How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication
A significant part of our cultural heritage consists of wood. Research on historical wooden structures and artefacts thereby provides knowledge of people’s daily lives and the society in which they lived. Dendrochronology is a well-established dating method of wood that can also provide valuable kno...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/8/1047 |
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| author | Johannes Edvardsson Gunnar Almevik Linda Lindblad Hans Linderson Karl-Magnus Melin |
| author_facet | Johannes Edvardsson Gunnar Almevik Linda Lindblad Hans Linderson Karl-Magnus Melin |
| author_sort | Johannes Edvardsson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A significant part of our cultural heritage consists of wood. Research on historical wooden structures and artefacts thereby provides knowledge of people’s daily lives and the society in which they lived. Dendrochronology is a well-established dating method of wood that can also provide valuable knowledge about climate dynamics, environmental changes, silviculture, and cultural transformations. However, dendrochronology comes with some limitations that end users in cultural heritage sciences must be aware of, otherwise their surveys may not be ultimately performed. We have drawn attention to studies in which dendrochronological results have been misinterpreted, over-interpreted, or not fully utilized. On the other hand, a rigorous dendrochronological survey may not respond to the request of information in practice. To bridge this rigour-relevance gap, this article has considered and reviewed both the dendrochronology’s science-perspective and the practitioner’s and end user’s call for context appropriate studies. The material for this study consists of (i) interviews with researchers in dendrochronology and end users represented by cultural heritage researchers with focus on building conservation and building history in Sweden, and (ii) a review of dendrochronological reports and the literature where results from the reports have been interpreted. From these sources we can conclude that a continuous two-way communication between the dendrochronologists and end users often would have resulted in improved cultural heritage studies. The communication can take place in several steps. Firstly, the design of a sampling plan, which according to the current standard for sampling of cultural materials often is required, is an excellent common starting point for communication. Secondly, the survey reports could be developed with a more extensive general outline of the method and guidance in how to interpret the results. Thirdly, the potential contribution from dendrochronology is often underused, foreseeing historical information on local climate, silviculture, and choice of quality of the wooden resource, as the focus most often is the chronological dating. Finally, the interpretation of the results should consider all the available sources where dendrochronology is one stake for a conciliant conclusion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:48:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41ccb1bfe0ab418991e6751172ed5248 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:48:37Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-41ccb1bfe0ab418991e6751172ed52482023-11-22T07:42:45ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-08-01128104710.3390/f12081047How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way CommunicationJohannes Edvardsson0Gunnar Almevik1Linda Lindblad2Hans Linderson3Karl-Magnus Melin4The Laboratory for Wood Anatomy and Dendrochronology, Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, SwedenDepartment of Conservation, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 5c, 413 20 Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Conservation, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 5c, 413 20 Gothenburg, SwedenThe Laboratory for Wood Anatomy and Dendrochronology, Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, SwedenDepartment of Conservation, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 5c, 413 20 Gothenburg, SwedenA significant part of our cultural heritage consists of wood. Research on historical wooden structures and artefacts thereby provides knowledge of people’s daily lives and the society in which they lived. Dendrochronology is a well-established dating method of wood that can also provide valuable knowledge about climate dynamics, environmental changes, silviculture, and cultural transformations. However, dendrochronology comes with some limitations that end users in cultural heritage sciences must be aware of, otherwise their surveys may not be ultimately performed. We have drawn attention to studies in which dendrochronological results have been misinterpreted, over-interpreted, or not fully utilized. On the other hand, a rigorous dendrochronological survey may not respond to the request of information in practice. To bridge this rigour-relevance gap, this article has considered and reviewed both the dendrochronology’s science-perspective and the practitioner’s and end user’s call for context appropriate studies. The material for this study consists of (i) interviews with researchers in dendrochronology and end users represented by cultural heritage researchers with focus on building conservation and building history in Sweden, and (ii) a review of dendrochronological reports and the literature where results from the reports have been interpreted. From these sources we can conclude that a continuous two-way communication between the dendrochronologists and end users often would have resulted in improved cultural heritage studies. The communication can take place in several steps. Firstly, the design of a sampling plan, which according to the current standard for sampling of cultural materials often is required, is an excellent common starting point for communication. Secondly, the survey reports could be developed with a more extensive general outline of the method and guidance in how to interpret the results. Thirdly, the potential contribution from dendrochronology is often underused, foreseeing historical information on local climate, silviculture, and choice of quality of the wooden resource, as the focus most often is the chronological dating. Finally, the interpretation of the results should consider all the available sources where dendrochronology is one stake for a conciliant conclusion.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/8/1047tree-ring researchcultural heritagehistorical buildingsarchaeologytransdisciplinarycraft research |
| spellingShingle | Johannes Edvardsson Gunnar Almevik Linda Lindblad Hans Linderson Karl-Magnus Melin How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication Forests tree-ring research cultural heritage historical buildings archaeology transdisciplinary craft research |
| title | How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication |
| title_full | How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication |
| title_fullStr | How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication |
| title_short | How Cultural Heritage Studies Based on Dendrochronology Can Be Improved through Two-Way Communication |
| title_sort | how cultural heritage studies based on dendrochronology can be improved through two way communication |
| topic | tree-ring research cultural heritage historical buildings archaeology transdisciplinary craft research |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/8/1047 |
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