Disentangling human from natural factors: Taphonomical value of microanatomical features on archaeological wood and charcoal assemblages

Paloma Vidal-Matutano (1, 2) , Auréade Henry (2) , Yolanda Carrión-Marco (1) , Ethel Allué (3, 4)

1 UV - Universitat de València
2 CEPAM - Culture et Environnements, Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-Age
3 IPHES-CERCA - Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social
4 Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Archaeobotanical charcoal and wood analyses rely on the observation of different macro and microanatomical features affecting wood structure to variable extents. These features may result from a wide range of intrinsic and extrinsic factors alluding to different stages of the wood's taphonomical history: initial growth conditions, human selection, transformation/use and discard, post-depositional processes and archaeological sampling strategies. Papers in this volume address taphonomy in this broad sense, through recent methodological work mainly based on experimentation and case studies from a variety of chrono-cultural and geographical contexts. The authors present a number of tools available to wood and charcoal analysts and discuss their archaeological relevance to characterize anthropogenic and/or natural processes. The presented approaches are complementary and well reflect the extent to which wood and charcoal remains provide new insights into past human practices and social dynamics.

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Paloma Vidal-Matutano, Auréade Henry, Yolanda Carrión-Marco, Ethel Allué. Disentangling human from natural factors: Taphonomical value of microanatomical features on archaeological wood and charcoal assemblages. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020, 31, pp.102328. ⟨10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102328⟩. ⟨hal-02541493⟩