ANTHRACOLOGY AND CARBONIZED FORESTED AREA S - SOME EXAMPLES FROM EASTPYRENEES

The charcoal kilns are surviving remains of forestry exploitation by w ood metalworking. These proto-industrial deposits can be found in the whole eastern Pyrenees. The anthracology method allows us to recreate the forest landscape in space and time. A specific methodology which a pplies both to the subject (charcoal kiln) and the problem (biogeograp hy) has enabled us to distinguish three levels of analysis. 1.- The sp ecies. At this first level, the problem of the anatomic determination of scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the upper valleys of Ariege Pyr enees must be considered. 2.- The plant successions in the charcoal ki lns spot which is an homogeneous space as much from a biogeographical point of view as from a topoclimatical one. 3.- The evolution of the f orest landscape in a valley. It can be reconstituted thanks to the cha rcoal kilns distribution, the antracology analysis and radiocarbon dat es. The charcoal kilns study has been put into practice in eastern Pyr enees valleys : Vicdessos and Aston (Ariege, France). The results sugg est a new interpretation of ecological organisation of vegetation whic h is a combination between natural processes and societies managements .