Micromorphology (Other Keyword)
26-33 (33 Records)
This paper brings a microstratigraphic perspective to debates about the origins of sociopolitical complexity though a study of floors from nondomestic structures. Such civic and ceremonial buildings are central to models of community formation and leadership development. In the Bolivian Middle Formative Period I (800-200 BCE) communities became aggregated and expanded the range of civic architecture as populations rose. Demonstrating these trends, the Kala Uyuni site expanded and developed two...
Monumental Construction at Cahokia, a geoarchaeological perspective (2016)
Monumental Construction at Cahokia, a geoarchaeological perspective Amber Laubach and Sarah E. Baires Examining Pre-Columbian earthen mounds from both a macro and micro-scale lens can reveal geotechnical knowledge of construction as well as the cultural significance of this pervasive past practice in the Eastern Woodlands. Micromorphology soil samples provide a rich volume of data to examine fine-grained construction fill composition, pedogenic activity and the relative rate of monumental...
Recent Applications of Micromorphology to Cultural Resources Management in the Pacific Northwest (2015)
Solving geoarchaeological questions in a cultural resources management (CRM) context can be difficult due to time and budget constraints. In the Pacific Northwest, however, recent projects have fortunately allowed for some micromorphological analyses. Paul Goldberg has championed micromorphology as a valuable geoarchaeological method over the past three decades. The micromorphological analysis of shell middens, peat deposits, and alluvial sediment in and around the Seattle, WA area has elevated...
The Role of Bronze Age People in the Post-Bronze Age Landscape: An Integrated Geoarchaeological Approach to Site Formation at Mycenae, Greece (2016)
While human-landscape interaction has been a key question in the archaeology of early complex societies, little research has focused on the effect of occupation on the landscape post-abandonment. At Mycenae, a Late Bronze Age citadel in southern Greece, two distinct deposits, one anthropogenic and one natural, were identified as covering archaeological remains dating to the 12th century, B.C. Here, we present an integrated method combining micromorphology, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and...
Soil Micromorphology Analysis of Area D at Manot Cave, Israel:insights into site formation processes. (2017)
Manot Cave, discovered in 2008 in Western Galilee (Israel), represents one of the richest Upper Palaeolithic assemblages in the Levant. The site has produced a ca. 55,000 year old anatomically modern human calvarium, as well as Middle Paleolithic to Post-Aurignacian lithic and bone artefacts. The deepest stratigraphic sequence is found in Area D, located halfway down the steep talus. This area shows continuous stratification from dolomite bedrock to an early sterile colluvium, an archaeological...
Soil Nutrient Management in Norse Greenland (2015)
In this paper we set out to establish the role of soil nutrient management in the sustainability and resilience of livestock agricultural systems in Norse Greenland (ca. late 9th – 14th centuries AD). Using a landscape sampling framework that includes large church farm, medium sized farms and small farms we use thin section micromorphology and associated SEM-EDX analyses of cultural soils and sediments (anthrosols) in home field areas to identify materials used in the endeavour to sustain soil...
Using Geoarchaeological Methods to Evaluate Site Integrity at Dali, Kazakhstan (2015)
Dali, a site located in the Bayan-Zherek Valley in Semirech'ye, Southeastern Kazakhstan, is a multi-phase Bronze Age pastoralist settlement (3rd-2nd millennia B.C.). Recovered artifacts include combustion features, bones, ceramics, lithics, bronze metals, and potentially in situ wall constructions. Radiocarbon dates cannot conclusively suggest that the stratigraphic sequence is in situ due to geological unconformities and high energy colluvial system, so geoarchaeological methods were employed...
Where’s the beef? The value of an interdisciplinary approach to PPN features (2015)
The anthropogenic landscape of a prehistoric site is made up of artifacts, structures, and features. However, the three do not receive equal attention. Features--by which we mean stationary but non-structural evidence of human activity--are usually the least analyzed. Inspired by Paul Goldberg’s work on Paleolithic hearths, we hope to bring a new, more inter-disciplinary look at some of these less-studied elements of the anthropogenic landscape. To do so, we will expand the study to a later...