anthracology

thumb|right|Microscopic view of charcoal particles during an anthracological study. Anthracology (from anthrax (ἄνθραξ), the Greek word for coal) is the analysis and identification of charcoal which is preserved after carbonization, based on wood anatomy. The remains of carbonized wood come from archaeological sites and sediments, and may yield evidence of natural or anthropogenic paleo-fires. Anthracological studies are also applied to extant material, such as the inspection of charcoal of illegal provenance. The discipline was started in Brazil by Rita Scheel-Ybert in the late 1990s, but the identification of species from carbonized wood dates from the end of the 19th century. The working methods back then (based on the preparation of thin sections) were difficult and time-consuming, and research did not have a paleo-environmental approach. From the 1970s on, the use of reflected light microscopes, mainly from France by Professor Jean-Louis Vernet, allowed the multiplication of anthracological analysis, prompting the appearance of paleo-ecological studies. Anthracological analyses in Southern Brazil and in the Central Amazon have extended the knowledge of early settlements, their environmental resources and fuel economy, and the use of wood in ritual contexts. The conservation of carbonized fruits, seeds, roots and tubers has furthered the knowledge of diet and food production issues.

==Background== Anthracology is a method of study 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.