Recovering Ethnobotanical and Local Environmental Pollen Data from an Exposed Archaeological Site in Northeastern North America: Locus 2 at the Carns Site, Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-346
Author(s):  
Gerald K. Kelso
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Cape Cod ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Site Locus

The pollen in the matrix of temperate-zone archaeological sites is moved downward by percolating groundwater and progressively destroyed by natural processes. This limits the age of the ethnobotanical and environmental pollen spectra in sites. Flat rocks, flat artifacts, and artifacts and shells found concave-site-down are commonly encountered in excavations and will shelter occupation-period pollen spectra. At Carns Site Locus 2, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, pollen grains recording the presence of agricultural products and probable gathered non-agricultural vegetation, as well as the season of construction of a feature and the placement of a rock, were recovered from under three of the four flat-bottomed objects tested. The data suggest that a systematic investigation of the pollen spectra from under a series of stratigraphically or chronologically organized flat-bottomed rocks and artifacts, backed by a comparative pollen profile, will yield ethnobotanical and environmental data not normally recovered from northeastern prehistoric archaeological sites.

Soil Genesis and Site-Formation Processes

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vance T. Holliday
Keyword(s):  
Soil Formation ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Site Formation ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Site Formation Processes ◽  
Formation Processes ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Natural Formation ◽  
Pedogenic Processes

Pedogenic processes that produce or alter the soils associated with a landscape (buried or unburied) also modify the archaeological sites and other traces of human activity associated with that landscape and buried landscapes. The wide range of processes that form soils can profoundly affect the archaeological record. Pedogenesis, therefore, is an important component of the processes of archaeological site formation. Archaeological “site-formation processes” are those processes that modify artifacts and archaeological sites from the moment they were formed until they are uncovered by archaeologists (Stein, 2001b, pp. 37–38). Understanding formation processes is crucial in archaeology because archaeologists use the patterns of artifacts in the ground to infer behaviors. Formation processes identify patterns that are created by ancient behaviors and separate those patterns from the ones created by later cultural and natural processes (Stein, 2001b, p. 37). In his influential volume Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record, Schiffer (1987, p. 7) notes that archaeologists try to infer past behavior based on the archaeological record, but the record “must be handled with great care by the investigator seeking to infer past behaviors, for the evidence that survives has been changed in many ways by a variety of processes.” These processes introduce variability and ambiguity into the archaeological record. Schiffer (1987, p. 7) further distinguishes between cultural processes, in which the agency of transformation is human behavior, and noncultural processes, which stem from processes of the natural environment. Natural formation processes are many and varied and include plants, animals, wind, water, ice, and gravity, among others. Soil formation is also identified as an important process of site formation. Schiffer (1987) provides a comprehensive discussion of natural site-formation processes, which are summarized by Stein (2001b). Nash and Petraglia (1987) and Goldberg et al. (1993) also provide a number of case histories of natural formation processes identified at archaeological sites. Because soil formation represents the alteration of rock and sediment (chapter 1), pedogenic processes are important natural processes in the formation of archaeological sites. Other weathering processes that are significant in site formation can be grouped as “diagenetic alterations.”

Mapping and Monitoring of the Land Use/Cover Changes in the Wider Area of ltanos, Crete, Using Very High Resolution EO Imagery With Specific Interest in Archaeological Sites

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sawyer Reid stippa ◽  
George Petropoulos ◽  
Leonidas Toulios ◽  
Prashant K. Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Digital Photography ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Large Area ◽  
High Resolution Imagery ◽  
Site Mapping ◽  
Rule Sets

Archaeological site mapping is important for both understanding the history as well as protecting them from excavation during the developmental activities. As archaeological sites generally spread over a large area, use of high spatial resolution remote sensing imagery is becoming increasingly applicable in the world. The main objective of this study was to map the land cover of the Itanos area of Crete and of its changes, with specific focus on the detection of the landscape’s archaeological features. Six satellite images were acquired from the Pleiades and WorldView-2 satellites over a period of 3 years. In addition, digital photography of two known archaeological sites was used for validation. An Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) classification was subsequently developed using the five acquired satellite images. Two rule-sets were created, one using the standard four bands which both satellites have and another for the two WorldView-2 images their four extra bands included. Validation of the thematic maps produced from the classification scenarios confirmed a difference in accuracy amongst the five images. Comparing the results of a 4-band rule-set versus the 8-band showed a slight increase in classification accuracy using extra bands. The resultant classifications showed a good level of accuracy exceeding 70%. Yet, separating the archaeological sites from the open spaces with little or no vegetation proved challenging. This was mainly due to the high spectral similarity between rocks and the archaeological ruins. The satellite data spatial resolution allowed for the accuracy in defining larger archaeological sites, but still was a difficulty in distinguishing smaller areas of interest. The digital photography data provided a very good 3D representation for the archaeological sites, assisting as well in validating the satellite-derived classification maps. All in all, our study provided further evidence that use of high resolution imagery may allow for archaeological sites to be located, but only where they are of a suitable size archaeological features.

The Archaeological Record

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manjil Hazarika
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
Site Formation ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Site Formation Processes ◽  
Formation Processes ◽  
Site Structure ◽  
Reserve Forest ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Ways Of Life

This chapter elaborates the data and results of the explorations conducted in the Garbhanga Reserve Forest. The area has been intensively surveyed for the location of potential archaeological sites and the collection of ethnographic data in order to draw direct historical analogies. An ‘area-approach’ study has been conducted in order to formulate a general model for archaeological site structure, locations, geomorphic situations, and site formation processes that can be used for archaeological study in the hilly landscape of Northeast India. Present-day agricultural implements have been analysed and compared with Neolithic implements in order to reconstruct ancient farming culture by way of undertaking systematic study of modern peasant ways of life in the study area. The ideological significance of stone artefacts as ‘thunderstone’ in Northeast India and among the Karbis has also been discussed.

scholarly journals Multitemporal–Multispectral UAS Surveys for Archaeological Research: The Case Study of San Vincenzo Al Volturno (Molise, Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2719
Author(s):  
Nicodemo Abate ◽  
Alessia Frisetti ◽  
Federico Marazzi ◽  
Nicola Masini ◽  
Rosa Lasaponara
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Medieval Art ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Low Altitude

Unmanned aerial vehicles are currently the most used solution for cultural heritage in the field of close range and low altitude acquisitions. This work shows data acquired by multitemporal and multispectral aerial surveys in the archaeological site of San Vincenzo al Volturno (Molise, Italy). The site is one of the most important medieval archaeological sites in the world. It is a monastic settlement that was particularly rich during the early Middle Ages, and is famous for its two full-frescoed crypts which represent a milestone in the history of medieval art. Thanks to the use of multispectral aerial photography at different times of the year, an area not accessible to archaeological excavation has been investigated. To avoid redundancy of information and reduce the number of data to be analysed, a method based on spectral and radiometric enhancement techniques combined with a selective principal component analysis was used for the identification of useful information. The combination of already published archaeological data and new remote sensing discoveries, has allowed to better define the situation of the abbey during the building phases of the 8th/9th century and 11th century, confirming and adding new data to the assumptions made by archaeologists.

Flake Dispersal Experiments: Noncultural Transformation of the Archaeological Record

1983 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Bowers ◽  
Robson Bonnichsen ◽  
David M. Hoch
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Primary Factor ◽  
Frost Heave ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Alaska Range ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Present Test

Time lapse studies of frost action effects on arctic and subarctic surficial archaeological sites have been conducted from 1973 to the present. Test plots of experimentally produced flakes were constructed in 1973 in the Tangle Lakes Region of the Central Alaska Range and subsequently remapped and photographed in 1974, 1976, and 1980. Similar test plots were laid out in the arctic foothills province of the Brooks Range. Observations made during the study period include: (1) flake displacements of as much as 20 cm/yr; (2) average minimum movement is 4 cm/yr; and (3) upslope movements were observed, suggesting that slope is not the primary factor in flake displacements. Frost heave, needle ice and, possibly, wind appear to be the dominant forces responsible for dispersals. It is argued that these and other natural processes can restructure the archaeological record into patterns that easily can be mistaken for those produced by human activity.

Paleogeographic conditions of human habitation on the Karelian coast of the White Sea in the Late-Holocene (Chupa Town, Karelia, Russia)

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110417
Author(s):  
Shelekhova ТS ◽  
Lobanova NV ◽  
Lavrova NB ◽  
Rodionov GN
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
White Sea ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Green Moss ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
The White Sea ◽  
Diatom Flora ◽  
Ancient People ◽  
Human Habitation ◽  
New Evidence

Bottom sediments from Lake Pervoe Starushechye, on the White Sea shore, near Korabelnaya Bay, Chupa Town, 500 m from an archaeological site, were analyzed. The aim of our studies was to determine the position of the sea shoreline, to correlate archaeological sites relative to it, to date ancient settlements, and to reconstruct the paleoclimatic conditions and habitats of ancient people. Spore and pollen, diatom, and radiocarbon (14C) analyses were done. New evidence for the time of retreat of the seashore, the isolation of Lake Pervoe Starushechye from it and the time of the possible invasion of the area by ancient people was obtained. People were shown to inhabit the area from 3970 ± 120 to 3250 ± 120 14С y.a., when the sea shoreline reached modern levels of 19–22 m. The lake was then a ~8 m deep White Sea bay, in which marine gyttja was deposited. These events are reflected in the stratigraphy of the sequence and supported by the results of diatom and spore and pollen analyses. About 3500 y.a., mean annual temperatures in North Karelia were 2°С and annual precipitation ~50 mm/year higher than modern values. Spruce and pine-spruce forests with aspen and alder patches grew on the shore. A favorable climate and exuberant vegetation attracted people. Therefore, it is at the Atlantic-Subboreal boundary that the archaeological sites located at the above altitudes could arise. The lake separated from the White Sea 3020 ± 90 14С y.a. Freshwater sapropel was deposited in the isolated lake, as indicated by the composition of diatom flora and spore and pollen spectra. The sea shoreline declined to 17–16 m. Light-coniferous pine lichen-green moss forests with light-loving oligotrophic grasses were spreading actively throughout the study area.

scholarly journals Archaeological Site Conservation and Enhancement: An Economic Evaluation Model for the Selection of Investment Projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Di Ruocco ◽  
Antonio Nesticò
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
Territorial Planning ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Economic Evaluation Model ◽  
Social Environmental

For sustainable development of the territory, public administrations must guarantee the efficient allocation of available resources. This is also important for the conservation and enhancement of archaeological sites, able to generate multiple effects—not only strictly cultural, but also social, environmental, and financial—in their reference area. Although today, decisions on investments to be implemented are seldom supported by logical and operational methodologies able to rationalize the selection processes. Thus, proposing and implementing survey instruments to optimize the use of funds, in the light of a technical-economic process that is valid on a methodological level—that is repeatable and not complex to use—is likely necessary. This paper proposes a multicriteria evaluation model for the choice among projects concerning archaeological sites. According to pre-established criteria, the analysis protocol is defined using the algorithms of discrete linear programming, already successfully used in urban and territorial planning. These algorithms are written in A Mathematical Programming Language (AMPL); software which allows the consideration of several—both technical and economic—constraints that the system imposes. The model is verified by a case study, highlighting its potential and limits, as well as outlining future research perspectives.

scholarly journals Sequência estratigráfica e materiais cerâmicos do sítio da Póvoa do Mileu (Guarda, Portugal) = Stratigraphic sequence and ceramic materials of the settlement of Póvoa do Mileu (Guarda, Portugal)

2020 ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Vitor Manuel Fernandes Pereira ◽  
Tiago Pinheiro Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Ceramic Materials ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Local Production ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historic City ◽  
Railroad Station

<p>Accidentalmente descubierto en 1951, durante la construcción de la carretera de enlace entre la ciudad histórica y la estación de ferrocarril, el yacimiento arqueológico de Mileu se convirtió rápidamente en uno de los yacimientos arqueológicos más emblemáticos de la Beira Interior. En este artículo, tenemos la intención de presentar<br />los resultados de la investigación que hemos desarrollado en el sitio en los últimos 15 años, destacando el análisis del material cerámico como elemento de datación de las diferentes fases de ocupación de Mileu. Su análisis confirma una secuencia ocupacional desde la primera mitad del siglo I A.D hasta los siglos XII / XIII. Los materiales romanos analizados son principalmente de importación, permitiendo no solo una datación de contextos, sino también comprender su origen, el contexto de su uso o cuestiones relacionadas con las rutas comerciales dentro del Imperio Romano y el cruce del territorio de la Beira Interior. En cuanto a los materiales medievales, de producción local, muestran la continuación de la ocupación del yacimiento en épocas pos-romana</p><p>Accidentally discovered in 1951, during the construction of the link road between the historic city and the railroad station, the archaeological site of Mileu quickly became one of the most emblematic archaeological sites of Beira Interior. In this article we plan to present the results of research that we have developed on the site over the past<br />15 years, highlighting the analysis of the ceramic material while dating element of the different occupation phases of Mileu. Their analysis confirms an occupational sequence from the first half of the century A.D. to the XII / XIII centuries. The analyzed Roman materials are primarily imported, allowing not only a dating of contexts, but also how to understand their origin, the context of its use, or issues related to the trade routes within the Roman Empire and crossing the territory of Beira Interior. As for the medieval materials, local production, show the continuation of the occupation site in post-Roman times</p>

scholarly journals Some New Heritage Discoveries in The Central Highlands, Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
La The Phuc ◽  
Nguyen Khac Su ◽  
Luong Thi Tuat ◽  
Vu Tien Duc ◽  
Bui Van Thom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cutting Tools ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Neolithic Age ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Central Highlands ◽  
The Neolithic Age

A series of new heritage discoveries were found during several field-trips from November 2018 to May 2019 in whole area of The Central Highlands with supporting from the project, coded TN17/T06. The most remarkable discoveries are two archaeological sites: The first one is located on Ho Tre crater in Krong Ana district, Dak Lak province and the second one – along the Ba river ancient valley, in Phu Thien district, Gia Lai province. On Ho Tre crater, we collected many types of archaeological artifacts, including stone hand-axes in oval and short shapes, stone cores, flakes, grind-stones, making-fire stones (?), and several broken fragments pieces of pottery, which featured for the shape and technique types in the Neolithic Age. In archaeological sites in Phu Thien district, a series of stone tools, including uni-facial and bi-facial tools, rough-cutting tools such as side-chopper, end-chopper scrapers, spearhead tools, flake tools, etc., characterized as the shape and technique types in duration the Paleolithic Age were found. These findings play an important role in science to clarify development process of human history since pre-history up to now in Vietnam and in the region as well. Moreover, it is more significant to possibly establish a conservation strategy and to locally develop tourism. Keywords: Archaeological site, stone tool, Paleolithic, Neolithic, The Central Highlands.

scholarly journals Applicability of Ground Penetrating Radar on desert archaeological sites: a case study from the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Welc ◽  
Radosław Mieszkowski ◽  
Sebastian Kowalczyk ◽  
Jerzy Trzciński
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Clay Fraction ◽  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Ground Penetrating

Abstract This paper presents the preliminary results of ground penetrating radar sounding applied at the desert archaeological site in Saqqara (Egypt). The survey was carried out in 2012 within a project realized by Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw and the Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw. One of the key aims of the research was testing the application of ground penetrating radar to non-invasive surveys of desert archaeological sites. Radargrams obtained for area of so called the Dry Moat channel surrounding the Step Pyramid complex have shown the geological structure of its filling. It comprises among others debris-sand conglomerate of diluval origin characterized by a significant content of the clay fraction and clay minerals. Such lithological content strongly attenuate the propagation of EM waves, restricting the depth range of the GPR survey. The conducted geophysical prospection west to the Step Pyramid in Saqqara has confirmed the high applicability of the GPR method in non-invasive studies of vast architectural structures, such as the monumental ditch surrounding the Step Pyramid known as the Dry Moat. It should summarised that high horizontal resolution obtained during GPR survey is a result of local geological structure of the searched area, i.e. strong lithological contrast of the sediments filling the Dry Moat, which, depending on their mineralogical composition

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