Using Geoarchaeological Methods to Evaluate Site Integrity at Dali, Kazakhstan

Summary

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 to distinguish between anthropogenic and geogenic deposition. This research integrates micromorphology, geochemistry, sedimetology and site stratigraphy to identify timing and tempo of depositional history, landscape stability, and site formation processes. These data allow us to evaluate the integrity of the site and its archaeological contexts to provide a more secure interpretation of cultural activities.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

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