The Wood Charcoals from Sheri Khan Tarakai

A Case Study in Environmental Archaeology and Palaeoecology

Abstract

We consider the occurrence of wood in the archaeological record, with special reference to the formation, recovery, identification, analysis and interpretation of assemblages of wood charcoals. The wood charcoals from the early village site of Sheri Khan Tarakai (c. 3800 – 2900 cal. BC) in the west of Bannu District (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) are the principal focus of this paper. Twenty-six taxa of woody plants (trees and shrubs) were identified and their spatial, contextual and temporal distributions in the site are discussed. The taxa in this assemblage of wood charcoals can be associated with a diverse range of phytogeographical zones existing in the local area and broader region at the present day. Such associations might be used to model patterns of exploitation of woody taxa in, and human contacts with, various ecological and topographical zones in the past. The validity of this is discussed from a palaeoecological perspective, questioning to what extent the ‘ecological present’ is the principal key to understanding the ‘ecological past’. It is suggested that present day distributions of plant associations in the sub-Himalayan regions of northwest Pakistan are the result of intensive human exploitation and consequent environmental degradation. Most of the woody taxa identified in the charcoals from Sheri Khan Tarakai were from habitats which, at the time the site was occupied, were either local to the site or only a few kilometres distant.