Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sites

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dc.contributor.advisorParkington, Johnen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorFebruary, Edmund Carlen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-05-09T08:59:00Z
dc.date.available2016-05-09T08:59:00Z
dc.date.issued1990en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: pages 87-98.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis assesses the feasibility of using wood charcoal from archaeological sites as a palaeoclimatic indicator. Three techniques are described: (i) charcoal identification from Xylem Anatomy. (ii) Ecologically Diagnostic Xylem Analysis and (iii) stable carbon isotope analysis on wood charcoal. The first is a well established method of environmental reconstruction. This is the first systematic application of Ecologically Diagnostic Analysis and the first application of stable carbon isotope analysis on wood charcoal. Charcoal identification shows that the most common woody species at Elands Bay today are also evident in the archaeological record over the last 4000 years, indicating a relatively stable plant community composition. Previous studies of wood anatomy have shown that there are links between vessel size, vessel number and climate. This study demonstrates that the wood anatomy of Rhus is not simply related to climatic factors, necessitating the employment of a wide range of statistical analytical techniques to identify climatic signals. In contrast, the anatomy of Diospyros shows strong correlations with temperature. Factor analysis of anatomical parameters of charcoal from Elands Bay archaeological sites indicates that there have been temperature changes over the last 4000 years. Stable carbon isotope ratios (¹³C/¹²C) of plants have been found to be a useful indicator of water use efficiency; plants in drier habitats exhibit more positive values than their more mesic relatives. The results of an isotopic analysis on modern wood charcoal show that ¹³C/¹²C ratios can be related to temperature and rainfall. The climatic component of the range in variation of ¹³C/¹²C in the archaeological record is not as easy to identify due to increased use of fossil fuels since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Indications are that wood charcoal does carry a climatic signal. A larger sample from more areas may give more dependable results.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationFebruary, E. C. (1990). <i>Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sites</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Archaeology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19516en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationFebruary, Edmund Carl. <i>"Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sites."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Archaeology, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19516en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationFebruary, E. 1990. Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sites. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - February, Edmund Carl AB - This thesis assesses the feasibility of using wood charcoal from archaeological sites as a palaeoclimatic indicator. Three techniques are described: (i) charcoal identification from Xylem Anatomy. (ii) Ecologically Diagnostic Xylem Analysis and (iii) stable carbon isotope analysis on wood charcoal. The first is a well established method of environmental reconstruction. This is the first systematic application of Ecologically Diagnostic Analysis and the first application of stable carbon isotope analysis on wood charcoal. Charcoal identification shows that the most common woody species at Elands Bay today are also evident in the archaeological record over the last 4000 years, indicating a relatively stable plant community composition. Previous studies of wood anatomy have shown that there are links between vessel size, vessel number and climate. This study demonstrates that the wood anatomy of Rhus is not simply related to climatic factors, necessitating the employment of a wide range of statistical analytical techniques to identify climatic signals. In contrast, the anatomy of Diospyros shows strong correlations with temperature. Factor analysis of anatomical parameters of charcoal from Elands Bay archaeological sites indicates that there have been temperature changes over the last 4000 years. Stable carbon isotope ratios (¹³C/¹²C) of plants have been found to be a useful indicator of water use efficiency; plants in drier habitats exhibit more positive values than their more mesic relatives. The results of an isotopic analysis on modern wood charcoal show that ¹³C/¹²C ratios can be related to temperature and rainfall. The climatic component of the range in variation of ¹³C/¹²C in the archaeological record is not as easy to identify due to increased use of fossil fuels since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Indications are that wood charcoal does carry a climatic signal. A larger sample from more areas may give more dependable results. DA - 1990 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1990 T1 - Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sites TI - Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sites UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19516 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/19516
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationFebruary EC. Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sites. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Archaeology, 1990 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19516en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Archaeologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherArchaeologyen_ZA
dc.titleClimatic reconstruction using wood charcoal from archaeological sitesen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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