Week 1 Geoarchaeology

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Week 1 Geoarchaeology

• Historical development and relations with
  geography and the geosciences

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The word geoarchaeology

• First used in meetings in the early 1970s

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The word geoarchaeology

• Karl Butzer first coined the term in Environment
  and Archaeology An Ecological Approach to
  Prehistory, (1971), Chicago Aldine, Atherton.
• It was originally spelled geo-archaeology

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The word geoarchaeology

• First treatise focused on geoarchaeological
  research
• Davidson, D.A. and Shackley, M. (1976)
  Geoarchaeology, Boulder, Co., Westview Press.

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Archaeological geology

• Rapp, G.R., and Gifford, J. 1986.
  Archaeological Geology. New Haven, CT., Yale
  Univ. Press.

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Archaeological geology or Geoarchaeology?
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Approaches in geoarchaeology
Groups
Geological, geochemical geophysical
Cultural, historical ecological Biogeographical,
environmental
Soils, geomorphological and sedimentological
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Approaches in geoarchaeology
Groups
Geological, geochemical and geophysical
Cultural, historical ecological Biogeographical,
environmental
Soils, geomorphological and sedimentological
The true geological-archaeological approach
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Approaches in geoarchaeology
Groups
Geological, geochemical and geophysical
Cultural, historical ecological biogeographical,
environmental
Soils, geomorphological and sedimentological
The true Archaeological geology approach
The geomorphological approach, Very strong in
North America, and by far the most developed and
more published
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Approaches in geoarchaeology
Groups
Geological, geochemical and geophysical
Cultural, historical ecological biogeographical,
environmental
Soils, geomorphological and sedimentological
The strongly geographical and anthropological appr
oach The one with strong links to Geography
The true Archaeological geology approach
The geomorphological approach, Very strong in
North America, and by far the most developed and
more published
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Approaches in geoarchaeology
The Environmental-GIS offshoot
Groups
Geological, geochemical and geophysical
Cultural, historical ecological biogeographical,
environmental
Soils, geomorphological and sedimentological
The strongly geographical and anthropological appr
oach The one with strong links to Geography
The true Archaeological geology approach
The geomorphological approach, Very strong in
North America, and by far the most developed and
more published
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Treatises and textbooksArchaeological Geology

• Pollard, M. (ed.) 1999. Geoarchaeology
  exploration, environments and resources. London
  Geological Society.
• Goldberg, P., V. T. Holliday, and C. R. Ferring,
  (ed.) 2001. Earth Sciences and Archaeology. New
  York Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
• Garrison, E. 2003. Techniques in Archaeological
  Geology. Springer Verlag.

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Treatises and textbooksSoils-Geomorphological-Sed
imentological

• Waters, M. R. 1992. Principles of Geoarchaeology
  A North American Perspective. Tucson The
  University of Arizona Press.
• Brown, A.G. 1997. Alluvial geoarchaeology.
  Cambridge
• Rapp Jr., G., and C. L. Hill. 1998.
  Geoarchaeology the earth-science approach to
  archaeological interpretation. New Haven Yale
  University Press.
• Holliday, V. 2004. Soils in archaeological
  research. Oxford University Press.
• French, C. 2003. Geoarchaeology in Action
  Studies in Soil Micromorphology and landscape
  evolution.

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Treatises and textbooksCultural
ecological-biogeographical, environmental

• Butzer, K. W. 1982. Archaeology as Human Ecology.
  Cambridge Cambridge University Press.
• Rosen, A. Cities of Clay. University of Chicago
  Press
• Roberts, N. 1998. The Holocene An Environmental
  History. London Blackwell Publishers
• Dincauze, D. 2000. Environmental Archaeology.
  Cambridge U. Press.
• Wilkinson, T.J. 2003. Archaeological Landscapes
  of the Near East. Tucson University of Arizona
  Press.

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Environmental archaeology or geoarchaeology?
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Approaches in geoarchaeology
The Environmental-GIS offshoot
Groups
Geological, geochemical geophysical
Cultural, historical ecological Biogeographical,
environmental
Soils, geomorphological and sedimentological
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Journals

• Geoarchaeology US
• The Holocene UK
• Current Research in the Pleistocene US
• Quaternary Research US-NL
• Journal of Quaternary Science US
• Journal of Archaeological Science US
• Quaternary International CAN
• Journal of Archaeological Science US

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Geoarchaeology in North America

• Early pioneers
• E. Antevs
• E.B. Howard
• E. H. Sellars
• Kirk Bryan
• Late pioneers
• Paul Martin
• Robert Acher
• William McDonald
• Vance Haynes Jr.
• Karl W. Butzer
• Bruce Gladfelter
• G. Rapp Jr.
• Herb Wright Jr.
• D.A. Davidson
• J. Donahue

• Some modern names
• Vance Holliday
• Paul Goldberg
• Michael Waters
• Julie K. Stein
• William R. Farrand
• Fekri Hassan
• Rolfe Mandel
• C. Reid Ferring
• Art Bettis III
• Roger Byrne
• Joseph Schuldenrein

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• Some names in Europe
• Eric Fouache
• Gunther Wagner
• Neil Roberts
• Arlene Rosen
• H. Brückner
• A.G. Brown
• T.J. Wilkinson
• C. Vita-Finzi

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Membership in scientific organizations
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA SOCIETY FOR
AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN
GEOGRAPHERS
Archaeological Geology Division Geoarchaeology
Interest Group Paleoenvironmental
Change Specialty Group
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Structure of most geoarchaeology textbooks and
coursesTopical structure

• Concepts and historical developments
• Sediments and soils
• Alluvial
• Eolian
• Coastal
• Lacustrine
• Karst
• Mineral resources
• Human-environmental relations

Intro
Topics
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Geoarchaeolgy as forensic research
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Geoarchaeological Methodology
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Geoarchaeological Methodology

• Preliminary analysis, reconnaissance, exploratory
  work
• Hypotheses
• Recovery of proxy data (evidence)
• Interpretation
• Test hypotheses

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Required knowledge

• Geomorphology and soils
• Proxy data interpretation (e.g. understand all
  kind of evidence, even if he/she is not a
  specialist in each of the proxies).
• Knowledge of modern processes and modern
  landscape dynamics
• Ever-changing environment (thresholds,
  degradation, recovery periods, etc.).
• Understanding and basic knowledge of
  cultural-material history of that region.
• Timeline
• Knowledge of mechanisms, advantages and
  disadvantages of all dating methods
• Rule out or rule in possibilities (stochastic
  thinking)

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Types of proxy data

• Pollen, spores, etc. (palynomorphs)
• Phytoliths
• Stable isotopes (carbon, oxygen, strontium)
• Diatoms
• Ostracods
• Mineral composition
• Granulometry
• Organic carbon
• Soil stratigraphy
• Magnetic susceptibility of sediments
• etc.

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PALEOLANDSCAPE RECONSTRUCTION
MODERN LANDSCAPES
Age t0 present
Ages t2 - t3 - t4
STUDIED LANDSCAPE
t0
t2
OTHER LANDSCAPES
Sampling
t3
SEQUENCE OF LANDSCAPE CHANGE
Analysis
Observation
Proxy data Pollen, diatoms, ostracods, stable
isotopes soils, faunal and floral macroremains,
artifacts, human-made features, etc.
t4
Modern Analogs
Reconstruction of Physical, Chemical, and
Biotic Components
Analogical Reasoning
Interpretation of Dated Records
Age Determination e.g. 14C, TL, OSL, Tree-Rings,
Aminoacid Racemization
Ages
t0, t2, t3, t4