18,000 BP. Diversity of the charcoal samples increased monotonically with increasing sample age. Main conclusions The results suggest that, unlike the eastern fynbos biome, which is under fundamentally different climatic controls, soil moisture conditions in the western part of the biome were higher in the Last Glacial than during the Holocene. This scenario may help to explain the higher regional richness and associated diversification in the western than eastern part of the biome.

The Wood Charcoal Assemblages from Elands Bay Cave, Southwestern Cape: Principles, Procedures and Preliminary Interpretation

The Wood Charcoal Assemblages from Elands Bay Cave, Southwestern Cape: Principles, Procedures and Preliminary Interpretation