Anthracology theory and methods: 1. Theoretical considerations and perspectives

Abstract

This paper presents a discussion of the theoretical methodological premises on which anthracological studies are presently based, with an emphasis on its application to the tropical vegetation. The major topics discussed are the palaeoecological representativity of archaeological and pedological charcoal, species selection, use of dead wood, carbonization, post-depositional processes, methods of charcoal analysis (ubiquity, weight or fragments counting), and the perspectives offered by anthracological analyses in terms of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoethnological information.