Anatomical features associated with water deficiency on archaeological vegetal charcoal, Ambato Valley (Catamarca), end of the First millennium

Abstract

This paper proposes the observation of anatomical features associated with water deficiency in wood as paleoenvironmental indicator. The analysis was applied to charcoal recovered in late archaeological contexts of Aguada in Ambato Valley, Catamarca (Argentina). Based on the correlation between the anatomical structure of wood and the habitat, the observations were done on present-day and archaeological samples of Geoffroea decorticans. Results show arid conditions in the study area at the end of the first millennium.