Intertidal Holocene footprints and their archaeological significance

Roberts, Gordon; González, Silvia; Huddart, David

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00083770

Cited by 51 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…gouer & Clottes 1984 ;Faton & Richet 1985). They are also reported, in some instances as lengthy trackways, from a range of terrestrial (Brown 1947 ;Haberland & Grebe 1955 ;Leakey & Hay 1979 ;Day & Wickens 1980 ;Behrensmeyer & Laporte 1981 ;Leakey et al 1987) and coastal (Mountain 1966 ;Belperio & Fortheringham 1990 ;Aldhouse-Green et al 1992 ;Politis & Bayon 1995 ;Price 1995 ;Roberts et al 1996) deposits. Preservation is especially good in damp volcanic ash and in stiff-firm, laminated, intertidal muds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Hitchcock 1858) and are the subject of a huge literature (Sarjeant 1974(Sarjeant , 1975(Sarjeant , 1987Delair & Sarjeant 1985) and important recent syntheses that stress their ecological value (Gillette 1986 ;Lockley 1986Lockley , 1991Leonardi 1987 ;Gillette & Lockley 1989 ;Thulborn 1990 ;Lockley et al 1994 ;Lockley & Hunt 1995). Tracks of mammalian origin, predominant in Tertiary and uaternary sediments, have attracted less attention but are being increasingly reported from a widening range of geological (Robertson & Sternberg 1942 ;Chaffee 1943 ;Bjork 1976 ;Demathieu et al 1984 ;Loope 1986 ;Scrivner & Bottjer 1986 ;Leakey 1987 ;Belperio & Fotheringham 1990 ; Loope & Simpson 1992 ;Smith et al 1993 ;Lea 1996 ;Roberts et al 1996) and archaeological (Michel 1968 ;Fowler et al 1976 ;Cramm & Fulford 1979 ;Smith et al 1981 ;Bahn & Vertut 1988) settings. Scrivner & Bottjer (1986) give a subtantial listing of papers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subfossil mammalian tracks (Flandrian) in the Severn Estuary, S. W. Britain: mechanics of formation, preservation and distribution

Allen

1997

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

156

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Mammalian tracks and trackways are widely preserved at all stratigraphical levels in the Flandrian sediments of tidal mudflat and marsh origins which formed over the last 8000–9000 years on the marginal wetlands of the inner Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. The fauna recorded in this way, however, is less diverse than that known from the few, small assemblages of skeletal remains, including some from archaeological sites, so far assessed. Missing or rarely represented in terms of tracks are the smaller of the large mammals. Humans are represented by tracks throughout the Flandrian deposits. In the earlier Flandrian, they were accompanied by deer and aurochs which gave way, in the later Flandrian, to domesticated cattle and sheep/goat; there are sporadic indications of the presence of horse. Wolf/dog, represented by just two records, is the only smaller large mammal so far recorded as a track. The tracks were made, modified, and eventually preserved under a wide variety of sedimentological conditions on the margins of the estuary. Those environmental conditions constrained the quality of the anatomical evidence preserved in the tracks but can be inferred from the character of the tracks. Field experiments suggest that the moisture content of the sediment at the time was crucial to the general nature of the tracks. The mudflat–marsh silts which received the tracks varied from semi–liquid to firm, depending on tidal and seasonal factors and on the elevation of the sedimentary surface relative to the tidal frame. Some tracks were made in marsh peats which offered little resistance. Deep tracks preserving little detail were produced in weak sediments of high moisture content; tracks formed in strong, firm muds retained full anatomical detail. Referring to mechanical theory, and to a series of laboratory experiments using plasticine, the act of making a track is shown to be similar in character and effect to the indentation of an ideal elastic–plastic material by a punch. The punch represents the descending limb of the animal, the face of the punch the sole of the animal's foot, and the elastic–plastic material the sediment which is pierced and deformed by the downward action of the limb. The character of the experimental tracks, and the range and relative size of the deformation structures they include, is qualitatively similar to what is recorded from the field. Many of the tracks recorded from the field were variously modified in a changeable and dynamic environment before final burial and preservation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subfossil mammalian tracks (Flandrian) in the Severn Estuary, S. W. Britain: mechanics of formation, preservation and distribution

Allen

1997

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

156

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“…Late Pleistocene (Palaeolithic) hominid tracks from cave sites show a predominance of juveniles, without signi®cant incidence of foot deformities, in association with bear, hyaena and (rare) fox tracks 59 . In contrast, outdoor Mesolithic 60 and Neolithic 61 sites contain more adult tracks, with higher incidence of foot abnormalities, in association with auroch, deer, unshod horse and bird footprints 61 . The use of the term`trace fossil' for several categories of butcher cut marks on bone 62 (Fig.…”

Section: What Can Be Learned From Tracks?mentioning

confidence: 94%

The vertebrate track record

Lockley¹

1998

Nature

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A renaissance in the study of fossil footprints has been driven by a multitude of discoveries and the realization that vertebrate ichnology makes important contributions to our understanding of terrestrial vertebrates. More striking is the insight the track record gives us into bias and incompleteness in the vertebrate fossil record.We recognize that the fossil record, especially that of terrestrial vertebrates, is incomplete, but is it as incomplete as we assume? A huge tetrapod track record ®lls many gaps in our knowledge of the distribution of fossil vertebrates 1±4 , and research into tetrapod ichnology has contributed to a range of palaeontological subdisciplines. Ichnology has generated its own extensive database, which complements the skeletal record in some cases but offers new insights in others. The data point to biases and gaps in the tetrapod fossil record 4,5 . De®ning and rede®ning the track recordWhat do tracks tell us about the fossil record? To answer this question effectively, we must rede®ne our understanding of the track record, evaluate what we have learned, and identify problems that still lie ahead. In the wake of the dinosaur renaissance 6 , the ®eld of vertebrate ichnology has grown rapidly. Great progress has been made in documentation of numerous track sites on all continents 1±4 and in understanding tracks as essential for correct reconstructions of posture and gait 7,8 . Ichnologists have also asked new questions about the usefulness of tracks for palaeoecological and biostratigraphical research, and shown that tracks help us to understand and measure bias in the body fossil record 5 .Despite commanding attention early in the nineteenth century 9,10

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“…As the waves scour through successive layers of laminated strata, footprints appear -human footprints, but also the prints of red and roe deer, auroch and crane. Research carried out on the Formby formations indicates a wide range of activity occurring on the Holocene mud flats -women collecting shellfish, men tracking deer and wild cattle, and many children, collecting but also mudlarking, dancing about for the joy of feeling mud between their toes (Huddart et al, 1999;Roberts et al, 1996). Imaginative reconstructions are given sustenance when such human-matter relations are laid bare and when the enfolding of lives into the processes of matter formation becomes visible.…”

Section: As the Flow Slows And Levels Out At The Bottom Of The Quarrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Quarry as Sculpture: The Place of Making

Paton

2013

Environ Plan A

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Practices of sculpture and geography have collaborated ever since Stone Age humans hoisted up rocks to point them into the air. The ephemerality of life was rendered in a circle of forms and mass that celebrated the union of sky, earth and dwelling. Through the manipulation of stone, the land became a place, it became a home, it became situated and navigable. As millennia unfolded, the land was written with the story of itself. The creativity woven into the story of place is an evolution of material viii I would like to express a special gratitude to my close friend Rose Ferraby, someone with whom I have been able to share a deep respect for stone and quarrying during our time as PhD researchers. I thank Rose for the many chats over the phone, for her humour, creativity, rigour and energy. I would also like to acknowledge the friendship, support and spirit of collaboration provided by Jane Bailey, Natalia Eernstman, Alyson Hallett and Andy Whall, during our shared experiences of carrying out PhDs.

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Intertidal Holocene footprints and their archaeological significance

Cited by 51 publications

References 5 publications

Subfossil mammalian tracks (Flandrian) in the Severn Estuary, S. W. Britain: mechanics of formation, preservation and distribution

Subfossil mammalian tracks (Flandrian) in the Severn Estuary, S. W. Britain: mechanics of formation, preservation and distribution

The vertebrate track record

The Quarry as Sculpture: The Place of Making

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