M editerra nea n Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 11, No
. 1, pp . 33 - 39 Copyright © 2011 MAA
Printed in Greec e. All rights rese
rved.
ANATOM
Y OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL WOOD CHARCOALS
OM YENIBADEMLI MOUND (IMBROS),
WESTERN TUR KEY
FR
B. Yaman
Wood Anato m y and Dendrochronology L a borato
ry Bar tin University, Faculty of Forestry, 741
00, Barti n / Turk ey
In this study, the qualitative and qu antita tive ana t o
my of six wood charcoals from an early Bronze Age settlement in the island Im
bros (Gökçeada) were presented. Taxonomic identification on the basis of wood a
natomy showed that two of them belong to the genus Quercus (section Ilex an
d cf Quercus ), and four of them belo ng to the ge n u s Pinus
. Any fireplace is absent at the location of wood charcoals in G9 plan square.
It appears that the woody branches on the ho ri zon t a
l roof of the building fell down to the floor after a big fire. It is mo
st likely that the woody genera identified in the study were used for roof cons
truction.
KEYWORDS:
anatomy,
Imb r o s
(Gökçeada) isla
nd, Quercus, Pinus,
wood charcoal
Cor r esp onding
ail.com
Received:
Accepted:
14/06/2010
30/09/2010
ABSTRA C T
author:
yamanb ar@gm
34
cation is usually impossible due to a
very simi - lar cellula r mo rpho lo
gy of taxa within the same genus (Te
INTR OD UCTION
From several Turkish archaeological site nnessen et al., 20 02 ).
Yenibade
s, charred or no n -charred pl a n
mli
mound is an Early Bronze Age settle
t remains as well as artefacts ha
ment in the island Gökçea da (I mb r o
ve elucidated the history of civiliza tion in Anatolia (Asouti and Hather, 20 s
01; Asouti, 20 03a , Akkemik et al., 20 04 ) in Northern Aegean Region of Turke
y (Hüryi l - maz, 20 02
; Fa irbairn et al., 20 02
). According to Hüryi
). In terms of providing no
t only food but also fuel-wood and ti lmaz (2002), it dates back to the third
mb e r
, woody species have been played an i millennium B.C. The crop plants of Early
Bronze Age from Yeni- bademli mou n
mportant ro l
d
have been analyz ed by Oybak Dö
e in the life of the historical settlemen
nmez (2005). Ho
t in Anatolia (A y t u g and Görcelio
wever, little is known about archaeologi
glu, 1987; Sanli , 1989).The ana t o
mical identification of archaeological wood cal wood charcoals of Yenibademli. Thus,
samples amongst plant remains assembla
the present study aims at identifying the
ge has pro wood cha r co a l s from 200
vided a valuable insight abou
8
excavation in Yeni- bademli mou n
t woody flora, cu l tivation, climate, ecology, trunk trade a d (Gökçeada), Western Turkey.
nd de forestation in prehistoric and historic ti MATER IAL S AND ME THODS
The ma
mes (Wilcox, 19 74 ; Kuniholm, 1997; Ne
teria
w t o n and Kuniholm, 20 01
ls of th
; Asouti and Hather, 2001; Faire presen
bairn et al., 20 02
t study a
; Asouti, 2003a; Riehl and Ma ri re wood
nova, 20 08 ).
charco
Wood charco al fo r m
als, colle
s as a result of slow pycted in
rolysis of wood when bu rn e
2008 exca
d in an inadequate supply of oxygen (
vation, f
Asouti, 20 06
rom Yeni
). Despite a number of physical and che
bade
mical changes in charring wood, its som
mli moun
e anatomical properties remain unaffected,
d (Fig.
and thus archaeological wood charco
1). Six
als can be identified anatomically to the
different
family or genus level (Prior and Gasson
wood
, 1993). Ho wever, ma
king species-level identifi -
B. YAMAN
charco
al samples from the
G9
plan square
of
the mound were identified in the wood
anatomy and dendrochronology laboratory
Figure 1. The map of Turkey and Northern
Aegean Region (Created by Norman Einstein,
2006). The arrow indicates th
e island Gökçeada of Turkey.
RESULTS AND DIS C USSION
of Faculty of Forestry of Bartin Universit All of the wood charco
als examined were identified to genus-le
y in Bartin, Turkey. Each of charred
woods were fractured with a razor bla vel. Results showed that
de in order to observe the transverse,
radial and tangential planes of them (Ba
rnett, 2008) and we
re examined under an optical mi croscope of reflected
-light (model no: Olympus CH
-BI45-T-S 300811) at magnifications x40, x1
00 and x160. The sizes of wood charco
al examined range from 5 mm to 3 cm.
The key ana tomical properties allowed identifying each
of wood charco
al fragments. Identifications were ma
de using the some ma nu a l
s of wood anat- omy (Fahn et al., 19 86
; Merev, 1998; Schoch et al., 2004; Inside
Wood, 200 4 -onwa
rds) and the charred specimens, and thi
n sections of fresh wood from Tu r k e y
.
AN AT O M Y OF ARCH AEO LO G ICA L WOOD CH ARCO ALS FRO M YENIBADEM
LI MOUND (IM BRO S)
t
h
e
a
r
c
h
a
e
o
l
o
g
i
c
a
l
w
o
o
d
c
h
a
r
c
o
a
l
s
i
35
n Yeni- bade
ng to Pinus
cf Quer cus
finable anato
l properties
w
o
o
d
s
e as shown
ddition, the
phs of them
re 2 and 3.
Table 1. Anatomical features of wood charcoals
from 2008 excavation in Yenibademli,
c
h
a
r
c
o
a
l
s
a
r
Gökçeada Code YBD.08 Kov.203a YBD.08 Kov.203b
Taxon P i nus sp P i nus sp P i nus sp P i nus sp Common nam e
boundari
distinct distinct distinct distinct
es
transition from ew to lw abrupt abrupt abrupt abrupt
YBD.08
YBD.08
Kov.241
Kov.243
pine
pine
pine
pine
pit rows uniseriate uniseriate uniseriate uniseriate pit diameter ( µm) 19,7 (1920) 19,5 (18- 20) non- meas ured 19,6 (18- 20) wall thickness in lw thin- walled thinwalled thin- walled thin- walled tangential diameter in ew ( µm) 34,6 (30- 40) 34,3 (2540) 32,5 (30- 40) 34,4 (30- 40) radial diameter in ew ( µ m) 37,08 (28- 47) 45,7 (3550) 32,5 (25- 45) 34,1 (30- 40) tangential diameter in lw ( µm) 20,7 (17- 25) 22 (1722) 21 (17,5- 25) 19,8 (17, 5- 25)
radial diameter in lw ( µ m) 10,7 (7- 12,5) 12,1 (10- 15) 14 (10- 17,5) 11,1 (10- 12,5) Cros s field p i tti ng fenestriform or pinoid fenestriform fenestriform or pinoid fenestriform or pinoid
2Ray width uniseriate
uniseriate uniseriate uniseriate Axial resin canal di ameter ( µm) 150 (140170) 147,5 (110- 180) 146,7 (100- 180) 170 (150- 190) Radial resin canal diameter ( µm) non- meas
ured non- meas ured non- meas ured non- meas ured Resin canal number / 10 mm non- meas
ured 6,8 (5- 11) non- meas ured non- meas
ured ew: earlywood, lw: latewood, µm: micrometer. The figures outside the parentheses sh
ow average values.
Table 2. Anatomical
m 2008 excavation
features of wood charcoals
in Yenibademli, Gökçeada
belonging to h a rd wood s fro
Code YBD.08 Kov.256 YBD.08 Kov.51
Taxon Quercu s sp (section cf Quercus ) Quercu s sp (section Ilex )
Common nam e oak oak Growth ring boundaries distinct indistinct
porosity ring- porous diffuse- porous arrangeme
nt dendritic pattern radial and / or diagonal pattern groupi n gs exclusivel y solitary exclusivel
y solitary
t a n g e n t i a l
d i a m e t e r
i n
e w
( µ m )
2 0 9 , 3
( 1 4 0 3 0 0 )
6 4 , 3
( 5 0 - 9 0 )
r a d i a l
d i a m e t e r
i n
e w
( µ
m )
2 7 7 , 8
( 1 7 0 - 3 8 0 )
7 7 , 5
( 6 0 1 0 0 )
t a n g e n t i a l
d i a m e t e r
i n
l w
(
µ m )
5 2 , 5
( 2 0 - 9 0 )
-
belonging to
r
a
d
i
a
l
d
i
a
m
e
t
e
r
i
n
w
(
µ
m
)
5
9
,
6
(
2
0
1
0
0
)
Ray width Uniseriate and multiseriate multiseriate rays c o mmonl Uniseriate and multiseriate
y > 10 - seriate
multiseriate rays c o
mmonl y > 10 -seriate
Vessels
Tracheid
Growth
ring
ew: earlywood, lw:
ow average values.
latewood, µm:
micrometer.
The figures outside the parentheses sh
l
-
B. YAMAN
36
d
ab
c
Figure 2. – a and – b. Of Pinus sp., growth
axial res i n canals. – c an d – d. Uniseriate
ring boundaries, earlywood and
bordered pits of tracheids
latewood, and
bca
Figure 3. – a and – b. Of Quercus sp . (sec tion Quercus), ring- porous wood
. Wide vessels in earlywood (upper side of mic rog
raphs a - b) and narrow vessels in latewood (underside of mic rographs a - b). Th ylos
es within some
earlywood vessels. – c. Of Quercus sp . (sec tion Ile x ) , diffuse - porous wood
; vessels in radial and /or diagon al pat- tern.
Two of six wood charcoals from Yenibademli mound (Gökçeada) belong to th
e genus Quercus (section Ilex and cf
Querc us
), and four of them belong to the ge
nus Pinus
. Present-day vegetation on the island
Gökçea
da is peculiar to the Mediterranean p
hyto
-geographic region. Seçmen (1977) define
d the ma
in vegetation units of the isl a n
d as phrygana, ma quies, sandy
vegetation and forest. Maquies vegetati
on in cludes shrubs and small trees such as
eastern strawberry tree, strawberry
tree, tree heath, Kermes oak, ma
stic tree, wild olive tree, prickly
juniper. The ma
in tree species of the forests in Gök
çea
da is Pinus brutia, however, some pa
tch of Quercus coccifera and Quercus p
ubescens also occur (Seçmen, 19 77 ).
AN AT O M Y OF ARCH AEO LO G ICA L WOOD CH ARCO ALS FRO M YENIBADEM
LI MOUND (IM BRO S)
s
The
37
of their wood anatomy (Schoch et al.,
wood charcoal specimen described
in the section Ilex of the genus Quercus
is likely to be Quercus cf. coccifera
. Three different species of evergreen oak
s (Q. ilex , Q. coccifera and Q. aucheri
) are native to Turkey, and Q. coccifera
of them co mmo
nly occurs in the Mediterranean, Aegea
n and Marmara regions of Turkey (Yalt
i ri k, 1 984
). Other wood charcoal specimen, describe
d as a decidu ous oak, belo
ngs to section cf Quercus . Yalti ri k (1
984 ) reported th a t in Tu r key the sect
ion Quercus is represented by ten differ
ent oak species. Q. pubescens
, one of them, is also native to the isl
a
nd Gökçeada as well as the mainland
of Turkey (Seçmen, 1 977 ; Yalti ri
k, 1984).
Of four wood charcoal specimens ident
ified as Pinus sp, cross-field pitting of t
hree could not be determined exactly du
e to the extreme de formation in the pitting structure. The
y can be fenestriform or pinoid. Howeve
r, cross-field pitting of other wood charc
o
al specimen is window-like (fenestriform).
Window-like crossfield pitting can be observed in the sec
tion Sy l vestris and Strobus of the genus Pinus (I
AWA Co
mmittee, 2004). Of the section Sylvestris
, only two pine species (Pinus sylvestris
and Pinus ni - gra
) are native to Turkey. Howe ver, th
e species P. sylvestris and P. nigra can
not be distinguished on the ba si
2004). Of having pinoid cross-field pittin
g, native pine species in Turkey are P
inus br
utia, Pinus halepensis and Pinus pinea (M
erev, 1998). The present-day pine specie
s in the isla nd Go k ceada is Pinus brutia (Seçmen, 1977). Eve
n though the three pine woo
d charcoals are likely to be P. brutia
(calabrian pine), it is an uncertain conclu
sion.
In the Neolithic Aegean, livestock such
as sheep, goat, cow and pi
g were domesticated (Halstead, 19 92
). Uerpmann and Uerpmann (2001) notif
ied the occu
rrence of boar hunt in the early times
of Troia, but in
the
later times it loses
ground due to pig domestication. Riehl
and M a ri no
va (2008) also reported the domesti cated pigs as well as other domesticate
d ani- ma ls in Troia I (2920 -2
600 cal B.C.) du ri n
g the Early Bronze Age. Hüryi lma
z (2006) st a t e
d that the inhabitants in Yeniba
demli consumed not only plant-re l a t e
d agricu ltural products, bu
t also at least fi v
e kinds of domesticated and wild
animals. The sheep, goat and pig as we
ll as cow were the most preferred st
ock in the nutrition economy of Yeniba
de
mli at the same period with Troia I.
One of the mo
st important foods for pigs is aco
rns and the leaves of deciduous oaks (
Hu s, 19 74 ; Çanakç
ioglu and Mol, 1996). In this regard, it
is likely to use the acorns and leaves of
deciduous oak species aforementioned in
Yeniba demli settlement. Riehl and Marino
va (2008) emphasized that in the Troad
settlement deciduous oa
k has multifarious economic importance in terms of not only fodder but
also fuel, bu ilding ma teria l
s and tannin extraction.
The woody genera identified in this
study might have been used as buildin
g ma teria
l and / or fuel in Yenibademli settlem
ent as well. Asouti (2 00
3b) reported that Q. coccifera pro duces high
-quality fuel, and it is able to survive
by vegetative reproduction after woodcutti
ng and fire. Ya lt i ri k (1984) st a t e
d that Q. pubescens is a valuable specie
s to produce fuel-wood and wood charco
al. Ho
wever, in the third thousand BC, woo
dy branches, reed and clay were used fo
r the surface
-covering of house roofs in this archaeolo
gical region (p e r s . co
mm. with H. Hüryi lmaz). Hüryi
lmaz in fo rme d that any fire place is absent at the location of wood
charco
als in G9 plan square. It appears that
the woody branches on the horizontal
oof of the building fell down to the
loor after a big fire. Du
e to the lack of wooden post ma rk
r
f
s on the stone founda tion, it is impossible to affirm that th
e woody ma teria l
s were used for the construction of the
walls. As a result, it is mo
st likely that the woody genera identifie
d in the study were used for roof con
struction.
CO NCL USI
ON
Yenibade mli excava tion in the isla
nd Imbros has continued since 19 96
. However, for the first time, the ide
ntifications were ma de on wood charco
als obta
ined from excavation in 2007. Wood
charco als obtained in 20
07 belong to the genus Querc us
. As well as Quercus
, the genus Pinus was identified in
2008 excavation. In 2009 excavation, Q
uercus and Phillyrea in F9 plan squar
e and Quercus and Pinus in G9 pla
n square have been identified, bu
t their quantitative anatomy haven’t bee
n studied in detail yet. Du e
B. YAMAN
38
following years can allow us mo
to the identifications on a limited num re certain re ber of wood charcoals, the present study sults on identification and origin of mo
re intact wood charcoals.
is of prelimi nary nature. Yenibademli excavations in t
he
ACKNO
WLEDGE
MENTS
I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Halime Hüryi
lmaz and Prof. Dr. Emel Oybak Dö nmez for supply- ing of wood charco
als, and to thank Dr. Eleni Asouti for critically evaluation.
A short versio n of this article is presented as a poster in the 5th Ba l k a
n Bo ta n ic a l Co ngress.
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