Site formation processes at Donggutuo: a major Early Pleistocene site in the Nihewan Basin,North China

Understanding site formation processes is crucial for interpreting archaeological context patterns and hominin behaviour as these affect the preserved condition of a site and the integrity of archaeological remains. The fluvio‐lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin of North China are rich sources of early Pleistocene archaeological sites, which offer an important opportunity to investigate human evolution and adapted behaviours in East Asia. Although many Palaeolithic sites have been reported from the Nihewan Basin, North China, few of them focus on site formation processes before interpreting the hominin behaviour patterns. Here, we present a site formation study of four archaeological layers (Layers 6D, 6C, 6B and 6A) in Trench 1 from the Donggutuo (namely DGT‐T1) site in the Nihewan Basin with an age of 1.1 Ma. Through the study of sedimentary contexts, spatial distributions of artefacts and fossils, intra‐assemblage category ratios, debitage size distributions, lithic abrasion, artifact orientation and planar dip, our results show that all the layers had been disturbed by low‐energy sheet wash across the lake shore setting, but to differing extents. The post‐depositional disturbance caused by water decreased from the lower to the upper layers, from Layer 6D to Layer 6A. This indicates that the archaeological remains in DGT‐T1 have not been subject to significant natural modifications and are thus suitable for studying early hominin behaviour in North China. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Siltstone from Southern Patagonia: Its Source and Archaeological Artifact Distribution in Santa Cruz Province,Argentina

Hunter‐gatherer mobility and spheres of interaction are important characteristics worthy of investigation in Patagonian archaeology. One way to approach these is by studying the distribution of lithic archaeological materials. Siltstone (limolite) artifacts are found along the western strip of southwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Based on geomorphological studies and the high density of archaeological material, a source was located along the western margin of Cardiel Lake. Neutron activation analysis of samples from the source and archaeological sites in several neighboring basins allowed us to model its circulation. Siltstone's archaeological distribution indicates that its regional circulation had a southerly direction dating from the early Holocene. This southern vector shows an important difference when compared to the distribution of obsidian from Pampa del Asador, which has a broader circulation pattern. This could be related to a greater availability of high‐quality lithic materials north of the siltstone source. This work also contributes to the construction of a lithic source database for southern Patagonia.     

Taphonomy and site formation on California's Channel Islands

Inhabited by humans for over 12,000 calendar years, California's Channel Islands contain thousands of archaeological sites, ranging from dense shell middens and villages to small lithic scatters and camps. Similar to many islands around the world, the Channel Islands have a dearth of burrowing animals and limited historical development leading to generally good preservation of archaeological constituents and relatively high stratigraphic integrity. Despite these favorable preservation conditions, numerous natural and cultural processes have impacted the island's archaeological record. Channel Islands archaeologists, however, have given relatively limited attention to the effects of taphonomic and formation processes. The authors provide an overview of taphonomic and formation processes affecting Channel Islands archaeology, illustrating the importance of regional taphonomic syntheses in the management, preservation, and interpretation of archaeological sites. These data also demonstrate the significance of detailing formation processes in islands and other areas where burrowing rodents and other disturbances are thought to be absent or limited. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Distinguishing bioturbation and trampling using pottery sherd measures,Tell Fendi,Jordan

In the Levant, the blind mole‐rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) is responsible for much disturbance at archaeological sites, but its potential destructiveness is often ignored when cultural remains are interpreted. The effects of mole‐rat burrowing on artifact distributions were evaluated through a study of mole‐hill contents and by doing a vertical particle‐size analysis of ceramic materials drawn from Tell Fendi, a Late Chalcolithic (6600–5500 B.P.) site in the Jordan Valley. While the general effects of animal burrowing are predictable to some degree, stratigraphic units affected by burrowing may not be immediately obvious to the archaeologist. The problem of identification is compounded because other disturbance processes produce similar effects. This study proposes a method for identifying bioturbation layers and for distinguishing these layers from both trampled surfaces and in situ contexts by means of pottery sherd measures. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

“Mind the gap”: Caves,radiocarbon sequences,and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Europe—lessons from the Mala Triglavca rockshelter site

Radiocarbon sequences from some northern Mediterranean cave sites show a temporal gap between Mesolithic and Neolithic occupations. Some authors regard this as a regional phenomenon and have sought to explain it in terms of a general population decline in the late Mesolithic, which facilitated the replacement of indigenous foragers by immigrant farmers. New evidence from the rockshelter site of Mala Triglavca, in Slovenia, leads us to question this view. We describe the deposits in the rockshelter and discuss the results of AMS radiocarbon dating of bone samples recovered in excavations in the 1980s. New archaeological investigations and associated soil/sediment analyses show that in the central part of the rockshelter a well‐defined stratigraphic sequence can be established, despite post‐depositional modification by soil forming processes. There is also evidence of substantial post‐depositional disturbance of the cave sediments by human agency and geomorphological processes, which have created “temporal gaps” and “inversions” in the radiocarbon sequence. The relatively large series of radiocarbon dates obtained enables some of the post‐depositional processes to be identified. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Detecting stratigraphical issues using direct radiocarbon dating from small-mammal remains

Frequently preserved in archaeological and palaeontological sites, the tiny size of small-mammal remains favours percolations into underlying layers along stratigraphic sequences. This is one of the various post-depositional processes that may affect the integrity of the original deposits and therefore the subsequent scientific interpretations. Recent developments in sample preparation offer the possibility of detecting intrusive episodes through the absolute dating of minute amounts of bone (down to 10 mg), meaning that isolated elements (such as mandibles in this case) are sufficient to obtain reliable radiocarbon dates if collagen is moderately to well preserved. The radiocarbon dates obtained here for small-mammal bones (recovered from pre-Bølling to recent deposits) and their comparison with previous dates obtained from other sources (large-mammal bones, charcoal, botanical samples, etc.), with different protocols and instruments, illustrate the potential of small-mammal dating to reveal (and eventually contribute a solution to) stratigraphical issues in different archaeological contexts.     

Palaeoecological,archaeological and historical data and the making of Devon landscapes. I. The Blackdown Hills

This paper presents the first systematic study of the vegetation history of a range of low hills in SW England, UK, lying between more researched fenlands and uplands. After the palaeoecological sites were located bespoke archaeological, historical and documentary studies of the surrounding landscape were undertaken specifically to inform palynological interpretation at each site. The region has a distinctive archaeology with late Mesolithic tool scatters, some evidence of early Neolithic agriculture, many Bronze Age funerary monuments and Romano‐British iron‐working. Historical studies have suggested that the present landscape pattern is largely early Medieval. However, the pollen evidence suggests a significantly different Holocene vegetation history in comparison with other areas in lowland England, with evidence of incomplete forest clearance in later‐Prehistory (Bronze?Iron Age). Woodland persistence on steep, but poorly drained, slopes, was probably due to the unsuitability of these areas for mixed farming. Instead they may have been under woodland management (e.g. coppicing) associated with the iron‐working industry. Data from two of the sites also suggest that later Iron Age and Romano‐British impact may have been geographically restricted. The documented Medieval land management that maintained the patchwork of small fields, woods and heathlands had its origins in later Prehistory, but there is also evidence of landscape change in the 6th–9th centuries AD. We conclude that the Blackdown Hills area was one of many ‘distinctive subregions’, which due to a combination of edaphic, topographic and cultural factors could qualify as an eco‐cultural region or ‘pays’. It is argued that the use of such eco‐culturally distinctive regions or pays can provide a spatial and archaeological framework for palaeoecology, which has implications for landscape research, designation and heritage management.     

A New Model for Coastal Resource Productivity and Sea‐Level Change: The Role of Physical Sedimentary Processes in Assessing the Archaeological Potential of Submerged Landscapes from the Northwest Australian Continental Shelf

Existing models of coastal occupation, in one form or another, embrace the assumption that changes in mean sea level were the prime driver for shifts in coastal resource productivity of consequence to coastal foragers. Focusing on the North West Shelf of Australia, this paper considers the role of physical sedimentary processes in understanding both past coastal resource productivity and the archaeology of drowned coastal landscapes. From a review of up‐to‐date literature on sea‐level related coastal formation process related to the North West Shelf, we describe the complex interplay of sea‐level change and sedimentary processes in determining (i) coastal resource availability, and (ii) archaeological site preservation potential through time. We argue that human behavioral models that have been linked solely to changes in sea level change from ca. 45 ka onward along the Australia continental shelf have inadequately accounted for local sedimentary regimes. It is not past sea‐level per se, which is of relevance to coastal productivity and human behavioral ecology models but changes in tidal regimes, coastal configurations and sedimentation. We conclude that our understanding of maritime adaptations for Sahul (Greater Australia) remain incomplete without investigating former coastlines and archaeological information that now lies submerged offshore.     

Archaeological site distribution by geomorphic setting in the southern lower Cuyahoga River Valley,northeastern Ohio: Initial observations from a GIS database

In this study, we compiled unpublished archival documentation of archaeological site locations from the southern part of the Cuyahoga River Valley in northeastern Ohio, USA, registered at the State of Ohio Historic Preservation Office into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database. Using digitized soil shapefiles to generate a geomorphic data layer, we assessed the spatial and temporal distribution of 79 known archaeological sites by landform association. This digital compilation indicates that Woodland period, Late Prehistoric, and Historic sites occur in most geomorphic settings along the river valley. In contrast, Paleoindian and Archaic sites only occur on Wisconsinan cut terraces and in upland interfluve settings, indicating that most of these documented sites are in primary contexts and have not been reworked. We discuss the distribution of archaeological sites in the study region as a function of various factors, including cultural activities, taphonomic processes, landform development, and the nature and extent of the original archaeological surveys. Observed spatial patterns of known sites clearly reflect local geomorphological controls; artifactual contexts from the earlier prehistoric periods are underrepresented in the database. We conclude that additional site surveys, as well as the excavation and documentation of new sites in this part of Ohio, are required to understand local prehistoric economies and to ascertain patterns of culturally mediated land use. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Early pyrotechnology in the Near East: Experimental lime‐plaster production at the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B site of Kfar HaHoresh,Israel

A characteristic hallmark of the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) in the southern Levant was the extensive use of lime plaster for architectural and other purposes. Yet no obvious kilns have been identified in archaeological contexts. Here we present details of an experimental pit‐kiln modeling lime‐plaster production based on observed burnt stone accumulations in pits at the PPNB site of Kfar HaHoresh in the lower Galilee. The experimental kiln was loaded in layers with ∼500 kg of limestone (pebbles and stones) and ∼1000 kg of fuel (branches and dung). Fired for 24 hours, and reaching a maximum 870°C, the kiln yielded almost 250 kg of quicklime (calcium oxide, CaO). Micromorphological samples, general observations, and scaled plan view drawings made immediately following and nine years after ignition demonstrate that the original shape of the kiln and residual quicklime within and around it rapidly dissipated through bioturbation, trampling by animals, erosion, rain, and exposure to the elements. This could account for the seeming absence of kilns within sites, although they were probably located close to where lime‐plaster was applied, given the unstable nature and toxic effects of handling quicklime. Calculations of the manpower and fuel involved indicate that PPNB lime‐plaster production may have been less labor intensive and less detrimental to the environment than previously portrayed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reconstructing Phreatic Palaeogroundwater Levels in a Geoarchaeological Context: A Case Study in Flanders,Belgium

The complex debate on prehistoric settlement decisions is no longer tackled from a purely archaeological perspective but from a more landscape‐oriented manner combined with archaeological evidence. Therefore, reconstruction of several components of the former landscape is needed. Here, we focus on the reconstruction of the groundwater table based on modeling. The depth of the phreatic aquifer influences, for example, soil formation processes and vegetation type. Furthermore, it directly influences settlement by the wetness of a site. Palaeogroundwater modeling of the phreatic aquifer was carried out to produce a series of full‐coverage maps of the mean water table depth between 12.7 ka and the middle of the 20th century (1953) in Flanders, Belgium. The research focuses on the reconstruction of the input data and boundary conditions of the model and the model calibration. The model was calibrated for the 1924–1953 time period using drainage class maps. Archaeological site data and podzol occurrence data act as proxies for local drainage conditions over periods in the past. They also served as a control on the simulated phreatic palaeogroundwater levels. Model quality testing on an independent validation data set showed that the model predicts phreatic water table levels at the time of soil mapping well (mean error of 1.8 cm; root mean square error of 65.6 cm). Simulated hydrological conditions were in agreement with the occurrence of archaeological sites of Mesolithic to Roman age at 96% of the validation locations, and also with the occurrence of well‐drained podzols at 97% of the validation locations.     

Short contribution: Mapping quaternary deposits as a method for explaining the distribution of mesolithic sites in reclaimed landscapes: An example from Vålse Vig,southeast Denmark

Archaeological sites dating to the Ertebolle period of the Mesolithic have been recorded below a thin layer of marine sands in a reclaimed bay on northern Falster Island in Denmark. The finds seemed randomly distributed throughout the bay; there was no obvious pattern related to the modern landscape. However, by coring through the veneer of marine sands and mapping the pattern of the underlying Late Quaternary deposits, the authors were able to reconstruct the Mesolithic landscape and thereby explain the distribution of archaeological sites. This approach allows archaeologists to focus subsurface exploration in geomorphic settings, such as former fjords and coastlines that have a high potential for yielding prehistoric sites. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Short contribution: Buried Canopic channel identified near Egypt's Nile delta coast with radar (SRTM) imagery

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, with ground‐based geologic investigations, define the geographic position of the relict Canopic channel in Egypt's NW Nile delta. Two sinuous channel segments south of Abu Qir Bay are observed on a radar image: a more sinuous trace (36 km in length) west of Idku lagoon, and an eastern one (˜20 km), reaching the lagoon's southeast corner. Sediment cores recovered along channel traces show sand‐rich deposits (to > 4 m thick) beneath the surface, in contrast with silty muds in areas away from channels. Historic and archaeological findings indicate that the Ptolemaic Roman city of Schedia once lay directly along the Canopic that channeled water from the 3rd to 2nd centuries B.C. until ˜5th century A.D., after which Nile water was displaced to the east via Bolbitic and, later, Rosetta branches. Identification of buried, but well‐defined, Canopic channels provides baselines for renewed archaeological exploration in this delta sector. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Embedded Behavior: Human Activities and the Construction of the Mesolithic Shellmound of Cabeço da Amoreira,Muge, Portugal

Shellmound formation processes are greatly influenced by human inputs associated with an intensive exploitation of marine and estuarine resources. The complex stratigraphy of shellmounds has been difficult to decipher and few studies have focused on the microstratigraphic record of midden formation, especially in European Mesolithic contexts. Cabeço da Amoreira is a long‐known Mesolithic shellmound located on the shores of the Muge River, a tributary of the Tagus River in central Portugal. The abundance of shellfish refuse favors an intricate and laterally variable stratigraphic succession of layers and lenses, which results in an extensive artificial mound. Here, we use micromorphological and microfacies analysis to investigate aspects pertaining to site formation, and the nature of individual anthropogenic activities at the site. This methodology allowed for a distinction between primary activities (e.g., discrete shell tossing events, trampled occupational surfaces, and activity areas), and secondary position of the sediments in intentionally raked‐up and dumped deposits. Nondepositional hiatuses and discrete geogenic sedimentation are associated with periods of abandonment. The complex superposition of events seen at Cabeço da Amoreira underlines the role of micromorphology for the identification of behavioral signatures and its relevance in deciphering shellmound adaptations.     

Soil Paleocatenas,Prehistoric Land Use,and Coastal Landscape Dynamics at Druridge Bay,Northeast England

Coastal erosion of sand dune systems along Druridge Bay, northeast England, has progressively exposed parts of the subdune mid‐Holocene landscape, including paleocatenas, indicating former soil hydrosequences with localized wetland habitats, and archaeological evidence of human activities and land use from the Late Mesolithic to the Romano‐British period. Archaeological investigations and pedostratigraphic studies of paleosols provide a unique spatial–chronological framework to interpret soil and land use change over several millennia in the context of a changing coastal environment. Evidence includes dating of archaeological remains, the stratigraphy, morphology and micromorphology of buried soils and sediments, and the palynology and radiocarbon dating of subdune peats. Early Bronze Age burial sites were preferentially located on well‐drained hillocks also used for grazing. Adjacent wetland depressions provided areas of marshy grassland and swamp over deep fen peat soils that started to develop c. 5435 cal. yr B.P. in response to a rising groundwater table stimulated partly by slow sea‐level rise. The backslopes of the paleocatena were occupied by imperfectly to poorly drained soils that supported open oak‐hazel woodland with evidence for progressive clearance and use for agriculture. Windblown sand started to accumulate on the study site sometime between 3930 and 3670 cal. yr B.P., well before the Little Ice Age date for dune formation suggested by previous researchers.     

Preliminary study on the preservation of giant clam (Tridacnidae) shells from the Balobok Rockshelter archaeological site,south Philippines

Tridacnidae shells, a valuable archive of past environments, are common in the Balobok Rockshelter archaeological site on Sanga‐Sanga Island in the south Philippines. This site was occupied during the mid‐Holocene (ca. 5000–8800 ¹⁴C yr B.P.), a period of Neolithic cultural expansion in the Philippines. This paper focuses on the preservation of two shell specimens, Hippopus hippopus and Tridacna maxima, unearthed from two mid‐Holocene layers within the rockshelter. The shells' mineralogy and microstructure (prismatic and crossed‐lamellar) were studied using micro‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to determine if the samples were suitable as paleoenvironmental records. Both shells are still aragonitic but aragonite crystals of both microstructure types are partly dissolved. This dissolution, characteristic of meteoric water alteration, precludes their utility in paleoenvironmental geochemical studies. Nevertheless, these shells are abundant in archaeological sites in the region and may be better preserved in other depositional contexts; more studies on Philippine Tridacnidae shell diagenesis are needed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bacterial ancient DNA as an indicator of human presence in the past: its correlation with palynological and archaeological data

Palynological investigation is one of the most important tools for reconstructing past vegetation. Some plants have proved to be relatively sensitive indicators of human activity, but most of them are not specific. In this paper we propose a method which can be used for the verification of phases of anthropogenic impact on vegetation distinguished in pollen diagrams. In this work we adopted the existing molecular methods for tracking bacterial ancient DNA of Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides‐Prevotella (known as human‐ and cow‐specific genetic markers) in palynologically and archaeologically associated sediments. This method can be helpful in determining local human presence, especially in those time periods when pollen analysis has not always been very discriminating (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic) and at sites without archaeological evidence. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江三峡库区全新世环境考古研究进展

充分利用长江三峡工程文物抢救性发掘的宝贵机会,通过对重庆市忠县中坝遗址、丰都县玉溪遗址等典型遗址和神农架大九湖泥炭地层环境考古研究,摸索出了一套利用年代学、沉积学、重矿物组分鉴定、锆石形态统计、地球化学和环境磁学方法辨别考古遗址地层中古洪水沉积的方法;建立了该区地表孢粉-气候的转换函数,并将其用于对神农架大九湖泥炭地层的研究,弄清了该区全新世以来环境演变的背景,并将自然沉积地层环境演变记录与典型考古遗址地层古洪水事件作了对比分析。遗址时空分布研究表明:长江三峡库区旧石器时代至宋代677处遗址时空分布总趋势是从西往东、从高往低逐渐增加的,遗址多沿江河分布,且在河流交汇处呈聚集状态,这与人类多选择河流1～2级阶地为生、河流交汇处鱼类资源丰富有关。研究表明:中坝遗址能延续5000a的原因一方面与其盐业遗址的属性有关,另一方面与其长期具有良好生态环境有关。从该遗址T0202探方出土近20万件动物骨骼的分类统计证明了这一点。7.6kaBP以来,水位在吴淞高程147.024m以上的古洪水至少在玉溪遗址T0403探方中留下了16次沉积记录。神农架大九湖297cm厚的泥炭及其148个孢粉样品和10个AMS14C测年数据表明,该泥炭地层为本项目提供了理想的全新世自然环境演变背景,尤其8.2kaBP前后的降温事件很明显,6.7～4.2kaBP为中全新世最适宜期,4.2kaBP前后由暖湿转为凉干,3.5～0.9kaBP季风降水整体较弱,0.9kaBP前后转为较凉湿。根据对中坝和玉溪两处遗址地层的研究,在8.2～6.7kaBP期间出现有10个古洪水层;在6.7～4.2kaBP全新世最适宜期遗址地层中出现有8个古洪水层;在3.5～0.9kaBP降水减少的时期,中坝遗址中仅出现2个洪水层(即西周时期的37-1和战国早期的第21层);在0.9kaBP以来降水较多的时期,中坝遗址中存在3个洪水层(即宋代中期的11C-1层、清代的5-1层和1981年的2B-2层)。这表明,8.2～6.7kaBP的洪水在三峡地区次数是最多的,6.7～4.2kaBP的洪水数量次之。长江三峡库区的这一古洪水发生规律或许可以解释长江中游的江汉平原在7.8～5.1kaBP期间遗址数量偏少的原因。