Question

I assumed the charcoal from the site was collected from a fire ring and were therefore evidence of human activity.  However, that may not necessarily be the case.  What are some other possible sources of charcoal that may not be human related?  What other lines of evidence would you look for to be sure of early human habitation at this site?

Answer 1

Ans.

Charcoal can also form naturally when the plants and animals are buried under the growth under high pressure and high temperature. This makes a similar environment like pyrolysis (heating of wood in the absence of oxygen). Hence we can say that charcoal is the starting condition of formation of coal. When there is forest fire due to natural reasons like lightning, charcoal can be formed there also.

But to confirm that this was a human site, we will try to find the way in which charcoal is found here. If it is found in very small patches or if there is any evidence of hearth, or other stone weapons etc, we can say that there existed human settlement here in the past.

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