Unable to connect to database - 15:09:22 Unable to connect to database - 15:09:22 SQL Statement is null or not a SELECT - 15:09:22 SQL Statement is null or not a DELETE - 15:09:22 Botany 2006 - Abstract Search
Unable to connect to database - 15:09:22 Unable to connect to database - 15:09:22 SQL Statement is null or not a SELECT - 15:09:22

Abstract Detail


A Century Of Wood Anatomy and 75 Years Of IAWA

Newsom, Lee [1].

Wood Anatomy and Archaeological Research: from Artifacts to Ancient Forests.

WOODEN artifacts-spears, bowls, boxes, plows, coffins, art objects, and more- have been the subject of archaeological inquiry for more than a century. Interest in wooden objects dates back at least to the middle 1800s following exceptional finds from European and American wetlands, for example, from the crannogs of Ireland and Scotland, the so-called "Swiss Lake Dwellings", and the Key Marco site in south Florida, as well as Egyptian tombs and pyramids, and various other famous locations where wood has been preserved. These original studies tended to focus on descriptions of the artifacts, including brief mention of the species used to create wooden objects. In recent decades archaeologists have broadened their research beyond simple descriptions of artifacts and wooden structures to explore wood technology among past cultures, such as with regard to the construction of ancient watercraft in Polynesia and other areas, wooden ships, and the many "trackways" from British, e.g. the Somerset Levels, and other European bogs. Some of this research has been better informed by consideration of wood structure, properties, and anatomical characteristics. Most recently, work with archaeological wood, including assemblages of charcoal representing the remains of fuelwoods, such as in Caribbean antiquity, has focused on wood resources as a whole, including issues of supply and demand, sustainability, forest management, and human impacts on forest environments.


Log in to add this item to your schedule

1 - Pennsylvania State University, Anthropology, 316 Carpenter Bldg, Universit y Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA

Keywords:
Archaeological wood.

Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: 36-4
Location: 102/Plumas
Date: Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
Time: 10:15 AM
Abstract ID:720


Copyright © 2000-2006, Botanical Society of America. All rights