ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 2235
Session = 11.14.2


ARCHAEOLOGICAL WOOD: QUESTIONS, PROBLEMS, NEW DIRECTIONS


L.A. Newsom (Southern Illinois University)


Wood remains are common constituents of archaeological deposits. They occur carbonized, desiccated, fossilized, and/or waterlogged, and as complete or partial artifacts, building remnants, carpentry debitage, fuelwood remains, or environmental debris, among other things. Wood provides insights into cultural practices like species selection and wood technology, as well as evidence of environment and human influence on local forest dynamics. Analysis entails concerns about preservation, sampling, and basic taxonomy, and employs analytical methods that are somewhat specific to archaeobotany. By the nature of the remains, archaeological wood regularly involves questions of ecological and functional anatomy. Large assemblages of archaeological wood from Florida and the Caribbean islands are discussed to demonstrate some of the rewards and pitfalls of working with this material.


HTML-Version made 7. July 1999 by Kurt Stüber