Soil, Soot, and Slag: Using Microartifact Analysis to Understand the Continuing Impacts of Historic Industrial Activity in Detroit, MI

Summary

This is an abstract from the "POSTER Session 3: Material Culture and Site Studies" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Detroit's riverfront area has been a mixed industrial, commercial, and residential neighborhood since the mid 19th century.  Prior to a new housing development in this area, archaeological excavations were conducted in 2014 to investigate a four-block area that once contained a scrap metal processing site and a metal junkyard, both active from approximately 1915-1975.  Soil samples were collected from several locations with intact stratigraphy.  In this study, these soils were subjected to microartifact analysis and portable X-ray fluorescence to analyze levels of heavy metal and particulate contamination associated with these activities.  The results suggest that understanding land use history through archaeological methods can play an important role in minimizing potential ongoing health effects of historic industrial activities when urban land is reclaimed for new uses.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• POSTER Session 3: Material Culture and Site Studies

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 405