formation of chlorite during thrust fault reactivation record of fluid origin and p t conditions in the monte perdido thrust fault southern pyrenees the chemical and isotopic compositions of clay minerals such as illite and chlorite are commonly used to quantify diagenetic and low grade metamorphic conditions an approach that is also used in the present study of the monte perdido thrust fault from the south pyrenean fold and thrust belt the monte perdido thrust fault is a shallow thrust juxtaposing upper cretaceous paleocene platform carbonates and lower eocene marls and turbidites from the jaca basin the core zone of the fault about 6 m thick consists of intensely deformed clay bearing rocks bounded by major shear surfaces illite and chlorite are the main hydrous minerals in the fault zone illite is oriented along cleavage planes while chlorite formed along shear veins 50 m in thickness authigenic chlorite provides essential information about the origin of fluids and their temperature 18o and d values of newly formed chlorite support equilibration with sedimentary interstitial water directly derived from the local hanging wall and footwall during deformation given the absence of large scale fluid flow the mineralization observed in the thrust faults records the p t conditions of thrust activity temperatures of chlorite formation of about 240 c are obtained via two independent methods chlorite compositional thermometers and oxygen isotope fractionation between cogenetic chlorite and quartz burial depth conditions of 7 km are determined for the monte perdido thrust reactivation coupling calculated temperature and fluid inclusion isochores the present study demonstrates that both isotopic and thermodynamic methods applied to clay minerals formed in thrust fault are useful to help constrain diagenetic and low grade metamorphic conditions

late tectonic and metamorphic evolution of the piedmont accretionary wedge queyras schistes lustres western alps evidences for tilting during alpine collision this paper addresses the contribution of extension in the upper crust during syncollisional exhumation of subducted material we present structural data based on the analysis of ductile brittle ductile and brittle deformation features in metapelitic schists and meta basalts from the schistes lustres nappe stack in the piedmont zone of the western alps to link the structures with synkinematic pressure and temperature estimates geothermobarometry was performed using fluid inclusion investigation in quartz together with temperature estimations based on metamorphic chlorite composition samples used for geothermobarometry were collected taking into account the structural framework within veins associated with extensional structures observed at the regional scale the early generation of veins associated with boudinage occurred at 415 345 c and 6 2 5 kbar and subsequent incipient normal faulting occurred at temperatures of 315 235 c and pressures 1 7 kbar the transition from ductile to brittle extension occurred between ca 27 ma and ca 10 ma these results indicate a continuous extension in the upper crust during exhumation and continuous deformation associated with regional scale tilting of the exhumed schistes lustres tectonic pile the extensional tectonic regime in greenschistfacies conditions remains active today in most of the internal alpine zones as the alpine collision continues

an integrated approach to reconstructing primary activities from pit deposits iron smithing and other activities at tel dor under neo assyrian domination abstract secondary pit deposits in historical occupations of near eastern mounds are usually regarded as uninteresting and are seldom analyzed we used an integrated approach to study all the artifacts as well as the sediments in a pit at tel dor on israel s carmel coast dating to the 7th c bce a period when the site served as an assyrian administrative center this pit was unusually large had a peculiar ceramic assemblage and many macroscopic metallurgical wastes a detailed excavation and analysis revealed that the pit served intermittently as a waste disposal site for an iron smithy and for pottery that was presumably involved in maritime trading on two occasions the area was also used for animal penning despite the obvious importance of the iron industry to the neo assyrian empire actual workshops are rare in its archaeological record hence the new information regarding an iron age iron smithy in the southern levant contributes to the study of this industry and also to the history of dor in this period

three dimensional distribution of minerals in the sediments of hayonim cave israel diagenetic processes and archaeological implications the mineral components of the sediments that accumulate in an archaeological site constitute a potentially rich source of information on the diagenesis and in turn the archaeology of the site this detailed three dimensional study of the mineral assemblages in mainly the mousterian sediments of hayonim cave incorporates more than 2100 infrared analyses performed on site during the excavation as well as diverse analyses in the laboratory three major mineral assemblages are identified the calcite dahllite cd assemblage the assemblage comprising mainly montgomeryite leucophosphite and siliceous aggregates lmvs and a highly altered sediment in which the clays have broken down and silica was released the boundaries between these assemblages were mapped in detail the overall picture is one of extreme heterogeneity with sharp variations occurring over distances of a few centimetres the relation between the cd and lmvs assemblages shows that it is a product of post depositional diagenesis whereas the altered clay assemblage formed beneath an erosional unconformity the cd and lmvs assemblages were derived primarily from an accumulation several metres thick of ash deposits produced by humans ash is thus shown to be a major component of the sediments of this cave the distribution of the cd assemblage reflects to a large extent the locations of two active springs seepages in the cave the distribution of the cd assemblage also faithfully maps the distribution of bones in the cave showing that their distribution is a function of preservational conditions and not human activities stineret al 2001 the conditions that produced the erosional unconformity also resulted in severe alteration of the clays and other mineral components of these sediments the erosion process and the fact that the thickness of this altered zone decreases towards the centre of the cave indicates that the diagenetic driving force was probably climatic the three dimensional distributions of the mineral assemblages have a direct bearing on the dating of the cave by thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance

an archaeopedological and phytolitarian study of the dark earth on the site of rue de dinant brussels belgium during the excavations of the site of rue de dinant in the historic centre of brussels belgium remains of the first city wall dating from the 13th century have been discovered intra muros thick dark sediment units predating this wall are observed these dark units are among the oldest occupation traces so far encountered in this higher eastern part of the historic centre of brussels in order to characterise them and to understand the human activities and natural processes behind their formation an interdisciplinary research integrating archaeopedology and phytolith study has been undertaken this approach permitted us to identify a range of natural and cultural processes leading to the formation of these dark layers and to characterise different activities remains of a hearth old plough land cropfields and grassland have been identified all activities referring to a rural landscape organisation later on the area changes into an enormous silt extraction area whereby dark earth is thrown into the dug pits finally the construction of the first city wall marks the area as becoming part of the city the study of dark earth shows to be a potentially valuable tool to shed light on the development and spatial organisation of pre urban brussels a historically very poorly documented period

phytolith rich layers from the late bronze and iron ages at tel dor israel mode of formation and archaeological significance the presence of many phytolith rich layers in late bronze and iron age deposits at tel dor israel are indicative of specific locations where plants were concentrated detailed studies of six of these phytolith rich layers and associated sediments from tel dor show that the phytoliths were derived mainly from wild and domestic grasses the most common domestic grass was the cereal triticum aestivum bread wheat three of these layers have a microlaminated microstructure associated dung spherulites and phosphate nodules characteristics that all point to the phytolith rich layers having formed from dung in animal enclosures in two of the layers the microlaminated structure is absent while dung spherulites and phosphate nodules are present suggesting that these too originate from dung that was not deposited in an enclosure the sixth layer is microlaminated but does not contain spherulites we thus cannot suggest a parsimonious explanation of its observed properties concentrations of burnt phytoliths are present in three locations implying that dung was either burnt in situ or the ashes from burnt dung were redeposited the transformation of dung accumulations into phytolith rich layers involves a loss of organic material and hence a significant reduction in sediment volume which is clearly apparent in the stratigraphy of some of the locations examined the volume reduction can be observed in the macrostratigraphy and has important implications with regard to macrostratigraphic interpretation the presence of abundant phytolith rich layers on the tell has significant implications for the concept of urbanism during these periods 2007 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

european ancient settlements a guide to their composition and morphology based on soil micromorphology and associated geoarchaeological techniques introducing the contrasting sites of chalcolithic bordusani popină borcea river romania and viking age heimdaljordet vestfold norway specific soil micromorphological broader geoarchaeological and environmental archaeology signatures of settlement activities and land use have been identified from numerous case studies across europe from romania to western norway in order to demonstrate how such investigations contribute to our understanding of settlement morphology and its wider landscape an improved way of organising site specific information or guide was created macphail and goldberg in press activities and land use are divided into within settlement peripheral to settlement and the settlement s wider landscape major themes identified are constructions and materials trackways and paths and other communication transport associated features animal management water management waste disposal 1 middening 2 human waste specialist domestic and industrial activities and funerary practices in the case of trackway deposits their characterisation aids the identification of intensely occupied areas compared to rural communications although changing land use within urban areas has also produced rural signatures e g as associated with animal management for example in late roman cities specialist activities such as fish and crop processing or working with lead and other metals in field and within wall manuring stabling and domestic occupation floor use evidence and identification of different funerary practice cremations boat graves and other inhumations and excarnation features and peripheral constructions such as boat houses are also noted new information from the chalcolithic tell site of bordusani popin romania and seasonally occupied viking settlement of heimdaljordet norway is introduced

variability and complexity in calcite based plaster production a case study from a pre pottery neolithic b infant burial at tel roʻim west and its implications to mortuary practices in the southern levant abstract the production of lime plaster is considered as one of the hallmarks of the pre pottery neolithic b ppnb period in the southern levant where lime plaster has been used not only in architectural but also in mortuary contexts in this study we investigate the technology used to produce plaster associated with an infant burial found in the ppnb layers at the site of tel ro im west trw bulk sediment samples and undisturbed impregnated sediment block samples were studied using fourier transform infrared ftir spectroscopy micromorphology and micro ftir in addition we report the results of experimental heating of chalk and marl used as geological reference materials the results indicate that plaster associated with the burial appears in various compositions and that none of them is based on pyrogenic production of lime rather these plaster materials are composed of calcite based crushed ground local marl and or chalk that were mixed with anthropogenic remains including fired clay aggregates burnt carbonised chalk fragments bones and vegetal matter the latter clearly used as temper the case study from trw provides new insights regarding the production of non pyrogenic calcite based plasters in mortuary contexts during the ppnb this study calls for a re consideration of archaeological plaster technology while in the field it is often assumed that ppnb plaster is a product of pyrotechnology our results suggest that in certain cases archaeologists should consider other non pyrogenic technologies of plaster production we argue for a more widespread use of non pyrogenic calcite based plaster than previously suggested not only in architectural but also in mortuary contexts we discuss the social ecological and technological roles plaster production played in ppnb societies in the southern levant

buried in ashes site formation processes at lapa do santo rockshelter east central brazil few archaeological sites in the americas contain high concentrations of human burials dating back to the early holocene the tropical karstic region of lagoa santa in central brazil state of minas gerais is one of the richest bioanthropological records available to study the behaviors and funerary practices of early holocene south americans with more than 200 skeletons found so far one of the key locations to examine the history of human settlement in lagoa santa is the site of lapa do santo a rockshelter known to contain the oldest rock art and the earliest evidence of funerary complexity in the continent in this geoarchaeological investigation we focus on the early holocene settlement at lapa do santo 7 9 12 7 cal kybp applying high resolution geoarchaeological techniques such as micromorphology organic petrology and ftir on both archaeological modern reference and experimental samples this is the first time that a micro contextual approach integrated with experimental geoarchaeology has been applied to study the formation of rockshelter deposits in a tropical setting our results show that the stratigraphic sequence formed under the dual influence of anthropogenic sedimentation through continuous combustion activities and geogenic sedimentation in the form of oxisol aggregates which fell from above the limestone cliff into the rockshelter intact hearths and remobilized combustion debris possibly hearth rake out are close to the graves suggesting repeated burning activities as part of the ritual behavior of early holocene south americans large amounts of ash are intermixed with heated and unheated oxisol aggregates heated termite mound fragments were also found mixed within the sediments post depositional alteration of the site includes limited bioturbation and localized low energy surface water and sub surface concentrations of moisture leading to precipitation of dense secondary carbonates the age inversions can be attributed to the human action of reworking the ashy sediments and not to post abandonment processes despite this the overall preservation of the sediments is good and most human burials can be considered to be in primary context

the taphonomy and preservation of wood and dung ashes found in archaeological cooking installations case studies from iron age israel cooking installations are among the most abundant features in bronze and iron age archaeological sites in the southern levant yet until now their study has been mostly descriptive we present a study of 11 purported archaeological cooking installations from three different bronze and iron age sites in israel in which we deployed a variety of microarchaeological techniques we provide direct physical evidence based on fourier transform infrared ftir spectroscopy demonstrating that the archaeological installations were operated with temperatures as high as 900 c using this technique we also demonstrate that all the mud constructed installations studied by us were internally fueled and therefore should be identified as tannurs rather than the externally fueled tabuns we studied in detail the quantities of ash related microscopic remains including opaline phytoliths calcitic wood ash pseudomorphs and dung spherulites we show that phytolith morphotype analysis cannot distinguish between wood dominated and dung dominated fuel materials while a newly developed method that calculates the ratio of ash pseudomorphs to dung spherulites psr method makes such a distinction possible moreover we experimented with the effect of partial dissolution on fuel ash psr values and utilize the results to explain taphonomy and diagenesis associated with two types of archaeological cooking installations pebble hearths and baking ovens in addition we identified micromorphological criteria that can be used to assess whether ash deposits in or above a cooking installations are in situ and or disturbed taken together all lines of evidence used in this study indicate that wood was the major fuel material across time and space in the studied archaeological contexts while dung was a secondary source of fuel this observation also cross cuts different culture historical entities philistines canaanites israelites and egyptians in addition wood was preferred as fuel irrespective of environmental differences among the studied sites this study is yet another demonstration of the value of integrating microarchaeological techniques and approaches to traditional macroscopic archaeology

sediments exposed to high temperatures reconstructing pyrotechnological processes in late bronze and iron age strata at tel dor israel many of the sediments analysed from tel dor israel show structural alterations indicating that they were exposed to high temperatures this observation is consistent with the abundant evidence for use of pyrotechnology from the earliest exposed middle bronze age strata through the roman period such structurally altered sediments may well represent one of the more widespread and durable records of pyrotechnology and as such could be invaluable for reconstructing past human activities the specific aims of this research are therefore to develop the means for identifying local sediments that were altered by different pyrotechnological activities and to elucidate the varying circumstances whereby sediments were exposed to high temperatures in a late bronze and iron age 1 section we first characterize natural sediments sampled on and in the proximity of the tell and monitor their transformations due to exposure to high temperatures in an oven and in open fires focusing in particular on the transformations of the clay mineral components of mud brick materials the analytical techniques used include micromorphology fourier transform infrared spectrometry ftir x ray powder diffractometry xrd and x ray fluorescence xrf spectrometry using the temperature calibrated data we confirm that large volumes of sediments at tel dor were exposed to high temperatures in area g we identify three fundamentally different ways that heat affected sediments were produced and accumulated 1 inthelatebronzeage phases11e12 thesedimentswereheatedtotemperaturesbetween800and900 candwerethendeposited in the area under investigation a plausible scenario is that these sediments were exposed to heat from ovens or kilns 2 during the early iron age phase 10 the heat affected sediments heated above 1000 c formed in close association with casting pits for the working of copper containing bronze objects 3 duringphase9oftheironage heat affectedsedimentswereproducedinsituatthislocationduetoamajorconflagration the temperatures reached around 1000 c this study shows that analysis of high temperature exposed sediments may be an invaluable means of reconstructing fire associated activities even when the actual installations have not been identified during the excavation or were not preserved

marco gonzalez ambergris caye belize a geoarchaeological record of ground raising associated with surface soil formation and the presence of a dark earth marco gonzalez on the south west end of the island of ambergris caye belize has well preserved maya archaeological stratigraphy dating from preclassic times ca 300 b c to the late classic period ca a d 550 600 to 700 760 although later occupations are recorded by house platforms and inhumations terminal classic to early postclassic and use of the site continued until the 16th century a d intact stratigraphy is rare in these cases owing to a greater degree of disturbance nonetheless understanding site formation entails accounting for all processes including disturbance the site s depositional sequence as revealed through soil micromorphology and chemistry and detailed here has yielded critical information in two spheres of research as regards archaeology and the elucidation of maya activities on the caye over time soil micromorphology has contributed beyond measure to what we have been able to distinguish as material remains of cultural activity detailed descriptions of the nature of the material remains has in turn helped us to clarify or alter interpretations based on artefacts that have been identified or sediments characterised according to traditional recovery techniques the other major sphere in which soil micromorphology and chemistry play a critical role is in assessment of the environmental impact of human activity which enables us to construct and test hypotheses concerning how the site formed over time what materials and elements contributed to the character of the sediments especially in the formation of a specific maya dark earth type that is developed from carbonate rich deposits and how the modern surface soils acquired the appearance of a dark earth but essentially differ from them in terms of agricultural soil sustainability the marco gonzalez surface soil is neo formed by a woodland vegetation drawing upon the nutrients and constituents present in both the dark earth and underlying better preserved stratified deposits

ancient settlement activities as important sources of nutrients p k s zn and cu in eastern mediterranean ecosystems the case of biblical tel burna israel abstract human settlement activities are connected with the accumulation of nutrients in archaeological soils we address the question of whether the large scale mapping of the elemental composition of the topsoil in contemporary rangeland can be used for the detection of ancient settlement activities using portable x ray fluorescence pxrf we mapped the elemental composition of contemporary soils over an area of 67 ha in and around the bronze and iron age settlement of tel burna identified as probably corresponding with biblical libnah ancient settlement activities substantially increased concentrations of nutrients p k s zn and cu in the contemporary topsoil owing to the deposition of biomass ashes and organic wastes increased concentrations of elements were detected 2500 years after the site was abandoned and we can therefore suppose that changes in the elemental composition of the soil caused by ancient settlement activities are irreversible on a timescale in which human societies operate ancient settlement activities increased concentrations of nutrients in contemporary soil to the same level as recent intensive fertiliser application on an adjacent arable field used for vegetable production concentrations of nutrients higher than those on the tell summit were recorded only in recent cattle resting areas with intensive deposition of cattle faeces changes in the elemental composition of the soil caused by ancient settlement activities consequently result in differential nutrient availability for contemporary vegetation affecting ecosystem functions for thousands of years using pxrf large scale mapping of the elemental composition of the topsoil layer at archaeological sites can help to identify the extent and provide basic information on the character of past human activities in the affected landscape units

human impact around settlement sites a phytolith and mineralogical study for assessing site boundaries phytolith preservation and implications for spatial reconstructions using plant remains abstract defining the extent of human activity around settlement sites is of particular significance in archaeology as it may define peripheral activity areas and thus the site s boundary in near eastern archaeology site boundaries are usually defined by the presence of architectural and other macroscopic archaeological remains here we use the phytolith concentrations and morphotype assemblages as well as changes in the mineralogical composition of the sediments in and around the small iron age site of izbet sartah in central israel to determine the site boundaries the site has a shallow stratigraphy and highly bioturbated sediments coincidental changes in the clay quartz ratio and phytolith concentrations define the boundary between high and low impact anthropogenic activities this boundary is generally some 20 m away from the architectural remains in addition we note that the phytoliths in the site s core show clear evidence of having been affected by chemical dissolution i e diagenesis while those in the vicinity of the site s boundary have undergone severe diagenesis these observations indicate that phytolith diagenesis will affect site boundaries determination as well as phytolith based reconstructions of activity areas we propose that phytolith preservation depends on the initial amount of available silica the depth of burial with respect to the active root area of modern vegetation and the presence of fresh phytoliths in the soil

geoarchaeological and palaeobotanical evidence for prehistoric cereal storage in the southern caucasus the neolithic settlement of goytepe mid 8th millennium bp this paper presents direct evidence for cereal storage by neolithic farmers in west asia storage features analyzed this study are circular clay bins that frequently occur at neolithic settlements 8th millennium cal bp in the southern caucasus we examined contexts and uses of clay bin features at the neolithic settlement of goytepe azerbaijan we analyzed biogenic microfossil evidence primarily from phytoliths and dung spherulites and the sediments of the clay bins through micromorphology in combination with their associated charred macrobotanical remains while phytoliths and charred botanical remains indicate direct remnants of stored plants mainly chaffs micromorphology and the analyses of faecal spherulites allow us to examine depositional and diagenetic processes of the archaeological sediments inside and outside these features as a result one of the clay bins was found to retain deposits at its base exhibiting high concentrations of grass phytoliths with relatively high proportions of inflorescences and low percentages of anatomically connected phytoliths in comparison with its upper fill deposits and areas outside of the bin these finds combined with the association of the two complete grinding stones inside the bottom of the bin suggest that the remains of cereal processing activities specifically dehusking may have been placed in the bin this interpretation is corroborated by the recovery of charred rachises and chaffs of wheat and barley as well as micromorphological observations that the bottommost fill of the bin consists almost entirely of grass phytoliths with few very small charcoal fragments and fine amorphous organic matter

exploitation of inherited weakness in fire damaged building sandstone the fatiguing of shocked stone abstract the problem of the long term impact of historical fire on masonry is not clearly understood much research focuses on the damage that is caused by fire in isolation and omits to investigate the subsequent exploitation of weaknesses inherited from fire events fire can for example cause significant physical chemical and mineralogical change to sandstone which may then be exploited by background environmental factors such as salt and freeze thaw weathering to explore this experimentally blocks of peakmoor sandstone were subjected to a real fire as well as lime rendering removal and frost cycle pre treatments and their subsequent response to salt weathering cycles was monitored by weight loss and visual assessment of the pattern of surface damage results illustrate that the post fire deterioration of sandstone is strongly conditioned by fracture networks and soot cover inherited from the fire the exploitation of fractures can lead to spalling during salt weathering cycles this takes place as granular dissagregation steadily widens cracks and salts concentrate and crystallise in areas of inherited weakness soot cover can have a profound effect on subsequent performance it reduces surface permeability and can be hydrophobic in character limiting salt ingress and suppressing decay in the short term however as salt crystals concentrate under the soot crust detachment of this layer can occur exposing fire damaged stone beneath understanding the subsequent exploitation of stone exposed to fire damage by background environmental factors for example salt weathering temperature cycling is key to the post fire management of stone decay

the black layer of middle palaeolithic combustion structures interpretation and archaeostratigraphic implications certain aspects of the formation processes of simple flat archaeological combustion structures such as those present in the middle palaeolithic record remain unexplained such kind of combustion structures are commonly affected by postdepositional agents and often their only distinct well preserved component is a thin black lens on the ground hence understanding the nature of this black lens is essential towards archaeological interpretation from an interdisciplinary microstratigraphic approach we present a case study in which for an entire experimental series of flat combustion structures the black layer represents the fire altered topsoil on which the fire was made parallel analysis of archaeological middle palaeolithic combustion structures from the site of el salt alicante spain reveal similar patterns leading to significant implications for archaeological interpretation in the light of these results special attention must be paid to the formation processes of flat middle palaeolithic combustion features as black layers and the material contained in them are not necessarily linked with combustion but with preceding activities or events in such cases black layers represent intact remnants of occupation surfaces concealing significant behavioural and palaeoenvironmental information relevant to the reconstruction of middle palaeolithic societies

accessing hunter gatherer site structures using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy applications at a taltheilei settlement in the canadian sub arctic the results of fourier transform infrared spectroscopy on soils and caribou bone from a taltheilei culture settlement in northern canada contribute to developing micro archaeological approaches suitable for locating and characterizing hearth and midden features on hunter gatherer sites a weak yet pervasive signal for montgomeryite was developed from the diagenesis of dispersed ash and caribou processing residues disordered calcite carbonate hydroxylapatite charcoal and burned bone in two pit house hearth deposits indicate that both wood and bone were used for fuel crystallinity indices and carbonate phosphate ratios for bone indicate high intensity burning these data in tandem with the presence of semi subterranean dwellings demonstrate that this particular tundra based encampment was occupied during cold seasons a type of settlement behaviour previously unrecognized in the taltheilei archaeological record our results confirm that fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is an accessible rapid and cost effective means of discovering micro archaeological evidence valuable for reconstructing hunter gatherer site structures

evidence for the repeated use of a central hearth at middle pleistocene 300 ky ago qesem cave israel abstract a major debate in prehistory revolves around the time and place of the earliest habitual use of fire and the hominin species responsible for it here we present a newly discovered hearth at qesem cave israel that was repeatedly used and was the focus of hearth centered human activities as early as three hundred thousand years ago the hearth identified based on mineralogical and microscopic criteria contains two superimposed use cycles each composed of shorter episodes possibly the earliest superimposed hearth securely identified to date the hearth covers ca 4 m 2 in area making it a uniquely large hearth in comparison to any contemporaneous hearth identified thus far possibly indicating it has been used by a relatively large group of people in addition the hearth is located in the center of the cave and is associated with butchered animal remains and a dense flint assemblage the flint assemblage indicates spatially differentiated meat cutting and hide working activity areas the central location of the hearth within the cave and the activities associated with it may reflect an embedded perception of space organization of the qesem cave inhabitants since fire was habitually used throughout the 420 200 ky sequence of qesem cave where preservation conditions are alike throughout we suggest that this unique hearth may reflect a development in nature and most probably in the intensity of fire use in qesem cave from ca 300 ka ago onwards

athabasca valles mars a lava draped channel system athabasca valles is a young outflow channel system on mars that may have been carved by catastrophic water floods however images acquired by the high resolution imaging science experiment camera onboard the mars reconnaissance orbiter spacecraft reveal that athabasca valles is now entirely draped by a thin layer of solidified lava the remnant of a once swollen river of molten rock the lava erupted from a fissure inundated the channels and drained downstream in geologically recent times purported ice features in athabasca valles and its distal basin cerberus palus are actually composed of this lava similar volcanic processes may have operated in other ostensibly fluvial channels which could explain in part why the landers sent to investigate sites of ancient flooding on mars have predominantly found lava at the surface instead

human actions performed on simple combustion structures an experimental approach to the study of middle palaeolithic fire we present preliminary results from the first phase of experiments from the neanderthal fire technology project aimed at understanding middle palaeolithic combustion structures our field observations and micromorphological data address the sedimentary expression of various anthropogenic actions trampling ash sweeping and dumping relighting and cooking performed on simple flat combustion structures made with pinus nigra fuel on dry and slightly vegetated calcareous sandy substrates we observed a characteristic pattern in microstructure and basic composition irrespective of the number and kind of anthropogenic actions performed trampling yielded previously documented diagnostic micromorphological features more pronounced in cases of ash sweeping and dumping relighting of fires was only identified in cases with deposits between combustion events only rare microscopic calcined bone fragments and fat derived char were identified in fires involving cooking or tossing of meat in the fire these data suggest that anthropogenic actions on simple combustion structures are highly undetectable sweeping has a stronger effect than trampling on the substrate of the combustion structure stacked hearths might involve significant amounts of time or deposits between combustion events and alternative techniques must be sought to identify cooking in fires

heat induced alteration of glauconitic minerals in the middle stone age levels of blombos cave south africa implications for evaluating site structure and burning events abstract in this paper we conduct geochemical and colourimetric measurements of glauconite grains in micromorphological thin sections from the middle stone age site of blombos cave south africa to investigate the formation internal structure and reworking of heat exposed cave deposits that are related to prehistoric burning events controlled heating experiments were first carried out on glauconite rich loose sediments and block samples both of which were collected from the blombos cave bedrock the control samples were then subjected to fourier transform infrared spectrometry ftir microscopic fourier transform infrared spectrometry micro ftir and petrographic colourimetric analyses the control experiment shows that glauconitic minerals undergo a gradual and systematic colour change when temperatures reach higher than c 300 400 c primarily due to dehydration and iron oxidation they also undergo clear structural changes when temperatures reach higher than c 550 c due to dehydroxylation and mineral transformation by assessing the nature and degree of heat induced optical and molecular alteration in glauconitic minerals we demonstrate how glauconite grains in thin sections can be classified by the temperature to which they were exposed 20 400 c 400 c 600 c and 800 c to assess the archaeological relevance of our controlled heating experiment we applied this glauconite classification scheme to 200 grains found in three micromorphological thin sections of a middle stone age msa combustion feature these grains were individually geo referenced within the local coordinate system of blombos cave through a thin section based gis mapping procedure with improved spatial control we were able to study both the general distribution of non altered and heat altered glauconite grains in their original sedimentary context as well as to calculate heat distribution models that cover the entire sampled section this combined geo chemical optical and spatio contextual approach provides insights into more elusive aspects of msa site structure and burning events such as heat intensity burning frequency temperature distribution internal hearth structure and post depositional reworking the workflow we propose may easily be implemented and adapted to other archaeological contexts and to analogous sedimentary materials that show comparable heat induced alteration patterns

the 9th century bce destruction layer at tell es safi gath israel integrating macro and microarchaeology abstract destruction events in multi period sites are valuable marker horizons that represent time synchronous events across the site and sometimes between sites destruction layers often preserve rich finds that provide insights into site use here we use both macro and microarchaeological methods to study a destruction event from the late 9th century at tell es safi gath in israel a major conflagration at this specific location resulted in the consolidation of parts of the roof construction materials thus enabling us to differentiate between roof walls and floor materials we could reconstruct the events which lead to the formation of an approximately 80 cm thick layer the base of this layer that overlies the floor surface is a thin charred organic material rich ash layer as the clays in this layer were not altered by heat and the ceramics still have preserved residues we conclude that the ash was produced elsewhere and was redistributed to this location ceramics that are associated with burnt roof sediments do not have preserved residues we also estimate the time that each of the accumulation events might have taken and conclude that this accumulation occurred over decades the architecture and artifacts found within and beneath the destruction do not allow us to unequivocally identify the function of this area prior to destruction we do however identify an unusual bin and associated stone pavement and a corner rich in artifacts phytoliths and charred organic material we also show that a wall was built of fired mud bricks a most unusual occurrence for this time period in the levant this study demonstrates well the usefulness of an integrated macro and microarchaeological approach to understanding the archaeological record as well as the benefits of using an on site laboratory

geoarchaeology in an urban context the uses of space in a phoenician monumental building at tel dor israel abstract interpretation of past urban societies in the near east whose settlements are known mostly as tell sites is largely based on macro stratigraphy and on the association of architecture with macroscopic artifacts analyses of sediments common in prehistoric sites are rare in tell sites here we show the results of a detailed geoarchaeological study of the micro stratigraphy of a sedimentary sequence associated with early iron age phoenician monumental architecture the study involves mineralogical micromorphological and phytolith analyses and provides new insights into the stratigraphic sequence and the use of architectural spaces the sedimentary sequence examined comprises alternating layers of gray fill deposits and white floors we show that floors made from local calcareous sandstone in the lower part of the sedimentary sequence were heated and are thus in effect plaster floors a concentration of micro laminated trampled fish remains above the most elaborate of these plaster floors indicates activities related to fish processing fine white layers in the upper part of the sedimentary sequence that were considered as plaster based on macroscopic examination are in fact composed almost entirely of opaline grass phytoliths the phytoliths appear in an undulating micro laminated structure and are associated with dung spherulites and phosphate nodules thus probably reflecting livestock penning the formation of phytolith floors involves extensive volume reduction due to the degradation of the organic material and this may result in floor subsidence a phenomenon that is often observed in archaeological sites most fill deposits include macroscopic and microscopic remains of wood ash bones phytoliths charcoal ceramics plaster and mollusk shells reflecting the debris produced from household activities this study shows how a combination of macro stratigraphy with microscopic and mineralogical analyses of the sediments within architectural spaces can provide information on the varying ways in which the space was used through time and also contributes to solving macro stratigraphic problems

phytolith and ftir studies applied to combustion structures the case of the middle paleolithic site of el salt alcoy alicante abstract the combination of phytolith and ftir analyses is a powerful tool to investigate the use of fire by past human populations here we apply these methods to study the hearths of the subunit xb at the middle palaeolithic site of el salt in alcoi el salt is characterized by recurrent neanderthal occupations that produced a succession of combustion structures and other anthropogenic remains using ftir analysis we have been able to detect the presence of ashes thermally altered clay and phosphatic minerals in the sediments phytolith results point to the use of wood as fuel in subunit xb however most of the phytoliths have been deposited in the site by natural agents probably in the form of bird guano characterized by the presence of distinctive phytoliths of seed coats from celtis sp differentiating between natural and anthropogenic deposited phytoliths is essential to evaluate the impact produced by human activities in the archaeological sediments

nucleation of aragonite upon carbonation of calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide at ambient temperatures and pressures a new indicator of fire related human activities wood ash found at archaeological sites is the most direct evidence of the presence of combustion features the preservation of wood ash within archaeological deposits is often poor due to diagenetic processes and therefore its identification requires the use of spectroscopic methods ftir spectrometry is able to detect the main calcite component of wood ash unless this is mixed with other calcitic phases of geologic origin using ftir spectrometry we identified non biogenic aragonite in archaeological heat altered sediments and lime plasters the presence of aragonite in such conditions is unusual as it is unlikely to crystallize at ambient temperatures and pressures or in absence of mg the experimental conditions which favor the nucleation of this aragonite phase were investigated with ftir spectrometry xrpd and sem imaging of modern lime plaster and quicklime samples prepared in the laboratory using different calcium carbonate starting materials we show that aragonite forms at ambient temperatures and pressures upon carbonation of calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide together with calcite and its nucleation and growth are influenced by environmental parameters such as carbon dioxide partial pressure relative humidity and temperature this pyrogenic aragonite is a reliable indicator for calcareous materials exposed to temperatures above 600 c and therefore it can be used to determine the presence of heat altered sediments and ash in the absence of structured combustion features this mineral phase could have applications in radiocarbon dating as well

phytolith evidence for hearths and beds in the late mousterian occupations of esquilleu cave cantabria spain esquilleu cave site has provided a moderately well preserved archaeological cave deposit from the late pleistocene in the cantabrian area phytolith quantification identification and determination of the refractive index have been carried out together with ftir analyses from sediment samples collected in the profile the comparison of the data obtained with the previous micromorphological results allows us to make inferences about the site formation processes and the neanderthals use of the cave phytolith results show the presence of grass leaves nearby the hearth suggesting the repetitive existence of a bedding zone on the same area neanderthal behavioral patterns should be revised on the light of high resolution analyses since diagenetic processes can obscure the existence of differentiated activity areas in the site

p t deformation fe3 fe2 mapping at the thin section scale and comparison with xanes mapping application to a garnet bearing metapelite from the sambagawa metamorphic belt japan quantitative x ray maps of composition from a chlorite k white mica albite quartz and garnet bearing thin section from a sambagawa blueschist facies metapelite were combined with a multiequilibrium calculation method to calculate a p t fe3 fe2 deformation map at the millimetre scale the studied sample was chosen because elongated chlorite crystallization tails pressure shadows rimmed by phengite are present which is an appropriate assemblage for the quantification of the p t evolution chlorite temperature and fe3 content maps were calculated by successive iterations for each pixel analysis of fe3 until convergence of the four chlorite quartz h2o equilibria that can be written using the fe and mg amesite clinchlore daphnite and sudoite chlorite end members the calculated map of fe2 fe3 in chlorite is in good qualitative agreement with the in situ mapping of this ratio using xanes x ray absorption near edge structure techniques the temperature map indicates that high temperature chlorite zones with low fe3 contents alternate with lower temperature zones and higher fe3 contents in the crystallization tail late fractures perpendicular to the elongation axis of the tail are filled by very low temperature chlorite 250 c showing fe3 fetotal up to 0 4 groups of chlorite and mica pixels were then identified based on compositional and structural criteria and a p tdeformation map was calculated using representative analyses of these groups the calculated p tdeformation map suggests that in contrast to chlorite the composition of most mica did not change significantly during exhumation mica reequilibrated in late ew shear bands only ew shearing was already active at 0 1 gpa 500 c which corresponds to the peak temperature and probably pressure conditions at reduced redox conditions the intensity of deformation probably decreased with decrease in temperature to 350 400 c at this temperature a second main deformation event corresponding to a further ew stretching occurred and was still active below 250 c and more oxidizing conditions these results indicate that the scale at which p t data can be obtained is now close to the scale of observation of structural geologists a close link between deformation and mineral reaction is therefore possible at the microscopic scale which provides information about the relationship between deformation and mineral reactivity the modalities of deformation with time and the p t conditions at which it occurred

the upper paleolithic and epipaleolithic of sefunim cave israel abstract sefunim cave mount carmel israel was previously excavated in the 1960s and is one of the main sites known for the occurrence of the cultural entity termed the levantine aurignacian renewed excavations at sefunim cave provide new insights into the late pleistocene occupations of the site and reveal a rich epipaleolithic layer in addition to the previously recorded middle to upper paleolithic sequence the recent work helps us re evaluate the record of cultural and environmental shifts within the upper paleolithic and early epipaleolithic sequence and places the results of earlier excavations in a higher resolution context in terms of human environment relationships the current work reports the first radiometric dating results from the upper paleolithic layers at this key site in addition we provide a preliminary description of finds collected during the new campaigns the finds encompass both the material culture and environmental setting of sefunim and include investigations of micromorphology lithics use wear fauna microfauna ocher and shells important new findings include the identification of rich symbolic activity at the site in the levantine aurignacian assemblage it is represented primarily by the presence of numerous shell ornaments a trend which parallels upper paleolithic sites of the northern levant other manifestations of symbolic activity are represented by ocher exploitation throughout the sequence and a unique engraved artifact from the epipaleolithic

a prehispanic maya pit oven microanalysis of fired clay balls from the puuc region yucatan mexico this is a postprint author s final draft version of an article published in journal of archaeological science in 2013 the final version of this article may be found at http dx doi org 10 1016 j jas 2012 10 014 login may be required the version made available in openbu was supplied by the author

radiocarbon dating of charcoal and bone collagen associated with early pottery at yuchanyan cave hunan province china yuchanyan cave in daoxian county hunan province people s republic of china yielded fragmentary remains of 2 or more ceramic vessels in addition to large amounts of ash a rich animal bone assemblage cobble and flake artifacts bone tools and shell tools the artifacts indicate that the cave was a late paleolithic foragers camp here we report on the radiocarbon ages of the sediments based on analyses of charcoal and bone collagen the best preserved charcoal and bone samples were identified by prescreening in the field and laboratory the dates range from around 21 000 to 13 800 cal bp we show that the age of the ancient pottery ranges between 18 300 and 15 430 cal bp charcoal and bone collagen samples located above and below one of the fragments produced dates of around 18 000 these ceramic potsherds therefore provide some of the earliest evidence for pottery making in china

early marine isotope stage 5 sea levels coastal dune palaeoenvironments and human occupation on the southeast coast of south africa abstract quaternary age human and animal footprints have been reported from coastal deposits along the south african coast these footprints and their sedimentary contexts can inform on quaternary palaeoenvironments and processes stratigraphically associated with the palaeoanthropological record of past human occupation in the coastal zone and exploitation of its resources this study examines the palaeoenvironmental context and sedimentology of marine isotope stage 5 aeolianite at nahoon point southeastern coast of south africa where preserved human footprints have been previously recorded this study identifies seven sedimentary facies from 20 logged profiles through the coastal aeolianite in order to develop a landscape scale stratigraphic framework for coastal palaeoenvironmental reconstruction during the period of the mis 5 highstand two phases of aeolianite deposition are identified which bracket a single stepped sea level transgression phase up to 7 82 0 82 m asl evidenced by intraformational beachrock facies and marine benches this correlates with the second known global mis 5e highstand no evidence for the first highstand reported from the literature was found in the study area aeolianite bed geometries and sedimentary structures indicate that wind regimes and rainfall seasonality were similar to present newly discovered faunal tracks in aeolianites of the first depositional phase suggest the presence of unidentified bovids of varying sizes evidence for human activity is preserved in all three recorded depositional phases suggesting people were present throughout the early mis 5 sequence despite changing environmental conditions this evidence suggests that human occupation of coastal areas and the exploitation of marine food resources was more widespread than generally thought in southern africa during early mis 5

micromorphology of a mousterian paleosol in aeolianites at the site habonim israel abstract a paleosol with mousterian tools in aeolianites at the habonim site carmel coastal plain israel is a complex pedosedimentary sequence which records a succession of soil forming episodes and stages of coastal dune instability we identified three strong soils and one accretionary soil within mousterian pedocomplex via micromorphological techniques coupled with ftir and sem edax in the lowermost red sandy soil hamra in unit iv decalcification led to the formation of micritic coatings disrupted by faunal churning while rubefication resulted in red ferric segregations illuviation of ferruginious clay in the form of clay coatings is lacking probably due to its strong incorporation into the matrix redox features were intensified in the pseudogley of the next stage unit iii polyphase calcitic features here indicate that illuviation of clay pre dates illuviation of micrite and its later recrystallization into sparitic calcite further deterioration of drainage conditions and increased accumulation of fine particles led to the formation of vertisol unit ii paleovertisol is characterized by a maximum of clay stress originated microfabric abundant mn precipitates and calcitic pseudomorphs the peak of landscape instability occurred later and is recorded in the upper unit i in which micromorphological signs of colluvial and aeolian processes are juxtaposed with various ferric accumulations associated with gleying the final episode occurred at a time of climatic instability devegetation and probably a simultaneous groundwater rise in the littoral zone

charred micro particles characterization in archaeological contexts identifying mixing between sediments with implications for stratigraphy abstract charred micro remains in archaeological sediments vary from large destruction layers to localized lenses and they are invaluable stratigraphic anchors when found in situ visual observations of black sediments are a good marker for primary depositions of burning events however an independent criteria is necessary to verify these sediments were not mixed with other contexts in this study a microarchaeological approach was used to quantify charred micro components in sediments from a pyrotechnological pit at qubur el walaydah allowing the assessment of their diffusion between sediments organic micro particles were purified from black lenses in situ and their surrounding sediments based on their density showing the organic fraction is composed of particles that are lighter than a density of 1 7 g ml and smaller than 1 mm3 thermal and structural characterizations show that the micro particles from black lenses are charred between 30 and 40 compared with 5 in the surrounding sediments a new method to quantify the charred micro particles was developed based on microscopy showing black lenses and hearths have between 40 000 110 000 charred micro particles per gram of sediments while their surrounding archaeological sediments have less than 20 000 these results show micro particles could be purified and characterized providing a quantifiable approach for assessing mixing between sediments based on particles concentrations one application is micro stratigraphic interpretations of primary depositions allowing portable microscopes on site to assess the mixing between sediments another application is to include the charred micro particles in the radiocarbon dating assemblage as evidence for in situ burning dating charred micro remains should be used only to solve chronological questions that do not require high resolution accuracy when cultural material and macro charred remains are not found

micro slag and invisible copper processing activities at a middle shang period 14th 13th century bc bronze casting workshop abstract micro slag artefacts from ancient bronze casting workshops were largely ignored in previous research despite their rich information potential current research demonstrates they could significantly enhance our understanding about past metallurgical activities but their identification requires careful in situ analysis and a well designed sampling strategy here we present an innovative methodology combining in situ geochemical survey wet sieving of soil samples and detailed microscopic study employed to investigate an important middle shang site taijiasi in the huaihe river valley the micro slags from this site revealed that in addition to bronze alloying and casting raw copper refining was also practiced material evidence for the refining process was not immediately visible in the archaeological excavation since most slag was mechanically crushed to retrieve any copper trapped in them leaving only micro slag fragments typically smaller than 3000 m 3 mm the fact that most micro slag was recovered from one sector h234 of a small building f16 located on the same platform as the elites long houses suggests that mechanical processing of refining slag was conducted in a confined area and closely supervised it might reflect people of this site valuing copper as a highly precious material and making all effort to recover copper otherwise lost in slag this find will potentially shed new light on a range of important issues of shang archaeology including the regional variation of shang metallurgical styles and the provenance of copper in the shang period this research also encourages researchers to look into archaeological soil samples with abnormally high copper content and understand the particles in them causing these high readings