Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology

This book uniquely focuses on all aspects of archaeological soil micromorphology, based upon the authors' joint sixty years of worldwide studies.

Richard I. Macphail (Author), Paul Goldberg (Author)

9781107011380, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 December 2017

630 pages, 139 b/w illus. 12 maps 49 tables
26.1 x 18.5 x 3.8 cm, 1.25 kg

Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology provides the most up-to-date information on soil science and its applications in archaeology. Based on more than three decades of investigations and experiments, the volume demonstrates how description protocols and complimentary methods (SEM/EDS, microprobe, micro-FTIR, bulk soil chemistry, micro- and macrofossils) are used in interpretations. It also focuses on key topics, such as palaeosols, cultivation, and occupation surfaces, and introduces a range of current issues, such as site inundation, climate change, settlement morphology, herding, trackways, industrial processes, funerary features, and site transformation. Structured around important case studies, Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology is thoroughly-illustrated, with color plates and figures, tables and other ancillary materials on its website (www.cambridge.org/9781107011380); chapter appendices can be accessed separately using the web (www.geoarchaeology.info/asma). This new book will serve as an essential volume for all archaeological inquiry about soil.

Part I. Background Approach and Methods: 1. Applied principles from geology and soil science
2. Complementary analyses
3. Systematic soil micromorphology description
Part II. Soils and Sediments: 4. Soils and burial (horizon types and effects of burial in the Temperate and Boreal regions)
5. Soil-sediments
6. Inundated freshwater and coastal marine sites
Part III. Archaeological Materials: 7. Archaeological materials and deposits
Part IV. Features and Activities in the Landscape: 8. First records of human activity
9. Clearance and cultivation
10. Occupation surfaces and use of space
11. Settlement morphology
12. Site transformation
13. Final remarks.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Archaeological science, methodology & techniques [HDW], Environmental archaeology [HDP], Archaeological theory [HDA]