Biofact (archaeology)

[1] The study of biofacts, alongside other archaeological remains such as artifacts are a key element to understanding how past societies interacted with their surrounding environment and with each other.

Plant remains are a common and key ecofact that provide an importance source of information because they can be used to reconstruct the way past societies have interacted with their environment.

[5] By studying plant remains, especially those that were used in the economy and the changes in their use over time, researchers known as archaeobotanists can understand what changes occurred in activities such as cultivation, consumption and trade from the past.

If not deliberately altered, animal remains can be classified as an ecofact, and can often reveal the dietary habits of a past group of people.

[9] Charcoal is another form of ecofact that is one of the most common plant material recovered from archaeology sites yet one of the least analysed.

[10] Charcoal is defined as the charred remains of a plant's wooden structures and is predominately derived from bushes and trees.

Charred remains are the most frequently occurring source of organic material found in archaeological excavations that provide useful information for analysis.

[14] Other ecofacts when slowly charred, such as wood, seeds and nuts can also retain the majority of their morphological and anatomical features, allowing for further study.

[10] To result in a high quality preservation, the groundwater level should remain consistent which ensures anaerobic conditions that ultimately prevent the decay of the organic matter.

Under these conditions, organic materials gain a resistance to high or low temperatures and UV exposure and retain their key biological structures such as their membranes, nucleic acids and proteins.