Yohan Chabot, Coline Lefrancq, Vincent Lefèvre, Naheed Sultana
{"title":"Human–Environment Interactions in a Changing Alluvial Landscape in Ancient Bengal Over the Past Two Millennia: The Site of Mahasthangarh, Bangladesh","authors":"Yohan Chabot, Coline Lefrancq, Vincent Lefèvre, Naheed Sultana","doi":"10.1002/gea.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Mahasthangarh is a fortified city from ancient Bengal, founded around the 4th century BCE and thriving until the 13th–14th centuries CE It is located on the Barind terrace along the Karatoya River, which may appear modest today, but was a major river in the past. Through the first chronostratigraphic records sampled around Mahasthangarh, this paper aims to document human–environment interactions in a changing fluvial landscape linked to the mobility of the Karatoya over the last two millennia. During the first millennium CE, the Karatoya was part of the ancient Tista River. Its flow was stronger, leading to severe flooding that destroyed part of the citadel. Despite this, Mahasthangarh underwent several phases of growth, particularly from the 7th to 10th centuries CE (Pala Period). From the 11th to 13th centuries CE, the river shifted, especially after an earthquake in 1255. This shift was followed by changes in alluvial processes and landscapes in the 13th century CE, likely contributing to the site's decline around the 13th–14th centuries CE The filling and shifting of the Karatoya continued throughout much of the second millennium. It was only at the end of the 18th century CE that the river declined significantly, mainly due to an avulsion of the Tista, leading to its present state.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143840521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giovanni De Falco, Alfredo Carannante, Carla Del Vais, Luca Gasperini, Ignazio Sanna, Fabio Cammarano, Marilena Cozzolino, Vincenzo Pascucci, Alessandro Conforti
{"title":"Late Holocene Evolution of the Lagoonal Harbour of the Punic Centre of Othoca (Western Sardinia, Mediterranean Sea)","authors":"Giovanni De Falco, Alfredo Carannante, Carla Del Vais, Luca Gasperini, Ignazio Sanna, Fabio Cammarano, Marilena Cozzolino, Vincenzo Pascucci, Alessandro Conforti","doi":"10.1002/gea.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Geophysical surveys and multiproxy analyses of sediment cores have been used to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Santa Giusta coastal lagoon (SGL), along the western coast of Sardinia. This area served as a natural harbour mainly during the Punic and Roman Republican periods (6th–2nd century <span>bc</span>). The inlet of the SGL is connected to the adjacent mouth of the River Tirso and lies on the incised valley of an ancient tributary that once fed into the Tirso during the last sea-level lowstand. The SGL formed after the sea level rose following the LGM, resulting in the inundation of the incised valleys, which were subsequently filled with estuarine sediments. About 6000 years ago, the area that is now occupied by the mouth of the river and the SGL was protected by a sandy barrier enclosing an open lagoon. About 4500 years ago, the deposition of alluvial sediments marked the beginning of the progradation of the river mouth, leading to the gradual enclosure of the SGL. Before 2100 years ago, the SGL was a suitable location for a sheltered harbour, as evidenced by archaeological indicators, both pottery and wooden structures, found within the lagoon sediments. By this time, the progressive narrowing of the inlet had reduced the accessibility of the site from the sea and the harbour lost its functionality.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143830974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kirk C. Anderson, Christopher S. Beekman, Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza, Juan C. Berrio
{"title":"An 8500-Year Record of Lacustrine Activity and Changes in Archaeological Settlement Patterns in the Magdalena Lake Basin, Jalisco, Mexico","authors":"Kirk C. Anderson, Christopher S. Beekman, Verenice Y. Heredia Espinoza, Juan C. Berrio","doi":"10.1002/gea.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Magdalena Lake Basin of Jalisco, Mexico, has a rich cultural history from the Early Formative to Protohistoric Periods (1500 BCE–1600 CE). We investigated the relationship between climate chronologies, lake-level variations, and cultural changes before European contact. Chronostratigraphic reconstructions identified lake-forming periods reflecting regional and local paleoclimate sequences and coincide with variations in site location, numbers, and size, derived from our regional archaeological survey. Populations increase during high lake levels and decrease during low lake levels. An Early Archaic lake (~6800–5060 BCE) gives way to lowered lake levels in the Middle (~4980–3790 BCE) to Late Archaic (~1800 BCE). Pollen evidence for agricultural clearing appears at the end of this low period. The highest lake level, 1367 masl, occurred during the Middle Formative, followed by Late Formative/Classic lakes between 1361 and 1364 masl. The Epiclassic Period (~600–1000 CE) experienced low lake levels, coincident with a pan-Mesoamerican drought. Dated tephra layers (500–600 CE) several centimeters thick significantly impacted lake ecology and human populations. Tephra age and geochemical properties do not match the primary candidate at the nearby Ceboruco Volcano in the 10th century CE nor any other known eruption during this time period.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143801782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
William Chase Murphree, Cruz Ferro-Vázquez, Larissa Kulakovska, Vitalii I. Usyk, Olesia Kononenko, Marjolein D. Bosch, Paul Haesaerts, Freddy Damblon, Stéphane Pirson, Philip R. Nigst, Vera Aldeias
{"title":"Fire Use During the Last Glacial Maximum: Evidence From the Epigravettian at Korman' 9, Middle Dniester Valley, Ukraine","authors":"William Chase Murphree, Cruz Ferro-Vázquez, Larissa Kulakovska, Vitalii I. Usyk, Olesia Kononenko, Marjolein D. Bosch, Paul Haesaerts, Freddy Damblon, Stéphane Pirson, Philip R. Nigst, Vera Aldeias","doi":"10.1002/gea.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Last Glacial maximum (LGM), spanning from 26.5 to 19 thousand years before present (ka <span>bp</span>), is a period of extreme climatic degradation associated with reduced biomass production and resource stress throughout Eurasia. Arguably, one of the most fundamental tools for human survival during this cold and arid period was the ability to create, maintain and use fire. While fire is widely considered a ubiquitous tool in modern human behaviour, there are surprisingly few well-described combustion features during the LGM in Europe. In this paper, we provide high-resolution geoarchaeological research into three combustion features associated with Epigravettian occupations at the site of Korman' 9 (Ukraine) with ages falling in the LGM. Our results show distinct variations in the size and structure of the combustion features, potentially indicating multiple occupations within the same layer or reflect differences in site organization or function during a single occupation. Additionally, our analysis shows clear evidence of the effect of solifluction and the lack of preservation of the ash layer(s) of the combustion features, as well as the development of bioturbation features enhanced by anthropogenic input. To better estimate heating temperatures of the combustion events, we employed a novel approach using colour analysis showing temperatures reaching 600°C in the substrate underlying the combustion features. In all, the combustion features at Korman' 9 provide invaluable new insights as well as high resolution description of pyrotechnological behaviours during the LGM, which has been lacking during this critical period in our evolutionary history.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143741063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Peter Morrissey, Sarah Wurz, Bertrand Ligouis, Susan M. Mentzer
{"title":"Burning, Cleaning, Dumping, and Dissolution: Site Formation Processes and Stratigraphy of Pre-110,000-Year-Old MSA l Deposits in Cave 1, Klasies River Main Site, South Africa","authors":"Peter Morrissey, Sarah Wurz, Bertrand Ligouis, Susan M. Mentzer","doi":"10.1002/gea.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding the formation and stratigraphy of sequences in southern African Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites is vital for contextualizing evidence for the evolution of modern human behaviors and cognition. Deposits at these sites often have complex formation histories, typically involving a range of anthropogenic, geogenic, and biogenic depositional and post-depositional processes, and micro-laminated deposits are common. Consequently, archaeological micromorphology and related micro-analyses are now routinely a major component of MSA geoarchaeological research in the region. In the past few decades, microscale studies of the formation of anthropogenic features and deposits at MSA sites have begun to provide important behavioral information, including evidence for varying occupational intensities and the structuring and maintenance of living spaces. Here, a microscale geoarchaeological approach is applied to deposits dating to the MSA I cultural phase (> 110 ka) in the Cave 1 Witness Baulk. The results show that humans played a considerable role in site formation and that subsequent diagenesis affected the guano, charcoal, ash, and shell, with particular impact on the carbonates which were variably dissolved, altered, or recrystallized. This latter process helped to preserve ash through reduced dissolution potential. Spatial and temporal patterns in these factors influence the macroscopic properties of the deposits in any particular area, with significant implications for the correlation of extant deposits across areas excavated at low resolution during the 1960s. Different, variably preserved, anthropogenic features and deposits were found to make up a significant proportion of the deposits. Inferred behaviors range from repeated long-term low-intensity use of individually stacked hearths to the formation of dumped deposits (including shell middens) due to repeated hearth maintenance and patterned discarding of food waste during more intensive occupations. Differences in occupational intensity and frequency both within and between the two recognized MSA I members could indicate adaptation to changing conditions as temperatures and sea levels fluctuated during Marine Isotope Stage 5e and early Stage 5d, but changes in geogenic depositional rates over the same period could skew our perception of occupational frequency. The current limited and low-resolution dating evidence prevents correlation with any specific event/s, which might have affected behavior and/or depositional rates.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143629833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tim C. Kinnaird, José Abellán Santisteban, Filippo Brandolini, Richard Carlton, Francesco Carrer, José Maria Martín Civantos, Maria Duggan, Justin A. Holcomb, Stelios Lekakis, Blas Ramos Rodríguez, Natalia Salazar Ortiz, José Carlos Sánchez-Pardo, Christopher Sevara, Jack R. Snyder, Lisa-Marie Shillito, Noemí Silva Sanchez, Aayush Srivastava, Alex Turner, Sam Turner
{"title":"Unearthing the Histories of Agrarian Landscapes: A Research Framework for Terraces as Sustainable Environments","authors":"Tim C. Kinnaird, José Abellán Santisteban, Filippo Brandolini, Richard Carlton, Francesco Carrer, José Maria Martín Civantos, Maria Duggan, Justin A. Holcomb, Stelios Lekakis, Blas Ramos Rodríguez, Natalia Salazar Ortiz, José Carlos Sánchez-Pardo, Christopher Sevara, Jack R. Snyder, Lisa-Marie Shillito, Noemí Silva Sanchez, Aayush Srivastava, Alex Turner, Sam Turner","doi":"10.1002/gea.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article presents an interdisciplinary programme for research on historic landscapes that has emerged since 2020 in the framework of the project <i>Terraces as Sustainable Agricultural Environments</i> (‘TerraSAgE’). While the methodology has been tested in specific Mediterranean case studies, it is also applicable in other locations and regions. Our integrated approach provides new insights into the development of terraced agrarian landscapes and the changing dynamics in land management. It can provide knowledge of the extent to which past change has influenced present-day landscapes and has implications for the development of sustainable landscape practices. The research framework proposed here has been tested through case studies in different landscape types across southern Europe, including small-scale mixed farming landscapes of the Aegean islands (Naxos, Greece); terraces for vines and olives (Pelješac, Croatia); a landscape of dairy production (northern Apennines, Italy), which was until quite recently agroforestry; modern cereal cultivation (around Els Prats de Rei, Catalonia, Spain); upland irrigated landscapes on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada (Andalucia, Spain) and mixed farming in a wooded Atlantic environment (Galicia, Spain).</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143622422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Methodology for Gleaning Human Behavior From Spectral Chert Nanometers With Application at a Terminal Pleistocene Site in Tennessee, USA","authors":"Ryan M. Parish","doi":"10.1002/gea.70003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70003","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Chert sourcing is conducted at various spatial scales from regional to local to match the scope of the human behavioral question asked. Understanding where past peoples acquired tool stone resources can span hundreds of kilometers from mountain ranges to open plains and across broad river valleys as the study attempts to both quantify and differentiate various material types and exploited deposits. However, to successfully characterize (quantify and differentiate) each potential source, data collection at a microscopic scale is often necessary. The study's primary goal is to examine the benefit of reflectance spectroscopy data at the nanometer scale using diagnostic atomic, molecular, and structural information locked inside chert to match artifacts to a geologic/geographic source. Working at Carson-Conn-Short, a terminal Pleistocene hunter-gatherer site along the Tennessee River, United States, the analysis of 58 artifacts identified seven sources and sub-sources. This study demonstrates how the collection of thousands of electromagnetic reflectance data per chert sample and artifact allows for the reconstruction of group mobility, social networks, selection decisions, and the use of a landscape of lithic resources. A case study using a terminal Pleistocene hunter-gatherer site along the Tennessee River, United States is given to illustrate how human behavior can be learned from source data at the nanometer scale.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143581596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Duncan Williams, Kate Welham, Stuart Eve, Philippe De Smedt
{"title":"Minimally Invasive Approaches to the High-Resolution Mapping of Colluvial Deposits at the Battlefield of Waterloo: Implications for Archaeological Practice","authors":"Duncan Williams, Kate Welham, Stuart Eve, Philippe De Smedt","doi":"10.1002/gea.70001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70001","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil erosion poses a considerable threat to ecosystem services around the world. Among these, it is extremely problematic for archaeological sites, particularly in arable landscapes where accelerated soil degradation has been widely observed. Conversely, some archaeological deposits may obtain a certain level of protection when they are covered by eroded material, thereby lessening the impacts of phenomena such as plow damage or bioturbation. As a result, detailed knowledge of the extent of colluvial deposition is of great value to site management and the development of appropriate methodological strategies. This is particularly true of battlefield sites, where the integrity of artifacts in the topsoil is of great importance and conventional metal detection (with its shallow depth of exploration) is relied upon as the primary method of investigation. Using the Napoleonic battlefield of Waterloo in Belgium as a case study, this paper explores how different noninvasive datasets can be combined with ancillary data and a limited sampling scheme to map colluvial deposits in high resolution and at a large scale. Combining remote sensing, geophysical, and invasive sampling datasets that target related phenomena across spatial scales allows for overcoming some of their respective limitations and derives a better understanding of the extent of colluvial deposition.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143564848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Martin Kehl, Diana Marcazzan, Christopher E. Miller, Armando Falcucci, Rossella Duches, Marco Peresani
{"title":"The Upper Sedimentary Sequence of Grotta di Fumane, Northern Italy: A Micromorphological Approach to Study Imprints of Human Occupation and Paleoclimate Change","authors":"Martin Kehl, Diana Marcazzan, Christopher E. Miller, Armando Falcucci, Rossella Duches, Marco Peresani","doi":"10.1002/gea.70000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fumane Cave contains a sequence of natural and anthropogenic deposits documenting key transitions in the Paleolithic of Northern Italy. Open questions remain concerning the stratigraphic integrity, the formation processes, postdepositional alterations, and paleoclimatic implications of the sedimentary record. We examine these aspects through an extensive investigation based on field descriptions and micromorphological analysis of thin sections sampled during the last 25 years of excavations. Major components of the sediments are carbonate sands and limestone rubble originating from the physical breakdown of the cave roof and walls. Limited amounts of mica and quartz grains attest to weak eolian inputs. Sediments contain anthropogenic features and variable amounts of charcoal, bone, and lithic artifacts reflecting different uses of the site. Cryoturbation features observed in the field suggest an increased intensity of frost mainly after the accumulation of unit A2. This unit as well as unit A6 also show increased abundance of silt and clay cappings under the microscope, probably reflecting higher rates of snowfall and percolating meltwater during colder periods of the Last Glacial. However, limited expression of micromorphological features related to frost suggests rather modest changes in climate during the accumulation of the sequence. Overall, field descriptions and the micromorphological approach mostly corroborate the stratigraphic integrity of the sequence, underlining the high value of Fumane Cave as an archive of the late Middle to early Upper Paleolithic in Southern Europe.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143530410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christian Mader, Philipp Godde, Elena Hägele, Mike Lyons, Ann-Kristin Weber, Rachel Odenthal, Paul Stryjski, Christoph Binder, Fernando Leceta, Johny Isla, Markus Reindel, Julia Meister
{"title":"Mapping and Geospatial Analysis of Ancient Terrace Agricultural Systems in Lucanas Province, Peruvian Andes, Based on Satellite Imagery, High-Resolution DSMs, and Field Surveys","authors":"Christian Mader, Philipp Godde, Elena Hägele, Mike Lyons, Ann-Kristin Weber, Rachel Odenthal, Paul Stryjski, Christoph Binder, Fernando Leceta, Johny Isla, Markus Reindel, Julia Meister","doi":"10.1002/gea.70002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.70002","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper presents a unique set of maps and geospatial data covering 16 ancient terrace agricultural systems in the upper part of the Río Grande de Nasca drainage. These systems are located on the western Andean flank (1200 and 3800 m asl), in the districts of Llauta, Laramate, and Ocaña in Lucanas province, Ayacucho region, southern Peru (14.5° S). Spanning various periods of the prehispanic era (1000 <span>bce</span>–1532 <span>ce</span>), only limited sections of these terraces are still in use today. Our field methods include archaeological, geomorphological, and drone surveys. The terrace systems were mapped using (1) satellite imagery and (2) high-resolution Digital Surface Models (DSMs) within a Geographic Information System (GIS). The geospatial analysis and mapping results encompass parameters such as elevation range, terrace area, number and condition of terrace walls, length and height of terrace walls, area of individual terraced fields, associated architecture (e.g., irrigation canals), slope, current vegetation and use, and chronology. By documenting the widespread distribution, extent, and diversity of agricultural terraces in the region, this data set is extremely valuable for understanding prehispanic human-environment interactions and land use dynamics, as well as indigenous agricultural practices and resilience strategies in response to environmental and climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"40 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.70002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143521958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}