The stratigraphic implications of long‐term terrace agriculture in dynamic landscapes: Polycyclic terracing from Kythera Island,Greece

Geoarchaeological work in conjunction with the Kythera Island Project indicates that significant portions of the island are now or have at some time been terraced. Geoarchaeological observations and local historical records confirm extensive terracing during the last few centuries. Detailed stratigraphic, soil, and sediment analysis along with radiocarbon dating suggest, however, that some of the slopes and small drainages of the island were terraced more than once and that this relatively recent phase of terracing followed earlier efforts, some dating to the early second millennium B.C. (Bronze Age). During each phase of slope organization significant amounts of soil were moved locally on the slopes. Polycyclic terracing has, therefore, interesting implications for surface survey visibility, preservation of archaeological record, early agricultural landscapes and soils, and past land use, as well as for interpretation of local records of Holocene sediment mobilization and valley alluviation. Geoarchaeological investigation of terraces may reveal unique archaeological information not available in urban or village dwelling sites. Early features, such as those reported in this paper, however, usually remain hidden due to the remarkable lack of stratigraphic investigations of non‐site landscapes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.