The special area of expertise dealing with wooden remains from historical and archaeological contexts is called “dendroarchaeology”. The term itself has been used since the 1960s. At that time, however, it was limited to dendrochronological analyses on wood from archaeological excavations. Today, dendroarchaeology describes a wider scope and plays a key role at the interdisciplinary contact zone between archaeological research and environmental sciences. Modern dendroarchaeology includes palaeoclimatological research questions as well as various issues of forest and vegetation history and history of technology.

Wood was of great importance for the daily life of past societies and only receded in its key role with the modern development of substitutes. Until the use of fossil fuels, wood was the most important source of energy for various processes from domestic (cooking and heating) as well as production processes (e.g. pottery, charcoal or glass production and metallurgy). Furthermore, up to the industrial era timber was one of the most important construction materials for houses and technical facilities. Wood use has always been closely related to economic and technical innovation. Ever since the Neolithic period, sedentary societies have constantly covered their demands for wood in near-by woodlands and therefore changed the natural vegetation towards cultural landscapes.

Wood is an organic material, easily biodegradable by bacteria, fungi and enzymes, respectively. In special circumstances, however, wooden structures and objects can be preserved for a long time. The preservation in waterlogged conditions, for example below the groundwater level, is most commonly found in archeological excavations. The permanent absence of air prevents decomposition by aerobic microorganisms and strongly slows down biodegradation. Waterlogged wood can remain preserved for millennia. The external shape of the artifact remains intact and reveals technological details (such as tool marks) and the preserved anatomical structure enables microscopic identification of wood species.

Environmental conditions are reflected in the radial growth of trees . In all extratropical regions (with distinct seasonality) trees generally from one tree ring within the annual growing season. As the growing conditions are mainly driven by climate, trees of the same species show a similar radial growth within the same time and region. Dendrochronology takes advantage of this fact for precise dating of wood by measuring tree-ring widths (TRW), isolating growth patterns and synchronizing growing periods. This allows for statistical inferences with annual resolution. Dendrochronological analysis has become a standard technique for high-precision dating of wood in archaeology, in historical buildings research, preservation of monuments and art history. Beyond absolute dating, extracted growth patterns furthermore reveal information on human-environment-relationships. Comprehensive datasets (e. g. from large-scale excavations) enable to reconstruct settlement history and dynamics. Wide-ranging synopses illustrate phases of increasing or decreasing building activities. Dendroarchaeology follows an interdisciplinary research approach by emphasizing issues of wood and forest use, wood technology and paleoclimatology to generate new insights into the everyday life of past societies.

Whether naturally deposited subfossil tree trunks, processed timber and artifacts or charcoal: Wooden finds from all periods are valuable sources for environmental archaeology. Dendrochronological analyses provide absolute dating with annual precision for archaeological and historical constructions. Archaeological wood furthermore contains essential information as a natural archive for paleoclimate research. Collaborative efforts with palynological research can improve our understanding in vegetation history and landscape transformation. Documented wood species, timber cross-sections, used stem diameters and individual tree age provide information on aspects of economic history, such as supply with and selection of raw material as well as resource and forest management. Tool marks on the wood surfaces make information on manufacturing processes accessible for studies on the history of technology.