Charcoal and Wood Laboratory
We provide identification services for wood and charcoal samples from our in-house laboratory. Our expertise and extensive reference collections include New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, much of tropical Polynesia, and Micronesia.
- Selecting short-lived plant material for radiocarbon dating, to avoid dating materials that have significant inbuilt age
- Determining which materials were being burned – wood, nuts, seeds, or other plant parts
- Reconstructing past plant environments
- Identifying wood of an artefact, other object, or timber
We also provide expert technical assistance to ensure that the best possible charcoal samples are collected in the field or from curated material. Collection procedures, whether for radiocarbon dating or vegetation studies, can differ greatly depending on context or research questions. For more information and a rate card, please contact us.
