Geoarchaeology; The Earth-Science Approach to Archaeological Interpretation, Second Edition

by George (Rip) Rapp and Christopher L. Hill

• ISBN13: 9780300109665
• ISBN10: 0300109660
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2006-05-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

An indispensable book for all professionals and students interested in the field of geoarchaeology, including those with limited earth-science experience, this new edition ofGeoarchaeologybuilds on the success and innovation of the first edition and includes updates, new concepts and examples, an enhanced bibliography, and many new illustrations. The second edition begins by considering the history and theory of geoarchaeology. Rapp and Hill then move to discussions of soils and environmental interpretations; initial context and site formation; methods of discovery and spatial analyses; estimating time; paleoenvironments, landscapes, and the human past; identifying, analyzing, and sourcing raw materials; and construction, destruction, and conservation of sites and materials. "[This book] covers a wide range of topics . . . with clarity and balance. . . . [The] chapters are all well written and have concise introductory discussions that are not too detailed and not too brief. . . . Beautifully produced."Michael Waters,Geoarchaeology: An International Journal(on the first edition)

Author Biography

George (Rip) Rapp is Regents Professor Emeritus of Geoarchaeology and was formerly director of the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. Christopher L. Hill is an assistant professor in the department of anthropology at Boise State University, Boise, Idaho. 

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition	xi
Preface to the First Edition	xiii
Theory and History	1	(24)
The Scope of Geoarchaeology	1	(3)
Archaeology and the Earth Sciences	4	(16)
Foundational Phase: Before 1900	5	(5)
Collaborative Phase: 1900--1950	10	(6)
Integrative Phase: After 1950	16	(4)
Changing the Guard	20	(5)
Sediments, Soils, and Environmental Interpretations	25	(35)
Sediments	25	(4)
Weathering	26	(1)
Transportation	27	(1)
Postdepositional Changes	28	(1)
Archaeological Implications	28	(1)
Classification of Sedimentation Products	29	(9)
Clastic Deposits	29	(3)
Gravel	32	(1)
Sand	33	(1)
Mud	34	(1)
Chemical Deposition	35	(1)
Calcareous Precipitates	36	(1)
Noncalcareous Precipitates	36	(1)
Organic Matter	37	(1)
Soils and Buried Soils	38	(7)
The Soil Profile	39	(2)
Soil Types	41	(1)
Entisols	41	(1)
Vertisols	41	(1)
Inceptisols	41	(1)
Mollisols	41	(1)
Alfisols	42	(1)
Ultisols	42	(1)
Spodosols	42	(1)
Aridosols	42	(1)
Histosols	42	(1)
Paleosols and Buried Soils	43	(2)
Inferring Environments from Physical and Chemical Parameters	45	(14)
Color	45	(2)
Cementation and Induration	47	(1)
Texture	47	(6)
Structure	53	(1)
Composition	54	(4)
Boundaries	58	(1)
Micromorphology	59	(1)
Initial Context and Site Formation	60	(43)
The Creation of the Archaeological Record	60	(2)
Stages of Site Formation	62	(1)
Initial Landscapes and Original Occupation	62	(1)
Sedimentary Contexts	63	(35)
Desert Depositional Systems	64	(1)
The Effects of Wind	64	(1)
The Effects of Moisture	65	(1)
Desert System Site Formation	66	(1)
Alluvial Depositional Systems: Flowing Water	67	(1)
Depositional Contexts	68	(7)
Site Formation in Alluvial Settings	75	(3)
Lakes and Associated Basin Settings	78	(1)
Basin Deposits	78	(2)
Site Formation in Basin Settings	80	(1)
Cave and Rock Shelter Depositional Systems	81	(1)
Limestone Caves	81	(4)
Sandstone Caves and Rock Shelters	85	(1)
Igneous Rock Caves	85	(1)
Site Formation in Caves	85	(1)
The Glacial System	86	(4)
Coastal and Marine Depositional Settings	90	(1)
Coastal Processes and Site Formation	91	(4)
Coastal Landscape Context	95	(3)
Postdepositional Processes	98	(5)
Mass Wasting	99	(1)
Cryoturbation	99	(1)
Bioturbation	100	(3)
Methods of Discovery and Spatial Analyses	103	(29)
Maps	103	(7)
Landform Sediment Assemblages	109	(1)
Settlement Patterns	109	(1)
Remote Sensing	110	(12)
Geophysical Prospecting	111	(2)
Magnetometry and Magnetic Properties of Soils and Sediments	113	(2)
Electrical Resistivity	115	(1)
Electromagnetic Conductivity	116	(1)
Ground Penetrating Radar	116	(1)
Seismic Profiling	117	(1)
Magnetic Analysis	118	(1)
Aerial Photography	118	(2)
Satellite and Airborne Remote Sensing	120	(1)
Dowsing	121	(1)
Geochemical Prospecting and Analysis	122	(3)
Core Drilling	125	(4)
Locating Water Resources	129	(1)
Geographic Information Systems	129	(1)
The Complexities of Scale	130	(2)
Estimating Time	132	(33)
Climate Change and Time	133	(1)
Artifacts and Dating	134	(1)
Stratigraphy	135	(8)
Rhythmites (Varves)	136	(3)
Paleosols in Loess and Alluvium	139	(3)
Tephrochronology	142	(1)
Dating Using Animal and Plant Fossils	143	(1)
Paleontology	143	(1)
Dendrochronology	144	(1)
Radiometric Dating Methods	144	(9)
Potassium-Argon and Argon-Argon Dating	144	(2)
Uranium-Series Dating	146	(1)
Radiocarbon Dating	147	(6)
Other Dating Methods	153	(7)
Fission-Track Dating	153	(1)
Paleomagnetic and Archaeomagnetic Dating	153	(3)
Electron Spin Resonance and Luminescence Dating	156	(4)
Temperature-Affected Dating	160	(2)
Amino Acid Racemization and Epimerization	160	(1)
Hydration (Obsidian)	160	(2)
Dating Techniques Based on Chemical Accumulation	162	(1)
Chemical Analysis	162	(1)
Dating Exposed Surfaces	163	(2)
Patination and Desert Varnish	163	(1)
Cosmogenic Nuclides	163	(2)
Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions: Landscapes and the Human Past	165	(30)
Environmental and Landscape Change	165	(1)
Inferring Environmental Change	166	(1)
Ecology and Landscape Change	167	(1)
Terrestrial (Non-marine) Geoecologic Data from Lake Records	168	(1)
Plant (Botanical) Indicators	169	(7)
Microfossils	169	(1)
Pollen	169	(3)
Phytoliths	172	(2)
Diatoms	174	(1)
Macrofossils	175	(1)
Animals Indicators	176	(7)
Invertebrates	176	(1)
Ostracods	176	(2)
Mollusks	178	(1)
Insects	179	(1)
Vertebrates	180	(1)
Mammal Fossil Remains	180	(1)
Bird Fossil Remains	181	(1)
Reptile and Amphibian Fossil Remains	182	(1)
Fish Fossil Remains	182	(1)
Other Ecologic Accumulations	183	(1)
Pack-Rat Middens	183	(1)
Peat	183	(1)
Geochemical Indicators	183	(3)
Environmental Change and Archaeological Explanations	186	(5)
Human Habitats and Geoecology	186	(2)
Tectonics, Climates, Landscapes, and the Human Past	188	(3)
Microclimates	191	(4)
Human Interaction with Environment and Its Effects on Climate	192	(3)
Raw Materials and Resources	195	(27)
Definitions	195	(1)
Minerals	196	(6)
Chert and Chalcedony	196	(1)
Semiprecious Stones	197	(2)
Other Archaeologically Important Minerals	199	(3)
Metals and Ores	202	(5)
Rocks	207	(3)
Shells	210	(1)
Clays	211	(2)
Building Materials	213	(3)
Building Stone	214	(1)
Burnt Brick	215	(1)
Mortar	215	(1)
Other Materials	216	(2)
Pigments	217	(1)
Abrasives	218	(1)
Rock and Mineral Recovery	218	(1)
Water	219	(3)
Sourcing (Provenance)	222	(22)
Geologic Deposits	224	(1)
Materials Used in Sourcing	225	(10)
Obsidian	225	(1)
Sourcing Other Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks	226	(1)
Chert	227	(1)
Marble	228	(1)
Clay	229	(1)
Temper	229	(1)
Amber	230	(1)
Bitumen	230	(1)
Soft Stone, Other Rocks, and Semiprecious Minerals	230	(1)
Native Copper	231	(1)
Complex Copper Minerals	232	(1)
Tin	232	(2)
Lead, Silver, and Gold	234	(1)
Sourcing Methods	235	(9)
Trace-Element Analyses	235	(1)
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis	236	(1)
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry	237	(1)
Isotope Analysis/Mass Spectrometry	237	(1)
DNA	238	(1)
Mineral Magnetism	238	(1)
Other Analytical Methods	238	(1)
Petrographic Analysis	238	(4)
Statistics and Data Analysis	242	(2)
Construction, Destruction, Archaeological Resource Preservation, and Conservation	244	(29)
Geotechnology	244	(1)
Construction	245	(3)
Dams	245	(1)
Canals	246	(1)
Fields and Raised Fields	247	(1)
Roads	248	(1)
Excavation (Mines and Quarries)	248	(1)
Natural Burial and Site Formation	249	(1)
Rock Properties and Weathering	250	(6)
Destruction	250	(1)
Weathering	251	(1)
Pollution	252	(2)
Water	254	(2)
Erosion and Subsidence in Archaeology	256	(1)
Erosion	256	(1)
Land Subsidence	256	(1)
Geologic ``Catastrophes'' and the Human Past	257	(8)
Earthquakes and Seismic Disturbance	257	(5)
Floods and Flood Legends	262	(1)
Volcanoes	263	(2)
Site Preservation	265	(5)
Site Preservation Problems	265	(2)
Reservoirs	267	(1)
Hilltops or Slopes	268	(1)
Seismicity	268	(1)
Site Stabilization	268	(1)
Earth Burial	269	(1)
Archaeological/Cultural Resources Management	270	(3)
Resource Management	270	(1)
Conservation	271	(1)
Materials Preservation	271	(1)
Corrosion	271	(2)
Epilogue	273	(4)
The Future	273	(1)
The Future of Geoarchaeology within Archaeology	273	(4)
Notes	277	(10)
Glossary	287	(4)
Bibliography	291	(28)
Index	319