Cultural woods in Brazil: historical legacy and future frontiers

Abstract

Historical woods express cultural relations around the use of biodiversity by human societies. This article presents an overview of woods used for cultural purposes in Brazil based on the epistemological concept of historical anatomy. Based on 64 publications between 1994 and 2025, this study maps the taxonomic diversity and categories of cultural use of wood, as well as the approaches and contributions to the field made by research groups and wood anatomists. The results show regional asymmetries, with a predominance of studies in the South and Southeast regions of the country and temporal gaps in the other regions. Furthermore, interest in the field has grown in recent years, contributing to a better understanding of the historical use of woods from Brazilian flora. A search was conducted for specialized literature in the main online databases that related historical woods to anatomical identification of the wood. A total of 164 species were recorded in 14 use categories, with emphasis on shelters/buildings, sacred statuary, and watercraft. The concentration of studies in a few states and the prevalence of some species indicate cultural patterns and structural limitations of national research. The work proposes guidelines to expand geographic and thematic coverage, strengthen research networks, and guide public policies aimed at valuing the cultural heritage of wood in Brazil.