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Article: Wood Products
- Article from:
- Plant Sciences
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Wood Products
Wood is one of the most significant structural materials used throughout human history. As documented by the earliest
artifacts
of human activity, wood has been associated with activities of hunting and gathering, early development of agriculture, and the foundations of civilization, as well as its obvious use as a fuel for fire. Archaeological studies of virtually every known civilization confirm the use of wood for a wide range of items and attest to wood's intimate involvement with human evolution and its progress through time.
As a structural material, wood has some rather remarkable properties. Despite its relatively low density (most woods float), it has physical ...