Quaternary stratigraphy and geoarchaeology of the colorado and concho rivers,west texas

Geoarchaeological investigations in an area surrounding the confluence of the upper Colorado and Concho Rivers, Edwards Plateau of West Texas, have produced a detailed landscape evolution model which provides a framework for discussion of the influences of geomorphic processes on the development, preservation, and visibility of the archaeological record. Field mapping within the study area has differentiated six allostrati-graphic units of fluvial origin in both valleys, as well as extensive eolian sand sheets along the Colorado River. Early to middle Pleistocene terrace remnants cap many upland areas, whereas two distinct late Pleistocene terrace surfaces are widespread within the study area at somewhat lower elevations. Fluvial activity during the time period of human occupation is represented by an extensive Holocene terrace and underlying valley fill, which is up to 11 m in thickness. Valley fill sediments can be subdivided into allostratigraphic units of early to middle Holocene (ca. 10,000–5000 yr B.P.) and late Holocene age (ca. 4600–1000 yr B.P.), which are separated by a buried soil profile. The modern incised channels and very narrow floodplains represent the last millennium. Eolian sand sheets of early to middle Holocene age overlie limestone- and shale-dominated uplands, Pleistocene terraces, and in some cases the Holocene valley fill along the Colorado River. Pleistocene terraces have been stable features in the landscape and available for settlement through the time period of human occupation. Archaeological materials of all ages occur at the surface, and the record preserved in individual sites range from that associated with discrete periods of activity to longer-term palimpsests that represent repeated use over millennia. Sites within early to middle Holocene and late Holocene fills represent short-term utilization of constructional floodplains during the Paleoindian through early Archaic and middle to late Archaic time periods respectively. By contrast, those that occur along the buried soil profile developed in the early to middle Holocene fill record middle to late Archaic cultural activity on stable terrace surfaces, and represent relatively discrete periods of activity to longer-term palimpsests that represent repeated use over the 3000–4000 years of subaerial exposure. Late Prehistoric sites occur as palimpsests on soils developed in late Holocene alluvium or stratified within modern floodplain facies. Paleoindian through Late Prehistoric sites occur stratified within eolian sand sheets or along the unconformity with subjacent fluvial deposits. The landscape evolution model from the upper Colorado and Concho Rivers is similar to that developed for other major valley axes of the Edwards Plateau. This model may be regionally applicable, and can be used to interpret the geomorphic setting and natural formation processes for already known sites, as well as provide an organizational framework for systematic surface and subsurface survey for new archaeological records. 0 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Rethinking the fourth of July Valley site: A study in glacial and periglacial geoarchaeology

The Fourth of July Valley site (5BL120) occupies the crest and inner slope of a Satanta Peak (latest Pleistocene) terminal moraine above timberline in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, Colorado Front Range. Excavations in 1971 suggested that a Late Paleo‐Indian lithic tradition marked by lanceolate and stemmed projectile points with parallel‐oblique flaking persisted at high altitude during the Altithermal, long after its disappearance from drought‐susceptible lowlands. Analysis of a sediment column collected in 2001 casts doubt on this interpretation. Large charred sclerotia (the resting stages of mycorrhizal fungi) show that tree islands colonized the moraine soon after deglaciation, fueling Early and Middle Holocene wildfires. Conditions became increasingly periglacial ca. 3340 yr B.P., when a lobate rock glacier advanced to the south margin of the site, altering snow‐accumulation patterns, eliminating trees, supplying meltwater that fueled ice‐lens formation, and initiating deposition of humus‐rich, snowbed loess. Large waste flakes and artifacts were frost‐sorted to the existing ground surface, where they became mixed with 6240‐year‐old wildfire charcoal in a pseudo‐occupation layer. Microflakes were too small to participate in vertical frost sorting, so remained in their original stratigraphic locations. The association of thermally altered microflakes with 8920‐year‐old charcoal in a deeply buried stratigraphic context suggests that the site was occupied during the Early Holocene and is irrelevant to the Altithermal refugium hypothesis. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Quaternary geology of the upper sabinal River Valley,Uvalde and Bandera counties,Texas

Controlled by a local base level of downfaulted Edwards and Comanche Peak limestone, and aided by landsliding in Glen Rose marl, the Sabinal River and its tributaries have developed a large valley in the Edwards Plateau. Extensive soil-covered pediments that cut Glen Rose bedrock and Pleistocene terrace gravels are present along each side of the valley. Six alluvial deposits of late Pleistocene and Holocene age were recognized in the upper Sabinal River valley. The Holocene series is represented by three deposits. The oldest of these exhibits a Stage II calcic horizon and appears to have been deposited before ca. 5000 yr B.P. The Pleistocene deposits have a calcrete zone (calcic Stage IV and III horizon) in the upper 3-4 m. The Holocene alluviums, locally beveled by stream action, parallel the river's course and contain Archaic and younger artifacts, which in central Texas range in age from about 8000-350 yr B.P. One of the Holocene deposits (Q2) is correlated with the Georgetown and Fort Hood alluviums of the Cowhouse Creek at Fort Hood, which range in age from 11,000 yr B.P. to 5200 yr B.P., with the Wilson-Leonard terrace site in the Lampasas Cut Plain that ranges from about 11,000 to 5000 yr B.P., and with Unit E of Blum and Valastro (1989) in the Pedernales River valley, ranging from 10,550 to 7150 yr B.P. Modern climate in the valley is drought-prone, and fluctuates from semiarid to dry subhumid. Paleoclimate has ranged from much drier during the Middle Holocene to much cooler and wetter during the Late Pleistocene.     

Biogeographic implications of a packrat midden sequence from the Sacramento Mountains, south-central New Mexico

Thirteen packrat (Neotoma spp.) and two porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) middens from 1555 to 1690 m elevation from the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, provide an 18,000-yr vegetation record in the northern Chiuahuan Desert. The vegetation sequence is a mesic, Wisconsin fullglacial (18,000–16,000 yr B.P.) pinyon-juniper-oak woodland; a xeric, early Holocene (ca. 11,000–8000 yr B.P.) juniper-oak woodland; a middle Holocene (ca. 8000-4000 yr B.P.) desert-grassland; and a late Holocene (ca. 4000 yr B.P. to present) Chihuahuan desertscrub. The frequency of spring freezes and summer droughts in the late Wisconsin probably set the northern limits of Pinus edulis and Juniperus monosperma at about 34°N, or 6° south of today's limit. Rising summer tempratures in the early Holocene eliminated pinyon and other mesic woodland plants from the desert lowlands and allowed the woodland to move upslope. At this time pinyon-juniper woodland and pine forest dominated by Pinus ponderosa probably began their spectacular Holocene expansions to the north. Continued warming in the middle Holocene led to very warm summers with strong monsoons, relatively dry, cold winters, and widespread desert-grasslands. Desertscrub communities in the northern Chihuahuan Desert did not develop until the late Holocene when the biseasonal rainfall shifted slightly back toward the winter, catastrophic winter freezes decreased, and droughts in all seasons increased. The creosote bush desertscrub corridor across the Continental Divide between the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts was probably connected for the first time since the last interglaciation.     

Fluctuations of Outlet and Valley Glaciers in the Southern Andes (Argentina) during the Past 13,000 Years

In the southern Argentine Andes, ten advances of valley glaciers were used to reconstruct the late-glacial and Holocene glacier history. The accumulation areas of these glaciers lie in the Precordillera and are thus independent of fluctuations of the South Patagonian Icefield. Like the Viedma outlet glacier, the valley glaciers advanced three times during late-glacial time (14,000–10,000 yr B.P.). The youngest advance correlates with the Younger Dryas Stade, based on two minimum AMS¹⁴C dates of 9588 and 9482 yr B.P. The second oldest advance occurred before 11,800 yr B.P. During the first half of the Holocene, (ca. 10,000–5000 yr B.P.), advances culminated about 8500, 8000–7500, and 5800–5500 yr B.P. During the second half of the Holocene, advances occurred between ca. 4500 and 4200 yr B.P., as well as between 3600 and 3300 yr B.P. In the Río Cóndor valley three subsequent advances have been identified.     

Geoarchaeology of stratified paleoindian deposits at the Big Eddy site,Southwest Missouri,U.S.A.

The Big Eddy site (23CE426) in the Sac River valley of southwest Missouri is a rare recorded example of distinctly stratified Early through Late Paleoindian cultural deposits. Early point types recovered from the site include Gainey, Sedgwick, Dalton (fluted and unfluted), San Patrice, Wilson, and Packard. The Paleoindian record at Big Eddy represents only a fraction of the site's prehistoric cultural record; stratified cultural deposits in alluvium above the Paleoindian components span the entire known prehistoric sequence, and terminal Pleistocene alluvium may contain pre‐Early Paleoindian cultural deposits. This study focused on the paleogeomorphic setting, stratigraphy, depositional environments, pedology, geochronology, and history of landscape evolution of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene alluvium at the site. The Paleoindian sequence is associated with a complex buried soil 2.85 m below the modern surface (T1a) of the first terrace of the Sac River valley in the site vicinity. This soil formed at the top of the early submember of the Rodgers Shelter Member (underlying the T1c paleogeomorphic surface) and contains at least 70 cm of stratified Paleoindian cultural deposits, all in floodplain and upper point‐bar facies. A suite of 36 radiocarbon ages indicates that the alluvium hosting the Paleoindian sequence aggraded between ca. 13,250 and 11,870 cal yr B.P. (11,380 and 10,180 14C yr B.P.). Underlying deposits accumulated between ca. 15,300 and 13,250 cal yr B.P. (12,950 and 11,380 14C yr B.P.). By ca. 11,250 cal yr B.P. (9,840 14C yr B.P.) the T1c paleogeomorphic surface was buried by the earliest increment of a thick sequence of overbank sheetflood facies, ultimately resulting in deep burial and preservation of the Paleoindian record. The landform‐sediment assemblage that hosts the Paleoindian and possibly earlier cultural deposits at Big Eddy is both widespread and well preserved in the lower Sac River valley. Moreover, the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene depositional environments were favorable for the preservation of the archaeological record. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Holocene soils and soil-geomorphic relations in an arid region of southern New Mexico

A study area in an arid region of southern New Mexico is in basin-and-range topography and includes both a river valley and a closed basin. Holocene soils occur in valley fills and low terraces between Pleistocene fans, in and near drainageways on the fan-piedmont, on ridges, and in dunes. Holocene soils suggest the character of initial development in soils that are much older and more complex, and record the beginnings of various soil horizons. Noncalcareous brown or reddish brown B horizons have formed in low-carbonate parent materials of stable sites. Incipient development of the argillic horizon and the Haplargids occurs at stable sites in very gravelly materials that are about 1–2000 yr old. The cambic horizon and Camborthids occur in adjacent low-gravel materials of the same age. The argillic horizon occurs continuously in soils of earliest Holocene, particularly in very gravelly materials. Where soils have been truncated, as in areas affected by landscape dissection, argillic and cambic horizons are usually absent and the soils are Torripsamments, Torriorthents, or Torrifluvents depending on content of sand, gravel, and organic carbon. In high-carbonate parent materials, noncalcareous, reddish brown B horizons have not formed at any time in the Holocene. Most of these soils are Torriorthents or Torrifluvents although an incipient calcic horizon has formed in some of the oldest Holocene soils; the latter are Calciorthids. Horizons of carbonate accumulation are the best and most common pedogenic indicators of soil age. Stage I carbonate horizons are a major feature of pedogenesis in the Holocene. Because of additions of carbonate from the atmosphere, carbonate horizons are morphologically similar whether they have formed in high or low-carbonate alluvium. The carbonate accumulations are illuvial.Some Holocene deposits apparently resulted from changes in climate. Others, such as the youthful deposits of coppice dunes, apparently were caused by man's introduction of cattle and subsequent overgrazing and seed dispersal.     

Late Quaternary landscape history and geoarchaeology of two drainages on Black Mesa,northeastern Arizona,USA

Two approximately 5‐ to 6‐km drainage segments on Black Mesa preserve unusually complete sequences of late Quaternary alluvium and soils. Radiocarbon‐ and tree‐ring‐dated alluvial and soil stratigraphy suggests entrenched paleoarroyos were beginning to aggrade at about >24,260, 11,070, 9660, 8800, 7060, 3500, 2140, and 1870 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Using the quantity of sediment removal from post‐A.D. 1900 arroyos as analogue, at least 77–200% of total valley alluvium has been removed and replaced by younger sediments during an estimated 11 late Pleistocene and Holocene erosion epicycles. Given that most (59%) of the 150 recorded prehistoric sites in the two study areas occur on valley floors where only about 3% of surface alluvium predates Lolomai phase Basketmaker II occupation (˜1900–1600 yr B.P.), it may be inferred that pre‐Lolomai phase Basketmaker II sites which may have been located along washes have been removed or buried by fluvial erosion. Identification of five buried hearths in alluvial sections, including White Dog and Lolomai phase Basketmaker II sites (dating about 3500 and 1870 ¹⁴C yr B.P., respectively) and one possible Early Archaic site, supports this conclusion. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Geoarchaeology of the Kostenki–Borshchevo sites,Don River Valley,Russia

The Kostenki–Borshchevo localities include 26 Upper Paleolithic sites on the first and second terraces along the west bank of the Don River, near Voronezh on the central East European Plain. Geoarchaeological research from 2001 through 2004 focused on sites Kostenki 1, 12, and 14, with additional work at Kostenki 11 and 16, and Borshchevo 5. The strata are grouped into three units (bottom up): Unit 1, > 50 ka, consists of coarse alluvium (representing upper terrace 2 deposits) and colluvium, overlain by fine‐grained sediments. Unit 2 includes archaeological horizons sealed within two sets of thin lenses of silt, carbonate, chalk fragments, and organic‐rich soils (termed the Lower Humic Bed and Upper Humic Bed) dating 50–30 ka. Separating the humic beds is a volcanic ash lens identified as the Campanian Ignimbrite Y5 tephra, dated elsewhere by Ar/Ar to ca. 40 ka. The humic beds appear to result from the complex interplay of soil formation, spring deposition, slope action, and other processes. Several horizons buried in the lower part of Unit 2 contain Upper Paleolithic assemblages. The springs and seeps, which are still present in the area today, emanated from the bedrock valley wall. Their presence may account for the unusually high concentration of Upper Paleolithic sites in this part of the central East European Plain. Unit 3, < 30 ka, contains redeposited loess with a buried soil (Gmelin Soil) overlain by a primary full‐glacial loess with an associated Chernozem (Mollisol), forming the surface of the second terrace. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Prehistoric settlement and landscape change on alluvial fans in the upper Mississippi river valley

Geoarchaeological studies of alluvial fans in the northern Sny Bottom (Upper Mississippi River valley) focused on distal fan lobe processes, the effects of small-scale landscape change on prehistoric locational decisions, and the resulting structure of the archaeological record. Aerial imagery together with coring and trenching of paleochannels on distal lobes found that frequent channel avulsion (1) produced abrupt landform/habitat changes and (2) shifted the primary loci of sediment deposition on fans through time. Analysis of wood charcoal from prehistoric occupations indicates that vegetation succession during post-avulsion overbank aggradation along a new channel was characterized by a shift from Fraxinus-dominated to mesophytic forest. Results also indicate that use of fans by Early Woodland (ca. 2550–2100 B.P.) and other foragers centered on portions along active channels. Shifting depositional loci on fans led to surfaces and depositional units of varying age, and hence a complex stratigraphic record of Holocene occupations.     

Paleoenvironmental context of archaeological sites,implications for subsistence strategies under Holocene climate change,northern Kenya

The Holocene was time of dramatic climate change in East Africa, shifting from wetter climate in the Early–Mid Holocene (∼10–5ka) to drier climates in the Late Holocene, followed by a slight reversal at <1ka. The Holocene was a time of cultural change from hunter‐gatherer and fishing to pastoralism. Recent excavations along the eastern shores of Lake Turkana, Kenya (4°N) provide new archaeological materials, a high‐resolution stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental data set, OSL dates, and cultural records in the context of documented environmental change (falling lake levels). Archaeological site FwJj25 (4.20 ± 0.28ka), on the northeastern margin of Lake Turkana, provides one of the earliest records of pastoralism in the region. The palimpsest record of FwJj5 (0.90 ± 0.06ka) was in a small valley containing a groundwater seep located 5km from the lake. FwJj5 reflects occupation by people who may have covered great distances in accessing resources, but were likely drawn to an environmental refugia of freshwater springs during times of regional aridity. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Archaeological geology of the Rustad Quarry site (32RI775): An early archaic site in Southeastern North Dakota

At The Rustad Quarry Site (32RI775), in southeastern North Dakota, Early Archaic artifacts, bison bone, and hearth features were found in the lowest of three Boroll-like buried soils formed in alluvial fan sediments. Alluvial fan sediments were deposited from 8000 to 4925 B.P., and were then buried by eolian sand. The alluvial fan sediments (mudflows) bury lacustrine sediments (Sherack Formation deposited from 9900 to 9500 B.P. in Glacial Lake Agassiz II), both of which overlie a Moorhead Phase fluvial terrace deposited from 10,900 to 9,900 B.P. Cultural remains were associated with five radiocarbon ages, three on archaeological charcoal (7180 B.P., 7240 B.P., and 7550 B.P.) and two on organic carbon from two welded A-horizons containing the cultural remains (7370 B.P. and 7675 B.P.). A well-developed Aquoll-like soil formed in the lacustrine sediments from 9500 to 8000 B.P. Soil morphology and chemistry of the Boroll-like fan soils, the Aquoll-like lacustrine soil, and other Boroll-like soils formed in eolian and deltaic sediments nearby suggest a subhumid, cool continental climate with riparian woodland and mixed prairie vegetation at the site and surrounding area from 11,400 B.P. to the present. This partially contradicts paleoenvironmental reconstruction from pollen sites nearby that suggest the area was covered by a closed canopy spruce forest from terminal late-Pleistocene to 10,000 B.P. Alluvial fan formation and eolian activity on the adjacent Sheyenne Delta occurred from 8000 to 5000 B.P., which indicates greater landscape instability and drier conditions during the mid-Holocene (Altithermal).     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate and geomorphic histories as interpreted from a 23,000 C yr B.P. paleosol and floodplain soils, southeastern West Virginia, USA

Field, micromorphological, pollen, whole soil (XRF), and stable isotope geochemical methods were used to evaluate the latest Pleistocene to Holocene climate record from a floodplain-terrace system in southeastern West Virginia. A late Pleistocene (22,940 ± 150 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) silt paleosol with low-chroma colors formed from fluviolacustrine sediment deposited during the last glacial maximum (Wisconsinan) and records a cooler full-glacial paleoclimate. Fluvial gravel deposited between the latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene (prior to 6360 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) was weathered in the middle Holocene under warmer, drier climate conditions, possibly correlated with the Hypsithermal and Altithermal Events of the eastern and southwestern United States, respectively. The glacial to interglacial climate shift is recorded by: (1) changes from a poorly drained landscape with fine-textured soil, characterized by high organic C and redoximorphic features related to Fe removal and concentration, to a well-drained, coarse-textured setting without gley and with significant argillic (Bt) horizon development; (2) changes from a high Zr and Ti silt-dominated parent material to locally derived, coarse fluvial gravels lower in Zr and Ti; (3) a shift from dominantly conifer and sedge pollen in the paleosol to a modern oak/hickory hardwood assemblage; and (4) a shift in δ¹³C values of soil organic matter from −28‰ to −24‰ PDB, suggesting an ecosystem shift from cooler, C3-dominated flora to one that was mixed C3 and C4, but still predominantly composed of C3 plants. A root-restrictive placic horizon developed between the late Pleistocene silt paleosol and the overlying fluvial gravel because of the high permeability contrast between the two textures of soil materials. This layer formed a barrier that effectively isolated the Pleistocene paleosol from later Holocene pedogenic processes.     

Closed Basin Brine Evolution and the Influence of Ca–Cl Inflow Waters: Death Valley and Bristol Dry Lake California, Qaidam Basin, China, and Salar de Atacama, Chile

Diagenetic-hydrothermal brines, here called “hydrothermal Ca–Cl brines,” have compositions that reflect interactions between groundwaters and rocks or sediments at elevated temperatures. Hydrothermal Ca–Cl brines reach the surface by convection-driven or topographically driven circulation, and discharge as springs or seeps along fault zones to become important inflow waters in many tectonically active closed basins. Case studies from (1) Qaidam Basin, China, (2) Death Valley, California, (3) Salar de Atacama, Chile, and (4) Bristol Dry Lake, California illustrate that hydrothermal Ca–Cl inflow waters have influenced brine evolution in terms of major ion chemistries and mineral precipitation sequences. All four basins are tectonically active; three (Death Valley, Salar de Atacama, and Qaidam Basin) have well-documented Ca–Cl spring inflow and Holocene faulting. Bristol Dry Lake has young volcanic deposits and Salar de Atacama has an active stratovolcano on its eastern margin, indicating subsurface magma bodies. A midcrustal magma chamber has been identified in southern Death Valley. Volcanism and faulting in these closed basins provides the heat source for hydrothermal-diagenetic processes and the energy and pathways to deliver these waters to the surface.     

Konispol Cave,southern Albania,and correlations with other Aegean caves occupied in the Late Quaternary

Archeological excavations in a karstic cavern on the south facing slopes of the Pindus range, southern Albania, have disclosed a continuous, 4.5 m thick sequence of human occupation since the Mesolithic. In 1994 geoarcheological field work identified nine (9) principal lithostrata that correspond with successive occupations. Sedimentary sequences indicate that during the Mesolithic spring flow was active and produced a pool in the cave's central chamber. This accounts for settlement along the dry western margin of the cave. After 6000 B.P. episodic flushing of Terra Rossa soil from the cave slopes was dominant. Sediments were variously modified or mobilized by weathering, diagenesis and human agency. These changes are correlated to the chronology and contribute to a limited reconstruction of site formation process. Comparison of sediment stratigraphy with an earlier study of magnetostratigraphy verifies an inferred moist pulse of the Early Holocene/Mesolithic and a turn to warmer/drier conditions during the Middle Holocene/Neolithic. The Konispol sequence is compared to cave chronologies in neighboring Epirus (Kastritsa and Klithi) and to Franchthi in southern Greece. Sedimentation patterns reveal that these caves were initially occupied at the same time (Late Pleniglacial) and that during deglaciation there was a general hiatus in deposition (15,000–10,000 B.P.). Early Holocene moisture phases correspond to an increase in sedimentation during the Neolithic when the caves were intensely utilized. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

New observations on the relative sea level and deglacial history of Greenland from Innaarsuit, Disko Bugt

Relative sea level (RSL) data derived from isolation basins at Innaarsuit, a site on the south shores of the large marine embayment of Disko Bugt, West Greenland, record rapid RSL fall from the marine limit (ca. 108 m) at 10,300-9900 cal yr B.P. to reach the present sea level at 3500 cal yr B.P. Since 2000 cal yr B.P., RSL rose ca. 3 m to the present. When compared with data from elsewhere in Disko Bugt, our results suggest that the embayment was deglaciated later and more quickly than previously thought, at or slightly before 10,300 cal yr B.P. The northern part of Disko Bugt experienced less rebound (ca. 10 m at 6000 cal yr B.P.) compared with areas to the south. Submergence during the late Holocene supports a model of crustal down-warping as a result of renewed ice-sheet growth during the neoglacial. There is little evidence for west to east differences in crustal rebound across the southern shores of Disko Bugt.     

New data on the stratigraphy and pedology of the Clovis and Plainview sites, Southern High Plains

The well known Clovis and Plainview archaeological sites of New Mexico and Texas have yielded new data on regional late Quaternary geologic, paleoclimatic, and pedologic histories. Eolian sedimentation at the Clovis site from about 10,000 to less than 8500 yr B.P. was followed by the formation of a cumulic soil between 8500 and 5000 yr B.P. Episodic eolian and slope wash deposition then culminated in massive eolian sedimentation about 5000 yr B.P. after which a Haplustalf formed then was subsequently buried by part of a dune system within the last 1000 yr. At the Plainview site, a basal stream gravel contains Plainview cultural material (ca. 10,000 yr B.P.), which is followed by a localized early Holocene lacustrine deposit, two eolian deposits (the younger dating to about 5000 yr B.P.), and a marsh deposit which slowly accreted as an Argiustoll formed in the younger eolian unit. The data indicate that on the Southern High Plains (1) between 12,000 and 8500 yr B.P. sedimentation varied from site to site, (2) there was a regional climate change toward warming and drying in the early Holocene, (3) two episodes of severe drought apparently occurred in the middle Holocene (6500 to 4500 yr B.P.), (4) between 4500 yr B.P. and the present an essentially modern climate existed, but with several shifts toward aridity within the last 1000 yr, (5) argillic horizons have developed in late Holocene soils, (6) clay illuviation can occur in calcareous soils, and (7) long-distance correlation of Holocene stratigraphy in the region is possible, particularly with the aid of soil morphology.     

Holocene ethnobotanical and paleoecological record of human impact on vegetation in the Little Tennessee River Valley, Tennessee

Human occupation and utilization of plant resources have affected vegetation in the lower Little Tennessee River Valley of East Tennessee for 10,000 yr. Changes in Indian cultures and land use are documented by radiocarbon chronologies, lithic artifacts, ceramics, settlement patterns, and ethnobotanical remains from 25 stratified archaeological sites within the Holocene alluvial terrace. The ethnobotanical record consists of 31,500 fragments (13.7 kg) of wood charcoal identified to species and 7.7 kg of carbonized fruits, seeds, nutshells, and cultigens from 956 features. Pollen and plant macrofossils from small ponds both in the uplands and on lower stream terraces record local vegetational changes through the last 1500 to 3000 yr. Human impact increased after cultigens, including squash and gourd, were introduced ca. 4000 yr B.P. during the Archaic cultural period. Forest clearance and cultivation disturbed vegetation on both the floodplain and lower terraces after 2800 yr B.P., during the Woodland period. Permanent Indian settlements and maize and bean agriculture extended to higher terraces 1.5 km from the floodplain by the Mississippian period (1000 to 300 yr B.P.). After 300 yr B.P., extensive land clearance and cultivation by Historic Overhill Cherokee and Euro-Americans spread into the uplands beyond the river valley.     

Geophysical Surveys in the Jebel Hamrat Fidan,Jordan

The Jebel (Jebel is mountain in Arabic) Hamrat Fidan marks the “gateway” to the Feinan district of southern Jordan—one of the largest sources of copper during the prehistoric and Early Bronze Ages in the eastern Mediterranean. Preliminary excavations and surveys at sites along the Wadi Fidan have revealed a long history of settled occupation extending from the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic (ca. 6,500 B.C.) to early medieval times. Because of this long history of occupation, and the fact that this area was a regional center for the production of copper, the study of this area is important for understanding early metallurgy, craft specialization, and social evolution. During the summer of 1997, geophysical investigations at a series of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites identified specific areas within Wadi Fidan for future intensive excavations. Three geophysical techniques (electromagnetic induction, ground‐penetrating radar, and magnetometry) were used to help locate buried architectural and industrial features remaining from early mining and metallurgical operations, including copper ore bodies or voids. Geophysics was not used at the actual mining sites because of scheduling constraints; however, geophysics did delineate buried stone walls at three distinct Wadi Fidan sites. Magnetometry and ground penetrating radar provided little useful information. Buried stone walls were apparently “masked” by numerous magnetic stones on the ground surface making magnetometry useless. Reflections from known strata demonstrated that radar penetrated the ground adequately; however, known shallowly buried walls were not recognizable. Electromagnetic induction produced maps of linear and rectilinear features that suggested spatial distribution of widespread buried stone walls suitable for future excavation. A significant and unexpected finding was that electromagnetic induction proved capable of delineating buried stone walls. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Migration of recharge waters downgradient from the Santa Catalina Mountains into the Tucson basin aquifer, Arizona, USA

 Aquifers in the arid alluvial basins of the southwestern U.S. are recharged predominantly by infiltration from streams and playas within the basins and by water entering along the margins of the basins. The Tucson basin of southeastern Arizona is such a basin. The Santa Catalina Mountains form the northern boundary of this basin and receive more than twice as much precipitation (ca. 700 mm/year) as does the basin itself (ca. 300 mm/year). In this study environmental isotopes were employed to investigate the migration of precipitation basinward through shallow joints and fractures. Water samples were obtained from springs and runoff in the Santa Catalina Mountains and from wells in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Stable isotopes (δD and δ¹⁸O) and thermonuclear-bomb-produced tritium enabled qualitative characterization of flow paths and flow velocities. Stable-isotope measurements show no direct altitude effect. Tritium values indicate that although a few springs and wells discharge pre-bomb water, most springs discharge waters from the 1960s or later. Received, February 1997 · Revised, September 1997 · Accepted, September 1997