> The packed sediments were then transported to the laboratory for further sorting. A program of sediment sorting, that lasted over two decades, included the separation of different types of categories: ostracods, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians, micromammals, fish and macrobotanical remains, in addition to different types of small rocks.
Incredible. They didn’t find intact hunks of charcoal (obviously), but instead they _sorted through sediment_ to find grains which they then identified under a microscope.
> They didn’t find intact hunks of charcoal (obviously)
Coal itself is ancient and you can find large chunks of carbonized wood (not quite coal, still retaining its original form) that are millions of years old. There is no reason charcoal could not survive intact from any point in time that humans have existed and made fires.
Incredible. They didn’t find intact hunks of charcoal (obviously), but instead they _sorted through sediment_ to find grains which they then identified under a microscope.
Archaeology is such a cool field.