bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Paleoenvironment and the archaeological record at the L'Anse Aux Meadows Site, Newfoundland
Authors: Davis A. M. , McAndrews J. H. , Wallace B. L. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractArchaeological evidence from the marine terrace and fen at the site indicates brief episodic occupation for over 5000 years. Five cultural episodes have been identified, although the site is renowned for its Norse settlement.A fen on the site has provided both artifacts and fossil pollen. Although the pollen spectra are dominated by disturbance taxa, they indicate little or no human impact. Both the archaeological data and the pollen spectra are consistent with brief episodes of occupancy. Relationships between regional environmental changes and the human response are indistinct, although a cool interval after 2500 B.P. coincides with a 1000 year hiatus in occupation.For the Norse period, the pollen record is compatible with the view that L'Anse aux Meadows was a small, short‐lived way station.
Environmental constraints of human settlement in an evolving holocene alluvial system, the lower Mississippi valley
Authors: Guccione M. J. , Lafferty R. H. , Cummings L. Scott 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe lower Mississippi River has aggraded throughout the Holocene, resulting in stratification of cultural materials. Determination of this landscape evolution adds a temporal dimension to a model of human settlement. Sites most likely to be settled are high, well‐drained surfaces near a stream. In the middle Holocene, conditions began to be suitable for settlement near Big Lake, Arkansas. A stream developed on the flood plain adjacent to a braided stream terrace. Flooding of the terrace formed a natural levee composed of well‐drained, fertile, loam that was better suited for agriculture, if it existed at this time, and a living substrate than terrace sand to the west and backswamp clay to the east. Water and aquatic food sources were nearby. Open swamp conditions, present during middle Holocene, diminished by Late Holocene as bottomland arboreal habitats were becoming reestablished. This ideal environment has been intensely exploited for the past 3000 years, despite the temporary inconvenience of flooding.
Paleoclimatic changes as indicated by the quaternary Karstic Cave deposits in China
Authors: Liu Zechun 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis paper describes the paleoclimatic changes reflected by karstic cave deposits during the Quaternary Period in China. the study was based on comprehensive analyses of the spore and pollen, paleontological, and paleoanthropological fossils as well as various kinds of sedimentological features preserved in those cave deposits. the caves studied include those containing fossils of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens in the Zhoukoudian area some 50 km southwest of Beijing and Shenxiandong (the Immortal Cave) in Leishui County, Jiangsu Province, about 120 km southeast of Nanjing. These deposits, which range in thickness from two to 40 meters, have been carefully investigated and have been shown to be representative of portions of the Quaternary. the paleoclimatic fluctuations as recorded in these cave deposits have been well correlated with glacial cycles within the Brunhes Normal Epoch based on the oxygen isotope scale determined from deep ocean cores.
Paleogeographic reconstruction of shoreline archaeological sites around Thunder Bay, Ontario
Authors: Phillips Brian A. M. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractPaleoindian peoples migrated into the cul‐de‐sac between Lake Agassiz, the Superior basin, and the receding ice margin about 9500 years ago. Around Thunder Bay there is a close but not exclusive association of habitation sites with Lake Minong and its subsequent declining stages. Reconstruction of shorelines by detailed morphological mapping provides explanation of known sites, reasonable longshore correlation, and a predictive tool for focusing new investigations. Sites near taconite sources, in sheltered embayments, at river mouths, and near lookout points are preferred, but some occupance continued after water level decline. the full sequence of Paleoindian to Shield Archaic periods is uniquely destroyed by the Nipissing transgression (8000‐5500 years BP), which buried and truncated earlier shorelines. This sequence is potentially preserved on the north shore of Superior, but limited archaeological resources exist in the region, despite healthy, interdisciplinary cooperation.
Oysters as geoarchaeologic objects
Authors: Lawrence David R. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractCrassostreine oysters have unutilized potential in analyses of coastal archaeological sites. Intertidal vs. subtidal harvesting may be determined by an examination of shell characters, and the culling of samples recognized through scrutiny of valves or shells collected dead. the season of live shell gathering may be estimated via a ligament growth model. Possible human uses of oysters include foodstuffs, agricultural and building materials, implements, ornaments, objects of curiosity, and in the manufacture of ceramics. Use as implements or ornaments is unlikely, and criteria exist to add strength to interpretations of other uses. Oysters faithfully replicate their substrate on left valve attachment areas and may yield evidence of distinctive, otherwise unrecognizable, archaeological features. Ideas herein developed for the southeastern United States may be extended to other geographic regions through appropriate data gathering processes.
Size distributions of artifact classes: Combining macro‐and micro‐fractions
Authors: Stein Julie K. , Teltser Patrice A. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe size and composition of microartifacts (objects less than 2 mm) and macroartifacts (objects greater than 2 mm) are utilized to interpret the formational processes of an archaeological site. Because grain‐size distributions are known to reflect mode of transport and source, the attribute of size is examined by plotting each artifact class (unmodified rock, modified rock, ceramic, concretion, bone/shell, and metal) in size frequency diagrams. the plots allow the agent and mode of transport to be reconstructed, which in turn allows the formational processes of the site to be interpreted. the example used is the Pelts Site (23‐DU‐29) of southeastern Missouri. the site was chosen for this pilot study because the formation processes can be reconstructed from other data. the size distributions of each artifact class support those reconstructions and allow the proposed method to be evaluated as an interpretive method for other archaeological sites.
Theoretical issues in the interpretation of microartifacts
Authors: Dunnell Robert C. , Stein Julie K. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractArchaeology is increasingly partitioned into specialities. While this practice is not universally deleterious, frequently it limits the impact of novel concepts to small segments of the discipline. Such is the case with the idea of microartifacts, now treated by only a handful of specialists. After linking the definition of microartifact to techniques of sampling and identification, the unique and valuable information of small artifacts is obvious. Microartifacts, by virtue of their unique transport and deposition properties, compliment the information contained in macroartifacts. Thus, they should be a routine concern in all archaeological research. This implies a stronger integration of geoarchaeology and archaeology.
Hunter‐gatherers in the nashville basin: Archaeological and geological evidence for variability in prehistoric land use
Authors: Turner William B. , Klippel Walter E. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractResults of intensive archaeological surveys conducted within two environmentally contrastive settings in the Nashville Basin of Tennessee demonstrate that prehistoric human activity was much more extensive in the inner Basin where the Duck River floodplain was flanked by patchy upland vegetation relative to the outer Basin where upland vegetation was more homogeneous. Vertebrate remains from caves and rockshelters show that the inner Basin supported such patchy upland vegetation throughout the known period of hunter‐gatherer occupation of the area. There is close correspondance between periods when forest openings were most prevalent (i.e., Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene and Mid‐Holocene) and times when prehistoric human occupation of the inner Basin was most intensive (Paleoindian and Middle Archaic). Comparisons of major artifact categories from systematic collections of various landform surfaces show that the T2 terrace was the most extensively utilized by prehistoric hunter‐gatherers. the T3/valley slope, the uplands, and the T1 produced progressively lower artifact densities. Results of systematic backhoe trenching indicate that substantial Holocene aggradation accounts for the seemingly minor use of the T1.
Late holocene human impact on lake basins in central mexico
Authors: Metcalfe S. E. , Street‐Perrott F. A. , Brown R. B. , Hales P. E. , Perrott R. A. , Steininger F. M. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractPalaeolimnological investigations in the volcanic highlands of Central Mexico (19°N) have yielded clear evidence of environmental degradation associated with episodes of forest clearance and agricultural expansion during the last 3500 years. Preliminary results are presented from five lake basins situated at altitudes of 1700 to 2575 m a.s.l., along a gradient of decreasing aridity and temperature from north to south: Hoya San Nicolás de Parangueo (Guanajuato); La Piscina de Yuriria (Guanajuato); Pátzcuaro (Michoacán); Zacapu (Michoacán) and Upper Lerma (Estado de México). Samples from sediment cores and pits are being analyzed for loss‐on‐ignition, magnetic susceptibility (X and Xfd), major cations, total P, C/N, carbonate content, δ13C, δ18O, diatoms, pollen, and charcoal content. Evidence for disturbance is provided by increases in non‐arboreal pollen types, especially maize (Zea mays), peaks of X, Xfd and charcoal; increased concentrations of elements associated with soil material such as Al, Fe, Ti, and P, and diatoms indicative of cultural eutrophication.Pátzcuaro, Hoya San Nicolás, Zacapu, and Upper Lerma show an initial phase of disturbance dating from ca. 3500 to 1400 yr B.P., reflecting the widespread adoption of maize cultivation during the Preclassic. A later, more intense phase is recorded in all the basins. In Hoya San Nicolás, La Piscina de Yuriria, Zacapu, and Pátzcuaro, which lay within, or on the margins of the Tarascan state, this episode dates from Postclassic to Hispanic times (<1100 yr B.P.). In contrast, disturbance in the Matlatzincan area (the Upper Lerma Basin) was apparently more continuous, culminating during the late Classic to early Postclassic (ca. 1400‐700 yr B.P.).
Pompeian red ware: Processing archaeological ceramic data
Authors: Blakely Jeffrey A. , Brinkmann Robert , Vitaliano Charles J. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA program of ceramic analysis, by which archaeologically excavated pottery can be efficiently and economically grouped by fabric and geographic origin, has been devised. the fabric is segregated by xeroradiography, macroscopic observation, and heavy‐mineral analysis before it is identified petrologically. the program has enabled determination of the effects of certain aspects of trade patterns and economics on life in the ancient city of Roman‐Period Caesarea Maritima. This program was tested on an 84‐sherd corpus of Pompeian Red Ware. Xeroradiography, heavy‐mineral analysis, and petrology each segregated the sherds into two fabrics, one of which contained 83 sherds. This latter fabric had not been reported in earlier studies of Pompeian Red Ware which concentrated on samples from England and Europe. However, the similarities between this new fabric and another known fabric suggest that the Caecuban and Falernian regions west of Terracina and east of Capua should be the source of this ware. an astonishing result was that other known fabrics were not found at Caesarea Maritima. A potential chronological hypothesis was formulated to account for this observation.
Prehistoric human settlement patterns in a tectonically unstable environment: Outer shumagin islands, southwestern alaska
Authors: Winslow Margaret A. , Lewis Johnson L. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractHuman population movements into and around the outer Shumagin Islands of southwestern Alaska during the last 5000 years, and temporal gaps in Shumagin habitation correlate inversely with geologically inferred prehistoric earthquakes. Clusters of inferred seismic activity correlate with temporal gaps or with small, sparsely distributed archaeological sites; periods of relative seismic quiescence coincide with settlement florescence. Variations in terrace and archaeological site heights across the study area indicate differential uplift of the outer Shumagin Islands when corrected for the Holocene sea level rise and post‐glacial isostatic adjustments.
Microlithic sites and their paleoenvironmental setting, Southeast India; a reevaluation
Authors: Gardner R. , Martingell H. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA reevaluation is presented of the distribution, age, and paleoenvironmental context of the microlithic sites (Tinnevelly Ten Industry) found on Quaternary coastal sediments in southeast India. Microliths were found to occur widely on the red teri sands; as extensive surface scatters and in concentrated ‘sites’. the extent and number of sites is far greater than hitherto known. the occupation/use of the area occurred within the period between late last glacial and mid‐Holocene, and it had certainly ceased by 4000 years B.P. Occupation appears to post‐date the aeolian deposition of the teri sands, and to be contemporaneous with the deep weathering of the sands during the early‐mid Holocene climatic optimum. During this moist phase the sands were stable and densely vegetated, and relatively high (+ 2−3 m) mid‐Holocene sea levels led to the formation of lagoons seaward of the tori sands along much of the coastline. the available stratigraphic evidence and radiocarbon dates suggest that this microlithic industry, with geometrical elements, is older than hitherto believed (Zeuner and Allchin, 1956), but not as old as recent suggestions for a similar industry from Sri Lanka (Singhvi et al., 1986).
The geomorphic setting of upper paleolithic sites in Wadi el Sheikh, Southern Sinai
Authors: Gladfelter Bruce G. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA protracted phase of aggradation without evidence for episodes of cutting and filling occurred in the drainage of Wadi el Sheikh between about 65,000 and 12,000 B.P. Marl sediments in the deposits at the oasis of Tarfat el Quidrein denote freshwater ponds or marshes that attracted Upper Paleolithic, Ahmarian hunter‐gatherers. Wetter conditions favoring the formation of the marls are explained by local, geomorphic factors including the orographic influence of nearby mountains. A major phase of down‐cutting initiated at the end of the Pleistocene and beginning of the Holocene is the only climatically forced gradational change seen in the geomorphic record.
Amino acid racemization in mammalian bones and teeth from La Chaise‐de‐Vouthon (Charente), France
Authors: Blackwell Bonnie , Rutter N. W. , Debénath A. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA controlled test of the amino acid dating method as it is currently being applied to bones and teeth was attempted for the time range 100‐250 ka, beyond that of 14C, at the archeological site of La Chaise‐de‐Vouthon (Charente, France). In Bourgeois‐Delaunay, mammal fossils associated with Paleolithic artifacts were collected from layers dated at 101 ± 12 to 114 ± 7 ka by 230Th/230 dating of the over‐ and underlying stalagmitic floors. Racemization ratios for most amino acids were significantly lower than for comparably aged materials from other European sites. Regardless of the rate constants used, most amino acid dates were incorrect. Large associated errors spanned the late Pleistocene, making the dates useless for discriminating archaeological or geological events. Stratigraphic correlations using any tissue were also problematic. Relative interacid ratios varied with age, indicating that diagenetic alteration had affected racemization. Therefore, amino acid relative and absolute dating cannot be accurately applied to mid‐Pleistocene bones or teeth.
Soil/landform relationships surrounding the Harappa archaeological site, Pakistan
Authors: Pendall Elise , Amundson Ronald 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA soil survey around the archaeological site of Harappa, Pakistan revealed alluvial deposits of five distinct ages based on relative position in the landscape and degree of soil profile development. the youngest deposit (age 1) is in the lowest landscape position and has received flood waters as recently as 1988. Soils there are in an incipient stage of development: only organic carbon and soluble salts have accumulated at the surface of the profile. the age 2 deposit has not undergone significant pedogenic change, but is in a slightly higher landscape position than the youngest deposit. Elevated concentrations of P, and the presence of sand‐sized pottery and brick fragments, indicate that this deposit was derived at least partially from archaeological material. the presence of small, soft calcite nodules (Stage II) and some soluble salt translocation are the primary pedogenic changes observed in the age 3 deposit. the age 4 deposit shows evidence of both carbonate and gypsum accumulation. Presence of large gypsum nodules in deep By horizons suggests that a high groundwater table has altered these soils. the oldest deposit, age 5, forms a late Pleistocene stream terrace of the Ravi River. the soil formed in this deposit exhibits considerable carbonate accumulation, with large, dense nodules (Stage II + ) and an argillic horizon. A14C date from pedogenic calcite gives an age of 7080 ± 90 years B.P., indicating a minimum age of early Holocene. the soil survey suggests that the ancient city of Harappa was built on an age 5 stream terrace remnant, surrounded by Holocene floodplains and a meandering channel of the Ravi River.
Resurrecting beach ridge archaeology: Parallel depositional records from St. Lawrence Island and Cape Krusenstern, Western Alaska
Authors: Mason Owen K. , Ludwig Stefanie L. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractArchaeological sites on gravel beach ridge plains offer a treacherously facile method of reconstructing cultural chronology based on the assumption that settlements were preferentially situated nearest the sea. the initial phase of beach ridge methodology in Alaska dates from its 1930s use by Henry Collins at St. Lawrence Island and its 1950s use by Louis Giddings in Kotzebue Sound. Numerous questions of cultural and depositional chronology remain unresolved. At Gambell, on St. Lawrence Island, three sets of ridges span the period since about 2000 B.P., with a prominent disconformity after Punuk culture times at ca. 1100 B.P. Reviewing the 14C dates (n = 83) we find that the Gambell sequence (n = 50) broadly parallels that of Kotzebue Sound, especially in the similar erosional disconformity at 1200‐1000 B.P., related to increased storminess in the North Pacific. the Cape Krusenstern sequence is only loosely constrained by 14C dates (n = 33) disproportionately concentrated on 7 of the 114 ridge fragments. the dating of early Choris culture is especially problematic, which seems to occur both before and after the Old Whaling culture, well‐dated at 2900‐2800 B.P. on the 53rd ridge. However, reanalyzing the depositional sequence, we find that some of the more easterly Choris ridges probably represent erosional events after the Old Whaling occupation.
Khok Phanom Di, central Thailand: Chemical analysis of pollen core KL 2 and AMS radiocarbon dates from cores KL 2 and BMR 2
Authors: Maloney B. K. , McAlister J. J. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractSummary pollen diagrams and carbonized particle concentration figures from cores collected very near the central Thai archaeological site of Khok Phanom Di (ca. 2000‐1500 B.C.) have recently been published in this journal. This paper reports on the chemical analysis of one of these cores (KL 2), the accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates from two cores (KL 2 and BMR 2), and reinterprets the pollen record in relation to the 17 dates now available from the archaeological site. the chemical analyses are the first from a lowland Southeast Asian pollen core and reinforce the conclusions of pollen analysis, while the radiocarbon dates indicate that the earlier disruption to the vegetation suggested in the previous paper pre‐dates the excavation evidence. There is some evidence that archaeologically older strata than already uncovered occur at Khok Phanon Di.
Application of soil chemistry to interpret cultural events at the Calderwood Buffalo Jump (DkPj‐27), Southern Alberta, Canada
Authors: Dormaar J. F. , Beaudoin A. B. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractDuring excavation at Calderwood Buffalo Jump (DkPj‐27), southern Alberta, two profiles were sampled for soil chemical analysis. Transect samples were subjected to the phosphate ring test. The study objectives were to examine the effects of bison‐jump use on the soil profile, to investigate whether discrete jump‐use episodes could be identified within the soil profile, and to see if the ring test was useful in site delimitation. Comparative off‐site profile samples exhibited the normal Ahk, Bmjk, and Ck sequence of a Rego Black Chernozemic soil. In contrast, samples from the primary excavation unit were enriched in organic matter and phosphorus with lower pH and higher fatty acid content. These data indicate that organic input from jump use has had a substantial impact on soil characteristics and development. A ring chromatography field test for available phosphate indicated higher values in this vicinity, suggesting the utility of this method in rapid and relatively non‐destructive field survey of similar sites. The soil chemical data suggest continuous rather than episodic jump use, contrasting with four specific episodes of jump use over the last 2800 years inferred from archaeological data.
Correlation between petrography, NAA, and ICP analyses: Application to early bronze Egyptian pottery from Canaan
Authors: Porat Naomi , Yellin Joseph , Heller‐Kallai Lisa , Halicz Ludwik 
Published: February 2007

AbstractUnder favorable circumstances petrographic studies supported by chemical analysis using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) suffice to establish the provenience of pottery. A case in point is Egyptian‐style pottery of Early Bronze Age found in Canaan. The pottery was divided into three groups according to four criteria determined by thin section analysis supplemented by X‐ray diffraction: sorting and volume of silt‐sized quartz, heavy minerals, the amount of carbonates in the matrix, and the firing temperature. Chemical analyses confirmed the classification. The source materials inferred for the three groups are Nile muds, Egyptian marly sediments, and local loess. Although the chemical analyses obtained by ICP and neutron activation analysis (NAA) were compatible, the existing database for NAA cannot be used indiscriminately. However, for provenience studies based on mineralogical and petrographic data, knowledge of the geology of the potential source areas can replace an extensive database.