MEB

KOTEZBUE, ALASKA 2014-2016
ARCHAEOLOGY / GEOLOGY / CLIMATE CHANGE
Print on Plexiglass
60 x 45 cm – 2016

Kotzebue batch, 2015.
N66°50.629′ – W162°34.798′
Wood charcoal macro remains under microscope with magnifications
between 200 and 3000.

 

Captions, from left to right

 

Transversal section of Beech (Fagus sylvatica). Radial crack on the ray created by a fast release of the wood water content.

 

Tangential section of Beech
(Fagus sylvatica). Vessels and rays.

 

Radial section of Beech
(Fagus sylvatica). Well-preserved scalariform perforation plate.

 

Transversal section of Beech (Fagus sylvatica). Pore.

 

Tangential section of Beech (Fagus sylvatica). Vessels, rays and broken perforation plate.

 

Radial section of Beech
(Fagus sylvatica). White hyphae made by decay fungi eating up the wood. We may be able to conclude that the ones who built this fire were used dead wood instead of felling a living tree.