			Home About us Contact

Site Stratigraphy (site + stratigraphy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Earth and Environmental Science	75%

Selected Abstracts

The effects of burrowing activity on archaeological sites: Ndondondwane, South Africa

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2004
Kent D. Fowler
Burrowing activity is a widely recognized source of site modification. Most taphonomic studies of burrowers emphasize their destructive aspects on the archaeological record. Excavations at Ndondondwane, South Africa, suggest burrowing activity is destructive in some ways, but may also preserve cultural behavior. Drawing on both direct and indirect sources of evidence, we discuss how burrowing activity by rodents, earthworms, and termites can inform about pedogenic and depositional processes at archaeological sites and both preserve and destroy evidence of intra-settlement patterns and early African cultigens. Specifically, we demonstrate the limited effect of earthworms on site stratigraphy, how the localized activity of termites have preserved casts of early African cultigens, and how the ability of archaeologists to distinguish the devastating effects of rodent burrowing from remains of architectural features have permitted important inferences about social and ritual life in early African farming communities. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Rapid seismic reflection imaging at the Clovis period Gault site in central Texas

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 4 2007
John A. Hildebrand
Abstract Using a modified seismic reflection imaging system with rapid translation of receivers, stratigraphic profiles were collected at the Gault site in central Texas. For rapid data collection, spikeless geophone receivers were placed in sand-filled bags at tight spacing, and these receivers were rapidly pulled along the ground surface between shots. Shots were produced by a small hammer strike to a vertical pipe at 20-cm intervals. High quality ultrashallow seismic reflection profiles were collected at a rate of 25,m,h,1, significantly faster than what is possible with conventional seismic reflection imaging using individually planted geophones. Ground-penetrating radar was attempted, but abandoned owing to the poor penetration of the radar signals in the clay soils present at the Gault site. Electromagnetic induction grids were collected surrounding each seismic reflection profile, and provided information on near-surface ground water. Seismic reflection images of Gault site stratigraphy provided greater depth penetration than accessible from backhoe trenching and coring, and helped to better outline the site geological context. Seismic images reveal coherent reflections at shallow depths (0,2.5,m), and extensive scattering at deeper levels (2.5,8,m), underlain by reflection-free zones. These data are interpreted as clay and gravel layers overlaying palaeostream channels carved into the limestone bedrock. Where comparative data were available, the geophysical findings were corroborated by observations of site stratigraphy in archaeological excavation units, backhoe trenches and cores. Seismic reflection studies at the Gault site revealed a palaeochannel filled with pre-Clovis age sediments. Pre-Clovis age sediments are not known to occur at other locations within the Gault site. They provide a unique opportunity to test for cultural remains of great antiquity. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

An Iron Age II snake cult in the Oman peninsula: evidence from Bithnah (Emirate of Fujairah)

ARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 1 2007
Anne Benoist
Excavations carried out by the French Archaeological Mission at Bithnah-44/50 (Emirate of Fujairah) have provided new data about Iron Age II cultic practices in the Arabian Peninsula centred on the symbol of the snake. The site includes a public building, various types of shrines, and a central area of offerings where the remains of animal sacrifices were buried in pits. These remains are presented and a preliminary account of the evolution of the site is given on the base of the site's stratigraphy. [source]