Geoarchaeology-An International Journal最新文献

{"title":"Infrared spectra of mixtures of heated and unheated clay: Solving an interpretational conundrum","authors":"Isaac Ogloblin Ramirez,&nbsp;Zachary C. Dunseth,&nbsp;Dina Shalem,&nbsp;Ruth Shahack-Gross","doi":"10.1002/gea.21976","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21976","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is frequently used for archaeological studies related to fire, allowing, among other things, researchers to distinguish between unheated and heated clay minerals. However, heat signatures are not always clear-cut in infrared spectra of bulk sediments, as spectra occasionally appear with ambiguous absorbance bands attributed to hydroxyl (OH) in clay minerals. This paper presents an experimental study addressing this interpretational problem by considering the effect of mixtures of heated and unheated clay, a phenomenon expected in archaeological sites. After creating experimental mixtures and testing them using bulk FTIR spectroscopy, our results indicate that even a relatively small amount of unheated clay—only ca. 5%–10% mixed into a fully heated deposit—will result in ambiguous infrared spectra that are difficult to interpret. For comparison, ambiguous bulk FTIR spectra from two archaeological contexts—an ashy fill within a pit installation and a hearth—were studied with FTIR microspectroscopy, which demonstrated the presence of unheated clay within a largely heated deposit. Micromorphological observations explain the mixed nature of the investigated archaeological contexts, in this case, primarily via bioturbation. Our results thus emphasize the importance of microcontextual analysis of clay minerals. Furthermore, these results indicate that heated deposits are likely missed altogether in some archaeological contexts where only bulk FTIR analyses have been conducted.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21976","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43651013","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":"The use of OBIA and petrography in the study of stone masonry: The case of La Palma, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta","authors":"Daniel Rodríguez Osorio,&nbsp;Marion Weber Scharff,&nbsp;Dayan Danilo Izurieta,&nbsp;Andrés Agudelo Bermúdez,&nbsp;Jonathan Renjifo,&nbsp;Joseph Knight","doi":"10.1002/gea.21974","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21974","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this case study, rubble masonry walls from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Northern Colombia were investigated. We applied a combined object-based image analysis (OBIA), photogrammetry, and petrography method to characterize and determine the provenance of the materials used in three targeted terraces of the archaeological site of La Palma. In situ data acquisition included detailed photographic records and petrographic descriptions of a selected section of masonry walls, as well as mapping of local geological units. Photographs were processed using OBIA. The data obtained allowed characterization and systematization of the constructive elements, via parameters that include architectural function within the construction (headers, stretchers, and wedges), roundness, and lithotype. This methodology enabled us to identify the source of the lithotypes from local rock outcrops (metagranodiorite and schist) as well as rock boulders and cobbles from the nearby riverbeds. The results suggest that pre-Hispanic communities had knowledge of the properties of the geological resources available in the region, which they used to build masonry that has endured more than five centuries. Vertical differences identified in segments of different terrace walls suggest changes in the constructive process and therefore may serve to determine a construction chronology.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44135562","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}

{"title":"Geoarchaeological and microstratigraphic view of a Neanderthal settlement at Rambla de Ahíllas in Iberian Range: Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia, Spain)","authors":"M. Mercè Bergadà,&nbsp;Aleix Eixea,&nbsp;Valentín Villaverde","doi":"10.1002/gea.21973","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21973","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Abrigo de la Quebrada is a Middle Palaeolithic rockshelter located in the Rambla de Ahíllas in the Iberian Range (Valencia, Spain). Archaeological work began in 2007 and was completed in 2015, reaching the rockshelter substratum and uncovering a record that spans from MIS 5 to MIS 4/3. The data from the geoarchaeological and micromorphological study of the site allow us to deduce that it was formed by alluvial contributions from the ephemeral stream, in different subenvironments varying from channel/bar to floodplain facies. These alternate with debris from different displacement processes depending on the unit, such as solifluction–gelifluction, mass displacement, and diffuse runoff. In addition, collapse episodes of the overhanging rockshelter roof influenced the pedological evolution of the record, with implications for the archaeological levels, especially in Unit G (Level IV). From a paleoenvironmental point of view, a more contrasted variability is reflected in the upper units of the site (MIS 4/3), especially in Unit G (Level IV), which, based on data, suggests temperate conditions, and in Unit H (Levels III and II) indicate cold conditions. In contrast, the lower units (MIS 5) are generally temperate, with the exception of Unit C (Level VIIIa), which reflects a colder phase.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21973","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43152298","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":"Reconstructing formation processes at the Canary Islands indigenous site of Belmaco Cave (La Palma, Spain) through a multiproxy geoarchaeological approach","authors":"Enrique Fernández-Palacios,&nbsp;Margarita Jambrina-Enríquez,&nbsp;Susan M. Mentzer,&nbsp;Caterina Rodríguez de Vera,&nbsp;Ada Dinckal,&nbsp;Natalia Égüez,&nbsp;Antonio V. Herrera-Herrera,&nbsp;Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos,&nbsp;Efraín Marrero Salas,&nbsp;Christopher E. Miller,&nbsp;Carolina Mallol","doi":"10.1002/gea.21972","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21972","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The indigenous populations of La Palma (Canary Islands), who arrived on the island from Northwest Africa ca. 2000 years B.P., were predominantly pastoralists. Yet, many aspects of their subsistence economy such as the procurement, management, and use of wild plant resources remain largely unknown. To explore this, we studied the 600–1100-year-old archaeological site of Belmaco Cave, which comprises a stratified sedimentary deposit representative of a <i>fumier</i>. Here, we present a high-resolution, multiproxy geoarchaeological study combining soil micromorphology, lipid biomarker analysis, X-ray diffraction, μ-X-ray diffraction, μ-X-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and μ-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, to characterize formation processes and explore plant sources. Recurrent goat/sheep habitation and maintenance activities are represented by interstratified layers of unburned dung, charcoal-rich sediment, and dung ash. Lipid biomarker data show a herd diet mainly composed of herbaceous plants, which is key to understanding the mobility of indigenous shepherds. Our results also revealed an unusual suite of authigenic minerals including hazenite, aragonite, and sylvite, possibly formed through diagenetic processes involving interaction between ash, dung, urine, volcanogenic components, and bacterial activity, coupled with arid and alkaline conditions. Our study shows the potential of a multiproxy approach to a <i>fumier</i> deposit in a volcanogenic sedimentary context.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21972","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41793303","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":"Lithological description and provenancing of a collection of bluestones from excavations at Stonehenge by William Hawley in 1924 with implications for the human versus ice transport debate of the monument's bluestone megaliths","authors":"Richard Bevins,&nbsp;Rob Ixer,&nbsp;Nick Pearce,&nbsp;James Scourse,&nbsp;Tim Daw","doi":"10.1002/gea.21971","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21971","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A rhyolite boulder collected by R. S. Newall in 1924 from an excavation at Stonehenge has been pivotal to arguments concerning glacial versus human transport of the bluestones to Stonehenge. Initial studies suggested that the boulder came from north Wales, and hence was a probable glacial erratic. New petrographic and geochemical analyses however support it being from Craig Rhos-y-Felin in west Wales, the source of much debitage recovered from Stonehenge. Examination of the form and surface features of the boulder provides no evidence for it being erratic. Instead, it is considered to be one more piece of debitage probably derived from a broken-up monolith.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49230260","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}

{"title":"An interdisciplinary approach to Late/Final Neolithic coastal gallery graves in Brittany, Western France: The 3D structure, origin of stone material, and paleoenvironmental setting of the Kernic and Lerret monuments","authors":"Aneta Gorczyńska,&nbsp;Bernard Le Gall,&nbsp;Pierre Stéphan,&nbsp;Yvan Pailler","doi":"10.1002/gea.21970","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21970","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article presents an interdisciplinary study of two Late/Final Neolithic gallery graves (Kernic and Lerret) located on the orthwestern coast of Brittany (Western France). These monuments show striking similarities in terms of architectural style and geographical position. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the construction strategy of these monuments by (i) determining the origin of the megalithic blocks using comparative petro-structural analyses of blocks and surrounding rocks, (ii) reconstructing the coastal environment from sediment core analyses and (iii) defining the significance of these monuments in the territories from an intervisibility analysis. The study reveals marked differences between the two monuments studied. The Lerret gallery grave was erected close to a unique source of stone material on the margins of a marshland zone. In contrast, the Kernic monument, erected on the edge of an estuary, seems to have been built using a deliberate diversification of stone extraction sites. An intervisibility analysis shows a dense network of visual interconnections between a number of megalithic tombs present in the study area, where the two monuments occupy very distinct sites. The social implications of stone selection and the geographical location of Late/Final Neolithic funerary monuments are also discussed in an enlarged regional context.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21970","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46293965","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":"Preliminary results on the applicability of neutron activation analysis (NAA) to identify cherts from the Munsungun Lake Formation, Maine, USA","authors":"Nathaniel R. Kitchel,&nbsp;Brandi L. MacDonald,&nbsp;Matthew T. Boulanger,&nbsp;Heather M. Rockwell","doi":"10.1002/gea.21969","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21969","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Red chert attributed to the Munsungun Lake Formation, Maine, USA is common in late Pleistocene fluted-point-period archaeological sites located throughout the New England states and Quebec, appearing more frequently than any other material type in the region. Despite the assumed association between red Munsungun chert and fluted-point-period sites, until recently, it was not possible to link red chert artifacts from these sites to a specific source area within the Munsungun Lake Formation because outcrops of this material associated with direct evidence of past use were not documented. Here, we report the first results of a neutron activation analysis (NAA) study of red Munsungun chert from two quarry areas within the Munsungun Lake Formation. These results suggest that NAA can distinguish between chert source areas within the Munsungun Lake Formation and lookalike materials from the wider region. Additional analyses are required to include more comparative samples and evaluate the efficacy of less destructive geochemical techniques in characterizing cherts from the region. Despite the need for additional research, these results suggest that NAA will be useful for re-evaluating past identifications of chert from the Munsungun Lake Formation, providing an important foundation for additional geochemical research in the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46779691","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}

{"title":"Evidence for sophisticated raw material procurement strategies during the Lower Paleolithic—Hula Valley case study","authors":"Meir Finkel,&nbsp;Oded Bar,&nbsp;Yoav Ben Dor,&nbsp;Erez Ben-Yosef,&nbsp;Ofir Tirosh,&nbsp;Gonen Sharon","doi":"10.1002/gea.21968","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21968","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Hula Valley has two key Acheulian sites: Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY), a large flake Acheulian site with hundreds of basalt bifaces and a significant number of flint handaxes, and Ma'ayan Barukh (MB), where more than 3500 flint handaxes were collected. Over the last one million years, the valley was filled by alluvium and basalt flows, devoid of flint sources suitable for handaxe production. We conducted archaeological and geological surveys combined with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry geochemical study to determine the source(s) of flint, comparing elemental compositions of handaxes from GBY and MB with those of different flint sources using a novel statistical method. The results demonstrate that Hula Valley Acheulian flint handaxes were derived from Eocene flint. For GBY, the nearest matching source for its small number of excavated handaxes is a secondary deposit of the Dishon streambed found ~8 km northwest of the site. A more likely source for both GBY and the thousands of MB handaxes is the Dishon flint extraction and reduction complex located 20 km to the west, a possibility also supported by the near absence of production waste flakes at the sites themselves. These findings support direct procurement strategy as early as the Lower Paleolithic.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21968","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42817585","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":"Microarchaeological approach to underwater stratigraphy of submerged settlements: A case study of Atlit-Yam Pre-Pottery Neolithic site, off the Carmel Coast, Israel","authors":"Isaac Ogloblin Ramirez,&nbsp;Elle Grono,&nbsp;Roni Zuckerman-Cooper,&nbsp;Dafna Langgut,&nbsp;Ehud Galili,&nbsp;David E. Friesem","doi":"10.1002/gea.21967","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21967","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The investigation of submerged archaeological sites faces numerous logistical challenges in the recovery of stratigraphic sequences and, as a result, is often restricted to surface deposits limiting the application of geoarchaeology. This paper outlines a new integrated field and microanalytical methodological protocol to investigate deep stratigraphic sequences (up to 2 m) within the submerged Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) site of Atlit-Yam (9267–7970 cal. B.P. [calibrated years before the present]). A new coring method for the extraction of deep underwater stratigraphy was developed to extract three cores: two between architectural remains within the site and one outside the site. The cores were analysed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, phytolith and pollen analysis and archaeological micromorphology to detect anthropogenic signals and undertake paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Our results indicate anthropogenic evidence at 95 cm depth based on the presence of heat-altered sediments, high phytolith concentrations and micromorphological observations of archaeological remains. Radiocarbon analysis indicates the oldest anthropogenic layers date to the Mid Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) and Late PPNB (9859–9323 cal. B.P.), bearing implications for reassessing the emergence of the first coastal Neolithic villages in the Mediterranean. Our integrated field and multiproxy micro-geoarchaeological protocol offers a new approach to detecting and studying submerged archaeological sites worldwide.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21967","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46318589","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":"Planetary geoarchaeology as a new frontier in archaeological science: Evaluating site formation processes on Earth's Moon","authors":"Justin A. Holcomb,&nbsp;Beth O'Leary,&nbsp;Ann G. Darrin,&nbsp;Rolfe D. Mandel,&nbsp;Corbin Kling,&nbsp;Karl W. Wegmann","doi":"10.1002/gea.21966","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21966","url":null,"abstract":"On October 4, 1957, Homo sapiens crossed a new threshold of technological innovation after constructing an artifact capable of entering Low Earth Orbit and effectively paving the way for a future of space exploration. This artifact was Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet space program which triggered the “space race” of the mid‐20th century. Over the past 65 years, we have continued to explore and populate our solar system with rockets and spacecraft including satellites, probes, landers, and rovers. This expansion into our solar system has left traces of our presence on several planets including the Earth, Mars, Mercury, and Venus along with Earth's Moon, Titan, and several galaxy travelers in the form of asteroids and comets. Today, we have entered the realm of a new privatized and global space race, effectively a “new space race” or “new Space Age.” As we expand our material footprint into new extraterrestrial environments, there is a growing need to understand the types of unique site formation processes capable of altering, destroying, or preserving this rapidly increasing archaeological record known as space heritage. Such understandings are germane to the subdiscipline of geoarchaeology, that part of archaeology dedicated to studying the interaction between humans, cultural heritage, and environmental systems from a geoscience perspective. Closely aligned and partially overlapping with the subdisciplines of space archaeology, archaeological science, and planetary geology, we introduce a new subfield we call planetary geoarchaeology to open discussion about how geoarchaeologists can play a role in addressing current and future issues surrounding the preservation and management of space heritage. To demonstrate the potential of the subdiscipline, we focus on the current archaeological record of the Moon, describe lunar site formation processes, and discuss the implications for the current and future preservation of space heritage in the lunar setting. Planetary geoarchaeology can be applied to practically every type of extraterrestrial environment, provided humans have left behind a measurable record. We hope this paper will spur more research studying human–environment interaction in space.","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43825183","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}