Taming Trees, Shaping Forests, and Managing Woodlands as Resources for Understanding Past Societies. Contributions and Current Limits of Dendro-Anthracology and Anthraco-Isotopy

In many societies, livelihood strategies are based on a combination of economic strategies, including natural resources such as trees for wood, leaves, and fruits. Archeological wood charcoals residues human activity related to fire. They provide evidence fuelwood and, in some contexts, timber, handcraft activities, fruit production. represent detailed record the way ancient woodlands were exploited. However, charcoal analyses often confined study taxa their relative frequency, socio-economic interpretations thus limited. last two decades, dendro-anthracological studies have been developed. Tree-ring widths, radius curvature, carbon isotope contents increasingly used indicators gathering practices, woodland management climate. Nevertheless, absence standards, measurement procedures data processing very diverse. The challenge archeological is improve analytical tools, especially isotopic aspects, order interpretation assemblages advance discipline. As an example, we present new approach growing Western Europe combining (i) different parameters, (ii) anthraco-typological modern-day stands, (iii) identification anatomical signatures revealing particular forestry (iv) stable isotopes. This opens discussion methodological perspectives associated scientific questions focusing exploitation climate, interest systemic analysis contexts.