Practical And Theoretical Geoarchaeology

by Goldberg, Paul; Macphail, Richard I.

• ISBN13: 9780632060443
• ISBN10: 0632060441
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-10
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology provides an invaluable overview of geoarchaeology and how it can be used effectively in the study of archaeological sites and contexts. Taking a pragmatic and functional approach, this book presents a fundamental, broad-based perspective of the essentials of modern geoarchaeology in order to demonstrate the breadth of the approaches and the depth of the problems that it can tackle. This book reflects the rapid advances made in the area in recent years, but also gives the reader a firm grasp of conventional approaches. It covers traditional topics with the emphasis on landscapes, as well as anthropogenic site formation processes and their investigation. It also provides guidelines for the presentation of field and laboratory methods and the reporting of geoarchaeological results. Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology is essential reading for archaeology undergraduate and graduate students, practicing archaeologists and geoscientists who need to understand and apply geoarchaeological methodologies.

Author Biography

Paul Goldberg is a geologist and Professor in the Department of Archaeology, Boston University. He has carried out geoarchaeological research ranging from Quaternary landscapes and associated archaeological sites in the Near East, California, and Texas, to cave sediments in China, South Africa, Europe, and the USA.

Richard I. Macphail is a Senior Research Fellow atUniversity College London, investigating archaeological sediments, soils, and occupation deposits across Europe and the USA. He was a researcher for English Heritage for 20 years, and is currently a Research Fellow at Boston University and was professor invité at Université de Tours.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(6)
Part I Regional scale geoarchaeology	7	(182)
Chapter 1 Sediments	11	(17)
1.1 Introduction	11	(1)
1.2 Types of sediments	11	(16)
1.3 Conclusions: sediments versus soils	27	(1)
Chapter 2 Stratigraphy	28	(14)
2.1 Introduction	28	(1)
2.2 Stratigraphy and stratigraphic principles	28	(10)
2.3 Facies and microfacies	38	(2)
2.4 Correlation	40	(1)
2.5 Keeping track: the Harris Matrix	40	(1)
2.6 Conclusions	41	(1)
Box 2.1 Facies and stratigraphy: The Paleoindian-Archaic site of Wilson–Leonard, Texas	33	(9)
Chapter 3 Soils	42	(30)
3.1 Introduction	42	(9)
3.2 Soil profiles and soil properties	51	(1)
3.3 The five soil forming factors	52	(12)
3.4 Important soil forming processes	64	(7)
3.5 Conclusions	71	(1)
Box 3.1 The Five Factors of Soil Formation and Bronze Age Brean Down, United Kingdom	43	(10)
Box 3.2 Cold Climate Soils	53	(19)
Chapter 4 Hydrological systems I: slopes and slope deposits	72	(13)
4.1 Introduction	72	(1)
4.2 Water movement on slopes	73	(3)
4.3 Erosion, movement, and deposition on slopes	76	(8)
4.4 Conclusions	84	(1)
Chapter 5 Hydrological systems II: rivers and lakes	85	(34)
5.1 Introduction	85	(1)
5.2 Stream erosion, transport, and deposition	85	(4)
5.3 Stream deposits and channel patterns	89	(2)
5.4 Floodplains	91	(8)
5.5 Stream terraces	99	(13)
5.6 Lakes	112	(5)
5.7 Conclusions	117	(2)
Box 5.1 Upper and Middle Palaeolithic sites of Nahal Zin, Central Negev, Israel	102	(17)
Chapter 6 Aeolian settings and geoarchaeological environments	119	(32)
6.1 Introduction	119	(1)
6.2 Sandy aeolian terrains	119	(18)
6.3 Examples of sites in dune contexts	137	(3)
6.4 Bioturbation in sandy terrains	140	(1)
6.5 Fine grained aeolian deposits	140	(9)
6.6 Conclusions	149	(2)
Box 6.1 Aeolian features in desert environments	123	(28)
Chapter 7 Coasts	151	(18)
7.1 Introduction	151	(1)
7.2 Palaeo sea shores and palaeo coastal deposits	151	(17)
7.3 Conclusions	168	(1)
Box 7.1 Boxgrove (United Kingdom) - the marine and salt marsh sequence	152	(11)
Box 7.2 Drowned coasts of Essex and the River Severn, United Kingdom	163	(6)
Chapter 8 Caves and rockshelters	169	(20)
8.1 Introduction	169	(1)
8.2 Formation of caves and rockshelters	169	(5)
8.3 Cave deposits and processes	174	(12)
8.4 Environmental reconstruction	186	(1)
8.5 Conclusions	187	(6)
Box 8.1 Kebara Cave, Israel	180	(9)
Part II Nontraditional geoarchaeological approaches	189	(106)
Chapter 9 Human impact on landscape: forest clearance, soil modifications, and cultivation	193	(18)
9.1 Introduction	193	(1)
9.2 Forest clearance and soil changes (amelioration, deterioration, and disturbance)	193	(6)
9.3 Forest and woodland clearance features	199	(3)
9.4 Cultivation and manuring	202	(5)
9.5 Landscape effects	207	(3)
9.6 Conclusions	210	(1)
Box 9.1 Cultivation at Late Roman/Saxon Oakley, Suffolk, United Kingdom	204	(7)
Chapter 10 Occupation deposits I: concepts and aspects of cultural deposits	211	(14)
10.1 Introduction	211	(1)
10.2 Concepts and aspects of occupation deposits	212	(4)
10.3 Stratigraphic sequences as material culture; concepts and uses of space	216	(1)
10.4 Time and scale	217	(1)
10.5 Settlement-landscape interrelationships	218	(1)
10.6 Origin and predepositional history of occupation deposits	219	(2)
10.7 Depositional history	221	(1)
10.8 Postdepositional modifications	221	(3)
10.9 Conclusions	224	(1)
Chapter 11 Occupation deposits II: examples from the Near East, North America, and Europe	225	(22)
11.1 Introduction	225	(1)
11.2 Tells	225	(2)
11.3 Mounds	227	(8)
11.4 Urban archaeology of Western Europe	235	(4)
11.5 Early medieval settlement	239	(5)
11.6 Medieval floors of Northwest Europe	244	(2)
11.7 Conclusions	246	(1)
Box 11.1 Tells	227	(15)
Box 11.2 Grubenhauser	242	(5)
Chapter 12 Experimental geoarchaeology	247	(21)
12.1 Introduction	247	(1)
12.2 Effects of burial and aging	248	(6)
12.3 Experimental "Ancient Farms" at Butser and UmeA	254	(13)
12.4 Conclusions	267	(1)
Chapter 13 Human materials	268	(18)
13.1 Introduction	268	(1)
13.2 Constructional materials	268	(15)
13.3 Metal working	283	(2)
13.4 Conclusions	285	(1)
Box 13.1 Brickearth walls	269	(2)
Box 13.2 Terra Preta and European dark earth	271	(15)
Chapter 14 Applications of geoarchaeology to forensic science	286	(9)
14.1 Introduction	286	(1)
14.2 Soils and clandestine graves	286	(3)
14.3 Provenancing and obtaining geoarchaeological information from crime scenes	289	(1)
14.4 Other potential methods	289	(2)
14.5 Practical approaches to forensic soil sampling and potential for soil micromorphology	291	(1)
14.6 Conclusions	292	(3)
Part III Field and laboratory methods, data, and reporting	295	(96)
Chapter 15 Field-based methods	299	(36)
15.1 Introduction	299	(1)
15.2 Regional-scale methods	299	(13)
15.3 Shallow geophysical methods (resistivity, palaeomagnetism, seismology, ground penetrating radar)	312	(4)
15.4 Coring and trenching techniques	316	(5)
15.5 Describing sections: soils and sediments in the field	321	(7)
15.6 Collecting samples	328	(5)
15.7 Sample and data correlation	333	(1)
15.8 Conclusions	334	(1)
Chapter 16 Laboratory techniques	335	(33)
16.1 Introduction	335	(1)
16.2 Physical and chemical techniques	336	(16)
16.3 Microscopic methods and mineralogy	352	(2)
16.4 Thin section analysis	354	(7)
16.5 Minerals and heavy minerals	361	(1)
16.6 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), EDAX, and microprobe	362	(5)
16.7 Conclusions	367	(1)
Chapter 17 Reporting and publishing	368	(20)
17.1 Introduction	368	(1)
17.2 Management of sites and reporting	368	(6)
17.3 Fieldwork and assessment/evaluation reporting	374	(1)
17.4 Postexcavation reporting and publication	374	(6)
17.5 Site interpretation	380	(7)
17.6 Conclusions	387	(1)
Box 17.1 How to write a report - a suggested fieldwork report protocol	369	(1)
Box 17.2 Reporting - London Guildhall	370	(18)
Chapter 18 Concluding remarks and the geoarchaeological future	388	(3)
Appendices	391	(13)
Bibliography	404	(39)
Index	443