Interpreting charcoal in New Zealand's palaeoenvironment - What do those charcoal fragments really tell us?
Interpreting charcoal in New Zealand's palaeoenvironment - What do those charcoal fragments really tell us?
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DOI：
10.1016/j.quaint.2007.09.026
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发表时间：
2008-06-01
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Butler, Kevin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Butler, Kevin
木炭作为古环境指标的作用从未得到充分或充分的解释。木炭碎片通常被解释为干旱或干燥气候条件下雷击引起自然火灾的证据。一般来说，没有证据表明这是事实。新西兰的雷击频率不高，它在多大程度上是引起森林火灾的一个原因受到质疑。人们常常假设，在沉积层中发现的木炭碎片是本地的，或者至少是合理的本地的。这一假设正受到挑战。细木炭碎片似乎是在新西兰的区域内运输的。细小的木炭碎片极有可能在火灾和沙尘暴期间通过热对流从澳大利亚运送到新西兰的沉积物中。在解释新西兰的古代史时，这一结果要求研究人员至少在尺寸参数范围内提供木炭计数。对于考古学家来说尤其如此，他们在解释景观中人类的可能性之前，肯定需要展示大木炭碎片的存在。(c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd和INQUA。版权所有。
The role of charcoal as a palaeoenvironmental indicator has never been fully or adequately explained. Charcoal fragments are often interpreted as evidence for natural fires caused by lightning strike during drought or dry climatic conditions. Generally, no evidence is presented to show this to be the case. The frequency of lightning strike in New Zealand is not high and the extent to which it is a causal factor in generating forest fire is questioned. The assumption is often made that charcoal fragments found in sedimentary deposits are local, or at least reasonably local, in origin. This assumption is being challenged. Fine charcoal fragments appear to be transported regionally within New Zealand. It is highly likely that fine charcoal fragments are being transported from Australia, both by thermal convection during fires and during dust storm events, to be deposited into New Zealand sediments. The consequences of this in interpreting New Zealand's palaeo-history requires researchers to, at the very least, provide charcoal counts within size parameters. This is particularly so for archaeologists who would definitely need to show the presence of large charcoal fragments before interpreting the possibility of people in the landscape. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.