Economic exploitation od forests in the early modern period. "Forest industries" in the 17-18th centuries

The thesis deals with a specific branch of early-modern industry. So called forest industries (or crafts) and craftsmen are depicted from the point of view of technology used, its economic, social as well as cultural characteristics. The thesis is focused on the territory of the Central Europe in the 17-18th centuries and is based on archival research and study of foreign theoretical scientific literature. The author came to a conclusion, that the forest industries (e.g. charcoal making, tar making, resin extraction, wood ashes making and potash making) constitute a specific kind of linked strategies of subsistence. Moreover through forest industries natural resources (forests and woodlands) were exploited and their shape and stand was changed. The most important part of thesis - also from the gnoseological point of view - is presentation of the outcomes of several ethno-archaeological experiments, which contributed essentially to the re-interpretation of written sources