Journal articles: 'Archaeological deposits'

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Villagrán, Ximena Suárez. "Micromorphology of archaeological deposits." Revista do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia. Suplemento, supl.8 (September 10, 2009): 197. http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.2594-5939.revmaesupl.2009.113522.

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A micromorfologia de depósitos arqueológicos está ocupando progressivamente um lugar primordial nas pesquisas geoarqueológicas. Considerada o complemento muitas vezes necessário das técnicas sedimentológicas padrão, esta ferramenta de análise representa o nexo campo-laboratório ao habilitar a observação na escala microscópica da realidade descrita a partir da avaliação dos perfis estratigráficos no campo e dos dados quantitativos obtidos no laboratório. Neste artigo, os fundamentos da técnica são apresentados com um protocolo para a correta amostragem, secagem, impregnação e laminação de amostras arqueossedimentares para análise micromorfológica, que leva em consideração a natureza dos materiais e os objetivos da pesquisa

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Ford, Pamela J. "Molluscan assemblages from archaeological deposits." Geoarchaeology 4, no. 2 (1989): 157–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gea.3340040205.

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Stein, Julie K. "Coring Archaeological Sites." American Antiquity 51, no. 3 (1986): 505–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/281749.

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The history of coring and augering at archaeological sites is traced to two periods in the twentieth century. In the first period, Period I (1935-1955), the technique was used primarily to correlate archaeological deposits with river sediments for dating purposes. Rarely were the deposits containing artifacts cored or augered; rather the stratigraphic relationship of cultural to non-cultural deposits was sought. Most of this work was done in the Lower Mississippi River Delta where geologists had calculated absolute dates for river deposits. This period seems to have ended with the availability of radiometric dating and was followed by Period II (1964-present). After 1964 there is a renewed interest in coring and augering, mostly following a shift in archaeological research interests from culture history toward ecological questions. This shift coincides with the availability of a new device: a mechanical corer. During Period II, coring is utilized in many different projects, including reconstructing the environment surrounding sites, collection of samples from subsurface deposits, and locating buried archaeological sites. Following the discussion of the history of coring and augering, a description of equipment, techniques, and data potential is presented.

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FAULKNER, PATRICK. "Quantifying shell weight loss in archaeological deposits." Archaeology in Oceania 46, no. 3 (2011): 118–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4453.2011.tb00106.x.

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Brantingham, P. Jeffrey, Todd A. Surovell, and Nicole M. Waguespack. "Modeling post-depositional mixing of archaeological deposits." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26, no. 4 (2007): 517–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2007.08.003.

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Flegenheimer, Nora, and Marcelo Zárate. "The archaeological record in pampean loess deposits." Quaternary International 17 (January 1993): 95–100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/1040-6182(93)90085-t.

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Mulholland, Susan C., and George Rapp. "Characterization of Grass Phytoliths for Archaeological Analysis." MRS Bulletin 14, no. 3 (1989): 36–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1557/s088376940006317x.

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The word phytolith means “plant rocks.” Phytoliths are mineral deposits that form in and between plant cells. Any mineral deposit may be considered a phytolith, although most recent research has focused on opaline silica. Silica seems to be widespread in at least some plant families and is resistant to dissolution in a pH less than 9. Silica phytoliths therefore have the potential to be useful microfossils that can be helpful in the documentation of prehistoric environment and economy.Identifiable shapes rather than amorphous deposits are a necessary characteristic for useful microfossils. Several plant families have long been known to be consistent accumulators of identifiable silica bodies: Gramineae (grass), Cyperaceae (sedge), and Equisetaceae (horsetail). Phytoliths from the Gramineae are especially well known; specialized silica-accumulating cells produce distinctively shaped phytoliths. However, other families have also been shown to produce significant amounts of identifiable phytoliths. Ulmaceae (elm), Fabaceae (bean), Cucurbitaceae (squash), and Compositae (sunflower) are a few examples of dicotyledonous families that commonly produce phytoliths. Some families, such as the Labiatae (mint), have yielded little or no identifiable phytoliths to date. However, further study may indicate phytolith production in particular species.

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Elson, Christina M., and Michael E. Smith. "ARCHAEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS FROM THE AZTEC NEW FIRE CEREMONY." Ancient Mesoamerica 12, no. 2 (2001): 157–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956536101122078.

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The New Fire Ceremony is one of the few Aztec rituals documented in both the archaeological and historical records. The Spanish chroniclers described the New Fire Ceremony as an imperial celebration of the renewal of cosmic time that was observed on the local level by the renewal of household goods. George C. Vaillant first proposed the identification of artifact dumps at Aztec sites with descriptions of these local celebrations. We describe unpublished artifact dumps excavated by Vaillant at Chiconautla and Nonoalco in the Basin of Mexico and by Smith at Cuexcomate in Morelos and show that their context and content support Vaillant's hypothesis. Our data suggest that the New Fire Ceremony was an ancient and widespread ritual in Postclassic central Mexico that was appropriated by the Aztec empire as part of its program of ideological legitimization and control.

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Matthiesen, Henning, Jørgen Hollesen, Rory Dunlop, Anna Seither, and Johannes de Beer. "Monitoring and Mitigation Works in Unsaturated Archaeological Deposits." Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites 18, no. 1-3 (2016): 86–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13505033.2016.1182777.

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Whyte, Thomas R., and J. Matthew Compton. "Explaining Toad Bones in Southern Appalachian Archaeological Deposits." American Antiquity 85, no. 2 (2020): 305–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2019.104.

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Toad bones, sometimes occurring in great numbers in pit features and other contexts in Native American village and mound sites in the Appalachian Summit, have been interpreted as evidence that toads were consumed, used for their purportedly hallucinogenic toad venom, placed as ritual deposits, or naturally entrapped/intrusive. A paucity or lack of bones of the head in some contexts is suggestive of decapitation and consumption of toads. Alternatively, bones of the head may be less preservable, recoverable, or identifiable. This study examines toad remains on Appalachian Summit late precontact and contact period sites, reviews previous experimentation, and presents a new experimental study undertaken to identify agencies of accumulation. We propose that toads were regularly consumed and possibly as part of ritualized events associated with village and mound construction. The temporal and geographic restriction of this practice to the Pisgah and Qualla phases of the Appalachian Summit suggests subsistence ethnicity as alluded to in historical accounts.

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Aimers, James J., Julie A. Hoggarth, and Jaime J. Awe. "DECODING THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PROBLEMATIC DEPOSITS IN THE MAYA LOWLANDS." Ancient Mesoamerica 31, no. 1 (2020): 67–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956536119000208.

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AbstractThe term “problematical deposits” was coined decades ago at Tikal to refer to special deposits that were neither burials nor caches. Since that time, the term has been expanded to refer to a range of deposits that have puzzled archaeologists. In this paper we review the various interpretations that have been offered for these deposits including de facto refuse, squatter deposits, and the remains of dedication or termination ritual, feasting, or pilgrimage. We argue that the superficial similarity of these deposits can make it difficult to identify the range of activities that they represent and that detailed contextual analysis is required to distinguish them. We offer some of the archaeological correlates that have been associated with different types of problematic deposits.

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Chase, Arlen F., and Diane Z. Chase. "FINAL MOMENTS: CONTEXTUALIZING ON-FLOOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIALS FROM CARACOL, BELIZE." Ancient Mesoamerica 31, no. 1 (2020): 77–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956536119000063.

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AbstractThe description and analysis of materials from on-floor deposits that reflect the final activity before site abandonment are key to making a determination as to what happened during the Maya collapse around a.d. 900. On-floor deposits recovered at Caracol, Belize indicate that factors like warfare, the breakdown of the site's market system, and heightened social tensions were in play prior to the abandonment of the site. In an attempt to understand the meaning of these deposits, we first examine why on-floor remains constitute an important data class for archaeology. We next look at the kinds of artifactual materials that are recovered in these deposits and then at the locations and nature of on-floor deposits at Caracol. Finally, we offer our thoughts on what they represent in the broader Maya context.

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Wordsworth, J., and N. A. McGavin. "Archaeological Work in Lanark 1979." Glasgow Archaeological Journal 12, no. 1 (1985): 93–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/gas.1985.12.12.93.

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Summary Four areas of archaeological interest within the medieval burgh of Lanark were examined in advance of redevelopment by the Urban Archaeological Unit (now Scottish Urban Archaeological Trust). The medieval deposits were poorly preserved, but the excavations did suggest when the focus of the town shifted from the Castlegate to a High Street axis.

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Hall, Jay, Jonathan Prangnell, and Bruno David. "The Tower Mill: An archaeological excavation of Queensland's oldest extant building." Queensland Archaeological Research 10 (December 1, 1996): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.25120/qar.10.1996.96.

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The Tower Mill, Brisbane's oldest extant building, was excavated by the University of Queensland to determine for the Brisbane City Council the heritage potential of surrounding subsurface deposits.Â Following the employment of GPR, excavation revealed interesting stratifications, features and artefacts.Â Analysis permits an explanation for these deposits which augment an already fascinating history of the site's use over the past 170 years or so.

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Flannery, T. F., P. Bellwood, J. P. White, et al. "Mammals from Holocene Archaeological Deposits on Gebe and Morotai Islands, Northern Moluccas, Indonesia." Australian Mammalogy 20, no. 3 (1998): 391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/am98391.

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Archaeological deposits of late Pleistocene and Holocene age from Gebe and Morotai Islands, Maluku Utara, Indonesia, have yielded the remains of mammals not recorded in the modem fauna of those islands. A wallaby very similar to Dorcopsis mulleri mysoliae (which is known today only from Misool) was common on Gebe between about 8500 and 2000 uncalibrated radiocarbon years ago, after which it became locally extinct. A similar taxon occurs on Halmahera in archaeological contexts dating from about 5500 to 1700 years ago. It appears likely that these wallaby populations were originally introduced from Misool. The remains of two large, apparently undescribed species of Rattus, as well as Rattus morotaiensis, are present in the Morotai archaeological record, which currently dates from 14,000 years ago. These animals are not present so far in deposits from Halmahera The remaining fauna in the archaeological deposits discussed in this paper represent species still surviving in the region, including phalangers, bats, fish, reptiles, birds, pig and dog (the two latter only present after 3500 years ago, and introduced by humans).

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Whyte, Thomas R., and J. Matthew Compton. "Explaining Toad Bones in Southern Appalachian Archaeological Deposits – Corrigendum." American Antiquity 85, no. 2 (2020): 405. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2020.22.

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Matthiesen, H., J. Hollesen, R. Dunlop, A. Seither, and J. de Beer. "In situMeasurements of Oxygen Dynamics in Unsaturated Archaeological Deposits." Archaeometry 57, no. 6 (2014): 1078–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12148.

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Burke, Chrissina C., Katie K. Tappan, Gavin B. Wisner, Julie A. Hoggarth, and Jaime J. Awe. "TO EAT, DISCARD, OR VENERATE: FAUNAL REMAINS AS PROXY FOR HUMAN BEHAVIORS IN LOWLAND MAYA PERI-ABANDONMENT DEPOSITS." Ancient Mesoamerica 31, no. 1 (2020): 127–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956536119000221.

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AbstractInterpreting middens, feasting events, ritual, or terminal deposits in the Maya world requires an evaluation of faunal remains. Maya archaeologists consistently evaluate other artifact classes, but often offer simply number of identified specimens values for skeletal elements recovered from these deposits. To further understand their archaeological significance, we analyzed faunal materials from deposits at the sites of Baking Pot and Xunantunich in the Upper Belize River Valley. We identified the species, bone elements, bone or shell artifacts, taphonomic signatures, and quantitative ratios recovered to test whether a deposit can be identified as a midden, part of a feasting ritual, terminal ritual, or other rituals significant to the Maya. Our analyses allow us to begin building a system for using faunal remains as a proxy for interpreting the significance of these deposits. In this paper, we present our results and hope to open the conversation for future evaluations of faunal remains in similar deposits.

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Erlandson, Jon M. "Interpreting archaeological fish remains." Antiquity 87, no. 337 (2013): 890–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00049577.

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In an important paper, O'Connor et al. (2011) described evidence for marine fishing from around 42 000-year-old (cal BP) deposits at Jerimalai Shelter on Timor-Leste. The paper's title referred to evidence for pelagic fishing and the maritime skills of anatomically modern humans (AMH). Considering that not long ago human seafaring and marine fishing were considered to be limited to the terminal Pleistocene or early Holocene (see Erlandson 2001), the paper's broader significance lies in the further evidence for Pleistocene voyaging required to colonise Timor-Leste and the quantities of fish bone that represent a substantial marine fishing effort at a relatively early date.

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Butler, Virginia L., and Jim E. O'Connor. "9000 years of salmon fishing on the Columbia River, North America." Quaternary Research 62, no. 1 (2004): 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2004.03.002.

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A large assemblage of salmon bones excavated 50 yr ago from an ∼10,000-yr-old archaeological site near The Dalles, Oregon, USA, has been the primary evidence that early native people along the Columbia River subsisted on salmon. Recent debate about the human role in creating the deposit prompted excavation of additional deposits and analysis of archaeologic, geologic, and hydrologic conditions at the site. Results indicate an anthropogenic source for most of the salmonid remains, which have associated radiocarbon dates indicating that the site was occupied as long ago as 9300 cal yr B.P. The abundance of salmon bone indicates that salmon was a major food item and suggests that migratory salmonids had well-established spawning populations in some parts of the Columbia Basin by 9300–8200 yr ago.

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Imai, Tsuneo, Toshihiko Sakayama, and Takashi Kanemori. "Use of ground‐probing radar and resistivity surveys for archaeological investigations." GEOPHYSICS 52, no. 2 (1987): 137–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.1442290.

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In Japan, geophysical methods are normally used to estimate the distribution of cultural relics before digging. Objects of archaeological interest are usually located within a few meters of the surface. Therefore, geophysical methods suitable for archaeological exploration are those which provide high resolution at shallow depths. The most commonly used geophysical methods are ground‐probing radar, resistivity, and magnetometry. Of these methods, we used mainly ground‐probing radar and resistivity surveys in archaeological investigations at four sites. Three of the sites were in Gumma Prefecture (Japan); they were covered with volcanic deposits (loam or pumice). Using ground‐probing radar, we were able to locate ancient dwellings, burial mounds, and a distribution of archaeologically significant “culture layers.” At the other site, in Nara Prefecture, we located part of the remains of an ancient city. In this investigation, the resistivity method and ground‐probing radar were combined to determine the location of an underground water course within the ancient city.

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DITCHFIELD, P. W., E. WHITFIELD, T. VINCENT, et al. "Geochronology and physical context of Oldowan site formation at Kanjera South, Kenya." Geological Magazine 156, no. 07 (2018): 1190–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756818000602.

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AbstractOldowan sites in primary geological context are rare in the archaeological record. Here we describe the depositional environment of Oldowan occurrences at Kanjera South, Kenya, based on field descriptions and granulometric analysis. Excavations have recovered a large Oldowan artefact sample as well as the oldest substantial sample of archaeological fauna. The deposits at Kanjera South consist of 30 m of fluvial, colluvial and lacustrine sediments. Magneto- and biostratigraphy indicate the Kanjera South Member of the Kanjera Formation was deposited during 2.3–1.92 Ma, with 2.0 Ma being a likely age for the archaeological occurrences. Oldowan artefacts and associated fauna were deposited in the colluvial and alluvial silts and sands of beds KS1–3, in the margins of a lake basin. Field descriptions and granulometric analysis of the sediment fine fraction indicate that sediments from within the main archaeological horizon were emplaced as a combination of tractional and hyperconcentrated flows with limited evidence of debris-flow deposition. This style of deposition is unlikely to significantly erode or disturb the underlying surface, and therefore promotes preservation of surface archaeological accumulations. Hominins were repeatedly attracted to the site locale, and rapid sedimentation, minimal bone weathering and an absence of bone or artefact rounding further indicate that fossils and artefacts were quickly buried.

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Sanchez, Gabriel M., Michael A. Grone, Alec J. Apodaca, R. Scott Byram, Valentin Lopez, and Roberta A. Jewett. "Sensing the Past: Perspectives on Collaborative Archaeology and Ground Penetrating Radar Techniques from Coastal California." Remote Sensing 13, no. 2 (2021): 285. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13020285.

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This paper summarizes over a decade of collaborative eco-archaeological research along the central coast of California involving researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, tribal citizens from the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, and California Department of Parks and Recreation archaeologists. Our research employs remote sensing methods to document and assess cultural resources threatened by coastal erosion and geophysical methods to identify archaeological deposits, minimize impacts on sensitive cultural resources, and provide tribal and state collaborators with a suite of data to consider before proceeding with any form of invasive archaeological excavation. Our case study of recent eco-archaeological research developed to define the historical biogeography of threatened and endangered anadromous salmonids demonstrates how remote sensing technologies help identify dense archaeological deposits, remove barriers, and create bridges through equitable and inclusive research practices between archaeologists and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. These experiences have resulted in the incorporation of remote sensing techniques as a central approach of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band when conducting archaeology in their traditional territories.

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Alevizos, G., and L. Stamatopoulos. "LANDSCAPE GEOMORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION AND COASTAL CHANGES: A CASE STUDY OF COASTAL EVOLUTION IN THE WESTERN PATRAIKOS GULF AREA, WESTERN GREECE." Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece 50, no. 1 (2017): 415. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/bgsg.11742.

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Geological and geomorphological research has been carried out in the western part of the south coast of Patraikos Gulf and the findings were studied in relation to archaeological remains found in the same area. The characteristics of the archaeological findings and the stratigraphical record and the deposits in which they are contained, may originate their source, transportation way and age. The artifacts were contained in fluvial and alluvial deposits under the present land surface. Their age was estimated by archaeologists to be between 7th century BC and 4th century AC. Geomorphology and archaeology have strong historical and methodological links and can provide information about the processes and extent of environmental changes. They also provide the tools for analysing sedimentation rates, relative chronology and geomorphological evaluation of the particular archaeological site as well as clues for land-surface development, paleoenvironmental and climatic conditions. Sediments indicating considerable climatic changes in current humid areas are alluvial deposits of considerable thickness, covering areas with human activity. There is a close correlation, as shown by the archaeological findings between climatic and environmental fluctuations. Since when there is a transition in climatic conditions causing changes in hydrologic conditions with ensuing geomorphological instability and burying the structures

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Kittel, Piotr. "The prehistoric human impact on slope development at the archaeological site in Smólsk (Kuyavian Lakeland)." Bulletin of Geography. Physical Geography Series 8, no. 1 (2015): 107–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/bgeo-2015-0009.

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AbstractPeriods of intense human impact on the relief and lithology of the area of the Smólsk site were recorded during geoarchaeological research accompanying archaeological field work. The phases of occupation of the area are known in detail from the results of the large-scale archaeological research of the site. The slope deposits with buried soils were recorded at the site area and researched in detail with the use of sedimentological, geochemical and micromorphological analyses. Beside geochronological deterioration, the chronology of the artefacts found in layers played an important role in the strict recognition of the age of deposits. The lower part of the studied slope cover is constituted by deluvium and the upper part by tillage diamicton. The origin and the development of the slope deposits are correlated with the phases of an intense prehistoric human impact as defined by the archaeological research. Four main phases of acceleration of slope processes were documented at the site and date to the Early Neolithic, the Middle Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age.

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Ervynck, Anton, Mathieu Boudin, and Wim Van Neer. "Assessing the Radiocarbon Freshwater Reservoir Effect for a Northwest-European River System (the Schelde Basin, Belgium)." Radiocarbon 60, no. 2 (2018): 395–417. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2017.148.

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ABSTRACTThe freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) for the Schelde basin (Belgium) is assessed for the Roman, Medieval and early Post-medieval periods by comparing historical and archaeological dates from individual archaeological deposits with radiocarbon dates on the remains of freshwater fish and terrestrial mammals from those same deposits. This is the first time such an assessment has been attempted for the Schelde basin. The FRE offsets prove to be substantial for the historical periods considered. They also differ markedly between fish species and between size classes of a single species. These observations have implications for the evaluation of radiocarbon dates obtained on archaeological remains of humans (and animals) with a substantial amount of freshwater fish into their diet. The data obtained in this study suggest that it will not be easy to correct for any FRE.

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Tripkovic, Boban. "Obsidian deposits in the central Balkans? Tested against archaeological evidence." Starinar, no. 53-54 (2003): 163–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/sta0454163t.

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Galili, Ehud, Avraham Ronen, Henk K. Mienis, and Liora Kolska Horwitz. "Beach deposits containing Middle Paleolithic archaeological remains from northern Israel." Quaternary International 464 (January 2018): 43–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.05.002.

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Holden, Joseph, L. Jared West, Andy J. Howard, Eleanor Maxfield, Ian Panter, and John Oxley. "Hydrological controls of in situ preservation of waterlogged archaeological deposits." Earth-Science Reviews 78, no. 1-2 (2006): 59–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2006.03.006.

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Brown, Linda A. "Planting the Bones: Hunting Ceremonialism at Contemporary and Nineteenth-Century Shrines in the Guatemalan Highlands." Latin American Antiquity 16, no. 2 (2005): 131–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/30042808.

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AbstractFrom the Classic period to the present, scholars have documented the widespread Maya belief in a supernatural guardian of the animals who must be appeased in hunting rituals. Despite this resilience, features and deposits entering the archaeological record as a result of hunting ceremonies remain largely unknown. I describe several contemporary and nineteenth-century shrines used for hunting rites in the Maya highlands of Guatemala. These sites contain a unique feature, a ritual fauna cache, which consists of animal remains secondarily deposited during hunting ceremonies. The formation of these caches is informed by two beliefs with historical time depth: (1) the belief in a guardian of animals and (2) the symbolic conflation of bone and regeneration. The unique life history of remains in hunting-related ritual fauna caches suggests a hypothesis for puzzling deposits of mammal remains recovered archaeologically in lowland Maya caves. These may have functioned in hunting rites designed to placate the animal guardian and ensure the regeneration of the species via ceremonies that incorporated the secondary discard of skeletal remains. A review of the ethnographic literature from the Lenca, Huichol, Nahua, Tlapanec, and Mixe areas reveals similar hunting rites indicating a broader Mesoamerican ritual practice.

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Standish, Christopher D., Bruno Dhuime, Chris J. Hawkesworth, and Alistair W. G. Pike. "A Non-local Source of Irish Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Gold." Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 81 (April 8, 2015): 149–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2015.4.

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Lead isotope analyses of 50 Irish Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age gold artefacts favour a gold source in southern Ireland. However when combined with major element analysis, the artefacts are not consistent with any Irish gold deposit analysed to date. Understanding the lead isotope signatures of ore deposits within a study region allows informed inferences to be drawn regarding the likelihood that an unanalysed ore deposit was exploited in the past. If an Irish gold source is assumed, then the gold is most likely to have originated from deposits hosted by Old Red Sandstone in the Variscan ore field of south-west Ireland. However, based on our current understanding of mineralisation in the region, this scenario is considered unlikely. A non-Irish source for the gold is therefore preferred – a scenario that may favour cosmologically-driven acquisition, ie, the deliberate procurement of a material from distant or esoteric sources. Available geochemical data, combined with current archaeological evidence, favour the alluvial deposits of south-west Britain as the most likely source of the gold.

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Will, Robert S. "Rescue Excavations at Plean Castle, Stirling District." Glasgow Archaeological Journal 21, no. 1 (1998): 45–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/gas.1998.21.21.45.

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Summary Excavations within the courtyard of the fifteenth century towerhouse were undertaken to fulfil conditions of Scheduled Monument Consent. They revealed some new details of the medieval structures, but encountered few stratified deposits. Most secure archaeological deposits appear to have been removed during the early twentieth century restoration.

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Bruins, Hendrik J., Johannes van der Plicht, and J. Alexander MacGillivray. "The Minoan Santorini Eruption and Tsunami Deposits in Palaikastro (Crete): Dating by Geology, Archaeology, 14C, and Egyptian Chronology." Radiocarbon 51, no. 2 (2009): 397–411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s003382220005579x.

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Deposits from the Minoan Santorini (Thera) eruption in the eastern Mediterranean region constitute the most important regional stratigraphic marker in the chronological perplexity of the 2nd millennium BCE. Extensive tsunami deposits were discovered in Crete at the Minoan archaeological site of Palaikastro, containing reworked volcanic Santorini ash. Hence, airborne deposition of volcanic ash, probably during the 1st (Plinian) eruption phase, preceded the tsunami, which was apparently generated during the 3rd or 4th phase of the eruption, based on evidence from Thera. Average radiocarbon dates (uncalibrated) of animal bones in the Palaikastro tsunami deposits along the coast (3350 ± 25 BP) and at the inland archaeological site (3352 ± 23 BP) are astoundingly similar to the average 14C date for the Minoan Santorini eruption at Akrotiri on Thera (3350 ± 10 BP). The wiggle-matched 14C date of the eruption in calendar years is 1627–1600 cal BCE. Late Minoan IA pottery is the youngest element in the Palaikastro tsunami deposits, fitting with the LM IA archaeological date for the Santorini eruption, conventionally linked at ~1500 BCE with Dynasty XVIII of the historical Egyptian chronology. The reasons for the discrepancy of 100–150 yr between 14C dating and Egyptian chronology for part of the 2nd millennium BCE are unknown. 14C dates from Tell el-Dabca in the eastern Nile Delta show that the 14C age of the Santorini eruption matches with 14C results from 18th Dynasty strata C3 and C2, thereby confirming grosso modo the conventional archaeo-historical correlations between the Aegean and Egypt. We propose that a dual dating system is used in parallel: (1) archaeological material-cultural correlations linked to Egyptian chronology; (2) 14C dating. Mixing of dates from the 2 systems may lead to erroneous archaeological and historical correlations. A “calibration curve” should be established between Egyptian chronology and 14C dating for the 2nd millennium BCE, which may also assist to resolve the cause of the discrepancy.

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Bernardini, Federico, Giacomo Vinci, Emanuele Forte, Arianna Mocnik, Josip Višnjić, and Michele Pipan. "Integrating Airborne Laser Scanning and 3D Ground-Penetrating Radar for the Investigation of Protohistoric Structures in Croatian Istria." Applied Sciences 11, no. 17 (2021): 8166. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app11178166.

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We present the investigation of two rather ephemeral archaeological sites located in the municipality of Oprtalj/Portole (Croatian Istria) by means of integrated archaeological, geophysical and remote sensing techniques. The results obtained confirm the first interpretation of these contexts; a protohistoric burial mound and a small hillfort, respectively. We further obtained detailed information about both deposits through 2D and 3D remote sensing and geophysical studies that produced maps, volumes, profiles and cross-sections. At the first site, the volume reconstruction of both the inner stone core and the superimposed earth of the putative stone mound also allowed us to estimate the labour necessary to erect the structure. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the integrated approach can be valuable not only to acquire novel data about the archaeological deposits but also to calibrate future investigations and to plan effective measures for heritage management, monitoring and valorization.

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McCarty, Matthew M., Mariana Egri, and Aurel Rustoiu. "The archaeology of ancient cult: from foundation deposits to religion in Roman Mithraism." Journal of Roman Archaeology 32 (2019): 279–312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1047759419000151.

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In the past two decades, the “archaeology of religion” has moved from the margins of scholarship to the center, led by the growth of postprocessual archaeological hermeneutics. 1 Such theoretical frames – whether the materiality of religion, objects as agents, the entanglement of humans and objects, or “thing theory” – demonstrate the centrality of the physical world and its archaeological correlates to religion. They offer new ways of posing questions about the construction of meanings for worshippers through materials.2

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Kunen, Julie L., Mary Jo Galindo, and Erin Chase. "PITS AND BONES: Identifying Maya ritual behavior in the archaeological record." Ancient Mesoamerica 13, no. 2 (2002): 197–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0956536102132032.

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In this article, we examine the traditional classificatory terms of cache and burial as they are used in Lowland Maya archaeology and argue that, rather than forming mutually exclusive categories, these ritual deposits are members of a continuum. After discussing the intertwined concepts of dedication and termination and the cosmology of caches, we summarize burgeoning evidence that not all deposits classified as caches are votive offerings. We also discuss the role played by household refuse in ritual contexts. We then describe the investigation of a pit excavated into bedrock beneath a residential structure at the Maya site of La Caldera, in northwestern Belize. Our interpretation of the ritual importance of the pit is based on a series of behaviors that activated, terminated, and then reactivated the ritual pathway defined by the feature. We suggest that this behavioral approach to special deposits is more compelling than attempts to classify the material traces of ritual actions according to narrowly defined terms.

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Harmon, James M., Mark P. Leone, Stephen D. Prince, and Marcia Snyder. "LiDAR for Archaeological Landscape Analysis: A Case Study of Two Eighteenth-Century Maryland Plantation Sites." American Antiquity 71, no. 4 (2006): 649–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/40035883.

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Topographic and image maps of archaeological landscapes can be made using airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data. Such maps contain more three-dimensional data than conventional maps and may be more spatially accurate. In addition to providing a record of topography, LiDAR images may reveal surface indications of archaeological deposits unnoticed when using more conventional discovery techniques. LiDAR data and derived imagery need to be integrated with existing forms of archaeological data for their full potential to be realized.

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Klokočník, Jaroslav, Jan Kostelecký, Lenka Varadzinová, Aleš Bezděk, and Gunther Kletetschka. "A Gravity Search for Oil and Gas and Groundwater in Egypt Using the Strike Angles Derived from EIGEN 6C4." Applied Sciences 10, no. 24 (2020): 8950. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app10248950.

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We correlate the gravity aspects (descriptors), namely the strike angles, derived from a recent gravity field model, with the known oil, gas and groundwater deposits/reservoirs and hypothetical paleolakes with the locations of archaeological sites. This allows us to extrapolate the investigation, by analogy, to unknown regions. The gravity aspects, derived from the EIGEN 6C4 gravity field model, are used, together with EMAG 2 magnetic anomalies and ETOPO 1 topography model, for the investigation of oil, gas and water deposits in Egypt. One of the gravity aspects, s/c strike angle, is significantly combed (oriented in one direction locally) in places where the known deposits exist. However, they are combed also in some other places. This may be used as a guide as to where to seek new and promising deposits. Accounting for the combed strike angles and the relationship between gravity anomalies and height differences, we reconstructed potential paleolakes under thick sand layers in the Great Sand Sea, Western Egypt (our previous work), and between Kharga and Toshka, Southern Egypt (this work), consistent with the known archaeological sites.

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Nieke, Margaret R., and W. E. Boyd. "Eilean an Duin, Craignish, mid Argyll." Glasgow Archaeological Journal 14, no. 1 (1987): 48–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/gas.1987.14.14.48.

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Summary In 1983 construction work led to the destruction of part of the island fort of Eilean an Duin and an archaeological investigation was undertaken. Two sections were cut through the stone-built rampart, and one through interior deposits of the site. The rampart may originally have included a timber element which had been burnt. In the interior a clear occupation deposit was recorded. Radiocarbon dates suggest that pre-rampart occupation occurred late in the first millennium BC; the fortification must have been built soon after.

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Mozzi, Paolo, Maria Teresa Azevedo, Elizabeth Nunes, and Luis Raposo. "Middle Terrace Deposits of the Tagus River in Alpiarça, Portugal, in Relation to Early Human Occupation." Quaternary Research 54, no. 3 (2000): 359–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.2000.2154.

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The stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Q3 middle terrace alluvial sequence in the lower Tagus river valley, Portugal, were studied near the village of Alpiarça, approximately 40 km upstream from the estuarine area. Two main stratigraphic units were recognized, separated by an important uncomformity. The Lower Gravels unit (LG) consists of intercalations of medium to coarse gravel deposits, mainly quartzitic, with coarse sandy matrix, organized in tabular bodies. The overlying Upper Sands unit (US) consists of tabular sandy channel deposits and overbank fines, the latter containing well-developed paleosols and backswamp deposits, showing a general aggrading trend, apparently with varying rates; available data indicate that deposition of the US took place under temperate climatic conditions. Within US deposits are several paleolithic archaeological sites, the lower ones in the alluvial stratigraphy being Middle Acheulian, whereas those embedded in overlying deposits are, from bottom to top, Upper Acheulian and Micoquian. Some of these sites have been recently excavated. The quartzite artifacts were apparently abandoned by early humans on the flood plain surface during deposition of the US unit and were subjected to limited reworking during their incorporation in the alluvium. TL/OSL dating of sandy-silty sediments, though imprecise, support archaeological evidence pointing to an age of 150,000 to 70,000 yr B.P. for the US unit.

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Scheiber, Laura, and Amanda Burtt. "Archaeology and Social Geography in the Sunlight Basin, Wyoming." UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports 37 (January 1, 2014): 85–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.13001/uwnpsrc.2014.4053.

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Painter Cave (48PA3288) is a dry rockshelter in the foothills of the Absaroka Mountains of northwestern Wyoming that has deeply stratified deposits. Archaeological materials were disturbed several decades ago by looters, who reportedly took a number of perishable Native American artifacts including moccasins and a cradle board, as well as numerous other unidentified objects. Preliminary assessment by Shoshone National Forest Service personnel in 2011 suggested that the site might still be partially intact. Indiana Universityâs Bighorn Archaeology project conducted a pilot study at Painter Cave and the surrounding area in 2014 in an effort to identify and recover any additional cultural deposits. Artifact recovery addressed local landscape use, cultural chronology of the area, subsistence strategies, and environmental conditions. The looter activity unfortunately proved to be extensive. Although team members identified numerous archaeological signatures at different sites in the study area, primary deposits in the shelter itself were disturbed in such a way that investigation into the use of Painter Cave by past peoples was challenging.

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Cuvelier, Graham. "Cult Material. From Archaeological Deposits to Interpretation of Early Greek Religion." Kernos, no. 31 (December 1, 2018): 318–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.4000/kernos.2854.

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Pierce, Christopher. "Effects of pocket gopher burrowing on archaeological deposits: A simulation approach." GEOARCHAEOLOGY 7, no. 3 (1992): 185–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gea.3340070302.

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De Simone, Girolamo Ferdinando, and Ben Russell. "The late-antique eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 472 and its impact from the Bay of Naples to Aeclanum." Journal of Roman Archaeology 32 (2019): 359–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1047759419000187.

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The eruption of A.D. 79 has long dominated archaeological discourse on Vesuvius. Other eruptions, both earlier and later, have received less attention but are no less valuable from an archaeological point of view.1 Those eruptions deposited distinctive volcanic materials often easily identifiable in the stratigraphic record, thereby providing dated termini ante quos, which can in turn offer a snapshot of life around the volcano in different periods. The eruption of A.D. 79 provides just such an horizon for 1st-c. A.D. Campania; the earlier ‘Avellino pumices eruption’ does the same for the Bronze Age.2 By tracking the volcanic deposits that can be tied to such events, the situation on the ground prior to the eruptions can be examined, as can the ways in which communities and landscapes reacted to, and recovered from, them.

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Bradley, Richard, Jodie Lewis, David Mullin, and Nicholas Branch. "‘WHERE WATER WELLS UP FROM THE EARTH’: EXCAVATIONS AT THE FINDSPOT OF THE LATE BRONZE AGE HOARD FROM BROADWARD, SHROPSHIRE." Antiquaries Journal 95 (July 30, 2015): 21–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0003581515000177.

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The paper begins by considering the importance of springs as a focus for votive deposits in Bronze Age Britain. This is not a new idea, but nowhere has this association been examined through the excavation of one of these features. The point is illustrated by excavation at the findspot of a famous group of Late Bronze Age weapons, the Broadward hoard, discovered in 1867. Little was known about the site, where it was found or the character of the original deposit, but a study of contemporary accounts of the hoard, combined with geophysical and topographical surveys, led to small-scale excavation in 2010, which showed that the deposit had most probably been buried in a pit on the edge of a spring. Other finds associated with the spring included an Early Bronze Age macehead, a Roman pot and various Saxon and medieval animal bones. The latest deposit, with a post-medieval carbon date, included a wooden knife or dagger. An adjacent palaeochannel provided an important environmental sequence for this part of the English–Welsh borderland and suggests that the Late Bronze Age hoard had been deposited not far from a settlement. A nearby earthwork enclosure was associated with a clay weight, which may be of similar date. Despite the limited scale of the fieldwork, it illustrates the potential for treating springs associated with artefact finds on the same terms as other archaeological deposits.

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Whalen, Michael E. "A Rapid Technique for Three-Dimensional Site Mapping." North American Archaeologist 6, no. 3 (1986): 193–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/2gfq-t8ew-y18n-g6m0.

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Archaeological methodology contains a crucial gap between surficial reconnaissance and intensive excavation. Detailed, pre-excavation site testing is frequently essential to estimation of research potential, although our present techniques for carrying out this testing are often not very sophisticated. The usual approach is test pit excavation in an opportunistic, regular, or probabilistic pattern. Test pits, however, are dug slowly and relatively expensively and cannot offer an extensive view of sub-surface deposits unless they are dug in vast numbers. With such problems in mind, the present article proposes and illustrates a rapid, thorough, and inexpensive method for testing and three-dimensional mapping of archaeological deposits. The site used in illustration is from the Southwestern United States, although the approach is widely applicable.

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Reichel, Janko, Sophie F. Heisig, Thomas Schenk, and Thomas Schatz. "Archaeological dating of colluvial and lacustrine deposits in a GIS environment investigating the multi-period site Gortz 1 on Oberer Beetzsee, Brandenburg." E&G Quaternary Science Journal 68, no. 2 (2019): 107–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-107-2019.

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Abstract. From the mid-14th century CE onwards, extensive soil erosion, caused by intensive agricultural practices, has led to the destruction of landscape structures in Central Europe. In 2016, the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin investigated the colluvial deposits at the site of Gortz in western Brandenburg (Germany), which had accumulated on the lower slopes and were caused by the processes just mentioned. The mapping of each individual archaeological find made it possible to project all finds onto one profile running along the slope. Transformation of the finds' coordinates from profile view to plan view enabled the visualization in a Geographical Information System (GIS). The combination of adjacent strata into larger units using a pedological and sedimentological approach enabled an improved dating of colluvial deposits. In addition, the method facilitated the dating of historical water levels in the Beetzsee chain of lakes, which are part of the Havel river system. As a result, it could be demonstrated that substantial anthropogenic activity, such as clay quarrying and bank straightening, took place during the Late Slavic Period. An interlocking horizon of colluvial and lacustrine deposits indicates that the water level of the lake Oberer Beetzsee rose from a value under 29.4 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in the 11th/12th century CE to approximately 29.8 m a.s.l. in the 13th century CE. However, isolated flooding events during the 13th century CE can be recorded up to a height of 30.5 m a.s.l. A modern colluvial deposit of 1 m in thickness indicates an acute endangerment of the archaeological site by modern agriculture.

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Andrienko, A., A. Shureyev, and M. Zheltova. "The earliest archaeological materials from excavations of 2013–2014 in the area of Yaroslavovo Dvorishche." Archaeological News 31 (2021): 85–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.31600/1817-6976-2021-31-85-92.

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This paper considers the archaeological artefacts from the lower horizon of cultural deposits of the site excavated in 2013–2014 at Yaroslavovo Dvorishche in Veliky Novgorod. On the basis of morphological examination of the finds, three chronological groups have been distinguished dating from the mediaeval period (10th–11th century), early Iron Age and the Early Metal Age.

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Luca, Sabin Adrian. "Ritual deposits of the Petrești culture in South-Western Transylvania." Acta Terrae Septemcastrensis 19, no. 1 (2020): 107–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/actatr-2020-0004.

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Abstract This article resents archaeological discoveries of ritual pits framed in Petrești culture, discovered in western and south-western Transylvania. The ritual of consecrating the dwellings, through banquets dedicated to fertility and fecundity, is so well known at the time around the Apuseni Mountains that is spreads in cultural environments, west of them.

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Hewitt, Richard J., Francis F. Wenban-Smith, and Martin R. Bates. "Detecting Associations between Archaeological Site Distributions and Landscape Features: A Monte Carlo Simulation Approach for the R Environment." Geosciences 10, no. 9 (2020): 326. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10090326.

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Detecting association between archaeological sites and physical landscape elements like geological deposits, vegetation, drainage networks, or areas of modern disturbance like mines or quarries is a key goal of archaeological projects. This goal is complicated by the incomplete nature of the archaeological record, the high degree of uncertainty of typical point distribution patterns, and, in the case of deeply buried archaeological sites, the absence of reliable information about the ancient landscape itself. Standard statistical approaches may not be applicable (e.g., X2 test) or are difficult to apply correctly (regression analysis). Monte Carlo simulation, devised in the late 1940s by mathematical physicists, offers a way to approach this problem. In this paper, we apply a Monte Carlo approach to test for association between Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites in Hampshire and Sussex, UK, and quarries recorded on historical maps. We code our approach in the popular ‘R’ software environment, describing our methods step-by-step and providing complete scripts so others can apply our method to their own cases. Association between sites and quarries is clearly shown. We suggest ways to develop the approach further, e.g., for detecting associations between sites or artefacts and remotely-sensed deposits or features, e.g., from aerial photographs or geophysical survey.

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Journal articles on the topic 'Archaeological deposits'

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