Theme:
1. Artefacts, Buildings & Ecofacts
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Rare and Precious. Recent Advances on the Analysis of Archaeological Wood
Content:
Archaeological knowledge of past technologies is generally founded on durable materials such as stone, pottery or metal. However, most material culture in the past consisted of perishable organic materials that are now all but absent from the archaeological record. The rare preservation of organics affects our understanding of ancient lifeways where wood was an essential raw material used for fuel, timber, tools and crafts. Woodworking was an essential craft activity in the past involving deep knowledge of plant availability, the mechanical properties of species, and the development of specialized tools for managing, obtaining and transforming wood. For this reason, the study of wooden artefacts and woodworking tools provide valuable information on traditional technological and ecological knowledge.
Despite the difficulty in identifying and recording woodworking activities in the past, tool marks on wood remains are the most direct evidence and they are known from contexts as early as the early Pleistocene. This session aims to bring together specialists on the analysis of archaeological wood through archaeobotany, experimental archaeology, tool-mark analysis, use-wear analysis, dendrology or ethnoarchaeology. Contributions from any geographical and chronological context are welcome. We particularly invite submissions highlighting new methodological approaches, analytical tools, and protocols to identify, record, and analyse wood technologies.
Keywords:
Archaeological wood, wood working, use-wear, ethnoarchaeology, archaebotany, experimental archaeology
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
PaM; ARCHWILD
Main organiser:
Dirk Leder (Germany) 1
Co-organisers:
Oriol López-Bultó (Spain) 2
Paloma Vidal-Matutano (Switzerland) 3
Raquel Piqué Huerta (Spain) 2
Annemieke Milks (United Kingdom) 4
Affiliations:
1. Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege
2. Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona
3. Department of Prehistory and Natural Sciences, University of Basel
4. Department of Prehistory, University of Reading
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