Downloaded by 5.62.159.83 on January 21, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1989 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1990-0225.pr001
PREFACE WOOD HAS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE throughout human history. Even the earliest humans used wood to make shelters and later to cook their food. Wood also provided tools and weapons. Collective society learned very early the great advantages of wood, which we still recognize today: its strength, workability, wide distribution, renewability, and aesthetics. To study the uses of wood is to study human history. There is a great need to preserve the wood in the many forms that remain from ancient to modern times, not only because it will be interesting to future generations, but to use it to study the cultures and climates throughout history and to study the wood-aging process itself. For this book, archaeological wood will be defined in its broadest sense: Any wood that gives information about human development, culture, or climate conditions, or that is used to study the aging process of the wood itself shall be referred to as archaeological wood. This includes woods that are sometimes called historical and prefossilized woods. More restrictive definitions are used in some of the chapters. This different usage reflects the perspective of the individual author. The purpose of preservation of archaeological wood is to save the artifacts for future viewing, study, and reference. The microstructural, physical, and chemical properties of archaeological wood discussed in this book apply to materials coming from a wide range of environments: wet environments such as bogs, fresh water, and salt water; dry environments such as tombs and dwellings; and variable environments, including historic buildings and outdoor artifacts that exist where weathering has taken its toll. Present techniques for preserving archaeological wood range from art forms (some have even been referred to as witchcraft) to science. Many methods have been based on empirical approaches rather than hard scientific data. We need to study the changes in microstructural, physical, and chemical properties that occur during the aging process as a result of the environment surrounding the artifact. Familiarity with these changes will lead to an understanding of the mechanisms of degradation. Armed with knowledge of these mechanisms, modern scientists are led along logical paths to develop preservation techniques that will allow the wood to remain, as closely as possible, in its found state, without major modification of its chemistry. Some techniques will cause major changes in the wood's chemistry, and these procedures will need to be carefully recorded for future reference.
xi Rowell and Barbour; Archaeological Wood Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1989.
We hope that this book will provide some understanding, from a scientific perspective, of archaeological wood, its properties, its chemistry, and its preservation. We dedicate this book to all past, present, and future scientists who proudly consider themselves archaeological wood preservationists.
Downloaded by 5.62.159.83 on January 21, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1989 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1990-0225.pr001
Acknowledgments This book is a result of many hours of effort by many people. We thank all of them for their time and concern for this project. We especially thank Judy Rowell for her efforts as the secretary for the symposium in Los Angeles and also for this book. We also thank the Samuel H . Kress Foundation, whose generosity provided travel funds for the foreign speakers who attended the symposium. Finally, we thank the wonderful staff at A C S Books for their creative ideas, suggestions, hard work, and endless patience. R O G E R M. R O W E L L
Forest Products Laboratory U.S. Department of Agriculture Madison, WI 53705-2398 R. JAMES BARBOUR
Wood Science Group Forintek Canada Corporation Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3Z5, Canada January 1989
xii
Rowell and Barbour; Archaeological Wood Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1989.
