Beyond the ‘Principle of Least Effort’ – Culture and the Natural Environment in the Interpretation of Anthracological Data

The question of prehistoric fuelwood selection and use, whether they were determined by ease of collection and wood species availability in the environment or by cultural choice, has vexed anthracology from the early days of the discipline. This paper addresses this question by revisiting the ‘Principle of Least Effort’, one of the most influential research paradigms in anthracology incorporating environmental, functional, and cultural elements. Drawing on previous research alongside ethnographic, ethnohistorical, ecological and anthracological data from the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia, I propose a novel theoretical framework that explicitly addresses the plurality of cultural inputs in archaeological charcoal taphonomy, themselves reflecting the complex interdependencies of human behaviour, vegetation responses and landscape change. In its core lies the principle that prehistoric fuelwood management cannot be reconstructed and interpreted in isolation from its diverse sociocultural, ecological, and technological contexts. The importance of anthracology as a source of data on an increasingly endangered global palaeoenvironmental heritage is also emphasised. Methodologically, the paper addresses the equifinality biases that are sometimes inherent, if not always explicitly acknowledged, in anthracological studies.