Wikipedia
Anthracology is a multidisciplinary science that relies on the analysis and identification of charcoal based on wood anatomy, which remains perfectly preserved after carbonization. Remains of carbonized wood may come from archaeological sites or from sediments, and make evidence either of natural or anthropogenic paleofires or of several aspects of human activity. Anthracological studies may also be applied to extant material, in which case they can focus either on the anatomical description of reference material or on the inspection of charcoal of illegal provenience.
The identification of species from carbonized wood is actually a very old practice dating from the end of the 19th century, but the working methods back then (based on the preparation of thin sections) were extremely difficult and time-consuming, and researches still did not have any palaeoenvironmental approach. From the 1970s on, the use of reflected light microscopes, mainly diffused from France by Professor Jean-Louis Vernet, allowed the multiplication of anthracological analysis, propitiating the appearance of paleoecological studies. This discipline started and is being developed in Brazil by Rita Scheel-Ybert from around the late 1990s.
Anthracology is a privileged study method for archaeology. Archaeological sediments are usually very rich in charcoal fragments, which identification provides interpretations on the landscape, paleovegetation, relations between humans and their environment, and plants use by ancient populations. Besides the paleoenvironmental perspective that allows the reconstitution of past plant formations and, therefore, of the paleoclimate, this discipline offers important palaeoethnobotanical information regarding the utilization of wood in everyday basis and also in rituals, including also the subsistence of ancient populations, by means of conservation of carbonized dietary remains.
The anthracological analysis of archaeological charcoal is already largely acknowledged as a reliable tool for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. The development of this discipline, in Brazil, has been marked by a strong preoccupation with the definition of appropriate methodologies, seeking both palaeoenvironmental and palaeoethnobotanical information that are committed to archaeological issues.
Anthracological analyses in sambaquis and Tupiguarani sites on Southern and Southeastern Brazil, as well as in ceramic sites in Central Amazon, have been essential to broaden our knowledge about the landscape in the areas where such settlements were established, the environmental resources, site catchment area, fuel economy, and use of wood in quotidian and ritual contexts. More recently, anthracological analysis has proven itself an important tool to support archaeological interpretation, helping to elucidate site formation processes and providing more consistent information on the sites functional aspects.
Besides that, the conservation of carbonized fruits, seeds, and underground organs remains (roots and tubers) have enabled the approaching of diet and food production issues.