The procedure of identifying wood and fiber materials by microscopic cellular analysis on the Northwest Coast of North America from a number of recent wet site is reported, describing the microscopic differences between species of wood, basketry and cordage construction materials, and cultural charcoal. This technique has also been expanded to include the identification of cultural charcoal, adding insights into the use of fuelwoods by ancient peoples, as well as adding to the environmental knowledge of the flora of the time periods and regions examined.  The cellular identification of ancient vegetal material culture is complementary to information found in ethnobotanies and oral traditions, identifying traditional plant materials; as well as revealing new uses of plant materials:  Wet Site Wood-Fiber and Charcoal Cellular ID–Hawes

 Wood and fiber cellular identification and fuelwood charcoal speciation currently are services offered by the South Puget Sound Archaeological Training Laboratory (see Wet Site Services menu in NewsWARP.  If you have any questions on your own samples or these services, contact researcher Kathleen Hawes at:  aragalen@msn.com.