Éditorial. Journées Bois : Échanges interdisciplinaires sur le bois et les sociétés

This editorial note introduces the publication of the proceedings of the international meeting entitled "Journées bois: Interdisciplinary Meeting on Wood and Societies" organized on October 18th and 19th, 2021 at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris. Over these two days, thirty-three oral communications and nine posters were presented by researchers and students in the natural sciences and humanities, as well as architects, engineers and craftspeople, on four different themes : i) methods and techniques for studying wood in archaeological contexts, ii) wood resources, climate and societies – reconstructing environments and interactions, iii) wood craftsmen, and iv) wood in societies – analysing woodworking techniques. The aim of these days was to bring together all the possible different approaches to studying and working with wood, without any geographical barriers or chronological limits, no matter the discipline involved. These proceedings comprise twenty-two papers based on oral contributions and posters presented at the Journées Bois.Ce texte introduit la publication des actes des rencontres internationales intitulées « Journées bois : Échanges interdisciplinaires sur le bois et les sociétés » organisées les 18 et 19 octobre 2021 à l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art à Paris. Au cours de ces deux journées, trente-trois communications et neuf posters ont été présentés par des chercheur•euse•s et étudiant•e•s en sciences naturelles et en sciences humaines, mais également par des architectes, des ingénieur•e•s et des artisan•e•s à travers quatre thématiques différentes : i) méthodes et techniques d'étude du matériau bois en contexte archéologique, ii) ressources en bois, climat, sociétés-reconstitution des milieux et des interactions, iii) artisans du bois, et iv) bois dans les sociétésanalyse des techniques de travail du bois. L'objectif de ces journées était de faire dialoguer toutes les approches d'étude et de travail du bois possibles, sans aucune barrière géographique, aucune limite chronologique, quelle que soit la discipline d'approche. Ces actes regroupent vingt-deux articles tirés des communications et posters présentés durant les Journées Bois

Contributions of stable isotope dendrochronology to dendroarchaeological studies of architectural timbers from the Rising Whale site, northwest Alaska (10th-12th centuries)

International audienc

Contributions of stable isotope dendrochronology to dendroarchaeological studies of architectural timbers from the Rising Whale site, northwest Alaska (10th-12th centuries)

International audienc

Dendroarchaeology of Birnirk and Thule Architectural Timbers (10–13th Centuries): Preliminary Results on Oxygen Isotope Cross-Dating

International audienceAlong the coast of northwestern Alaska, architectural wood remains are well preserved in the Birnirk and Thule coastal sites of the early 2nd millennium CE. These structural wood elements are unique archives for documenting climatic variations and cultural transformations during this key development period of Inuit culture. Along this treeless Arctic coast, driftwood accumulates from the subarctic forests of interior Alaska. Except for northwestern Alaska, regional tree-ring chronologies are too short (at best 350–400 years) to successfully date archaeological wood remains from Birnirk and Thule coastal sites using conventional dendrochronology. This paper examines the potential of tree-ring derived δ18O signal to annually date eight architectural wood samples from the Rising Whale (KTZ-304) site at Cape Espenberg, northwestern Alaska. We developed a δ18O master chronology, covering the period 935–1157 CE, using five wood samples from the KTZ-304 site. Blind isotope cross-dating of individual series belonging to this δ18O master chronology (one against the other four) showed conclusive dating and a very strong coherence of the isotopic signal. We, then, used the δ18O master chronology to cross-date three other wood samples for which we knew, from previous 14C wiggle-matching procedure, the first measured ring to be in this time interval, within a ± 18 to 30-year precision. Oxygen isotope dendrochronology provided a plausible date for one of the samples (the first measured ring at 1073 CE). This preliminary study encourages us to acquire additional data to extend in time and strengthen the δ18O master chronology of northwestern Alaska (NWAK18O) and help refine our understanding of climate and culture change during the 2nd millennium CE

Contributions of stable isotope dendrochronology to dendroarchaeological studies of architectural timbers from the Rising Whale site, northwest Alaska (10th-12th centuries)

International audienc