Making the Most of Soils in Archaeology. A Review

Salisbury, Roderick B.; Bull, Ian D.; Cereda, Susanna; Draganits, Erich; Dulias, Katharina; Meyer, Matthias; Kowarik, Kerstin; Rebay‐Salisbury, Katharina

doi:10.1553/archaeologia106s319

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Best practice recommendations for situations where undamaged urns are recovered include systematic sampling of the grave-pit fill and the fill of the urn for multi-proxy analysis to test the burials for signatures of degraded body tissue and environmental conditions [ 67 ]. Samples were ground to analytical fineness, and sub-samples (each 0.5 g) were digested (leached) in 10 mL of mixture of inorganic acids (HNO 3 /HCl 10:1, HNO 3 65% (~14M), HCl 37% (12M)) in platinum crucible for 1 hour on a hot plate (90°C) and then transferred to a 50 mL volumetric flask.…”

Section: Methods and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

More than urns: A multi-method pipeline for analyzing cremation burials

Waltenberger,

Bosch,

Fritzl

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Burial rites of archaeological populations are frequently interpreted based on cremated remains of the human body and the urn they were deposited in. In comparison to inhumations, information about the deceased is much more limited and dependent on fragmentation, selection of body regions, taphonomic processes, and excavation techniques. So far, little attention has been paid to the context in which urns are buried. In this study, we combined archaeological techniques with anthropology, computed tomography, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, geochemistry and isotopic approaches and conducted a detailed analysis on a case study of two Late Bronze Age urns from St. Pölten, Austria (c. 1430 and 1260 cal. BCE). The urns were recovered en-bloc and CT-scanned before the micro-excavation. Osteological and strontium isotope analysis revealed that the cremated remains comprised a young adult female and a child that died at the age of 10–12 years. Both individuals had been subject to physiological stress and were likely local. Animal bones burnt at different temperatures suggested different depositional pathways into the urn and pit as part of the pyre, food offerings, and unintentional settlement debris. Eight wild plant and five crop plant species appeared as part of the local landscape, as food offerings and fire accelerants. Sediment chemistry suggests that pyre remains were deposited around the urns during burial. Multi-element geochemistry, archaeobotany, and zooarchaeology provide insights into the Late Bronze Age environment, the process of cremation, the gathering of bones and final funerary deposition.

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Section: Methods and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

More than urns: A multi-method pipeline for analyzing cremation burials

Waltenberger,

Bosch,

Fritzl

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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“…Another requirement is to apply a combination of different methods. Various geochemical methods can be applied to measure the contents of relevant nutrients, especially when they are not mobile and stabilized by binding mechanisms, but the results are not strictly unambiguous (e.g., Salisbury et al., 2022). Less common are studies that consider additions of mineral material as soil amelioration material, and this is also even more difficult to detect (Druzhinina et al., 2022).…”

Section: Methods To Detect Prehistoric Fertilizing In Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methods To Detect Prehistoric Fertilizing In Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest archeological evidence of fertilization in Central Europe

Scharl

Zerl

Eckmeier

et al. 2023

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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The beginnings of food production-animal husbandry and crop cultivation-and of a sedentary way of life represent one of the most drastic changes in human history. Likewise, this is accompanied by an increasing human impact on nature, which is mainly caused by agricultural practices. Agriculture is related to the clearing of forests, tillage, maintenance of the cultivated land, and finally harvesting, which alters not only the vegetation cover but also soil fertility as there is a potential risk for a loss of nutrients. People already countered this loss of nutrients in the times of early agriculture through different techniques and practices. The article summarizes the earliest evidence of fertilization in the prehistory of Central Europe and presents the most important methods for their investigation. What significance fertilization had for early farming societies can presently not be estimated due to the small amount of data. We therefore advocate the development of a routine for sampling during archaeological excavations and for the analysis of various materials (sediment and plant remains) using various methods. For this, the awareness must be raised that anthropogenic sediments, such as pit fills, are important archives for research into the history of humankind.

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“…Soil analysis, including the study of biomarkers, diatoms, environmental DNA, and phytoliths, are becoming ever more commonplace in modern human archaeology (Neumann et al, 2016;Salisbury et al, 2022;Stone & Yost, 2020). Combined with micro-archaeology (Salisbury et al, 2022;Weiner, 2010), this…”

Section: Archaeology Beyond Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Primate archaeology should also take advantage of the latest archaeological advances. Soil analysis, including the study of biomarkers, diatoms, environmental DNA, and phytoliths, are becoming ever more commonplace in modern human archaeology (Neumann et al, 2016; Salisbury et al, 2022; Stone & Yost, 2020). Combined with micro‐archaeology (Salisbury et al, 2022; Weiner, 2010), this research can reveal previously overlooked behavioral traces, and provide greater ecological resolution.…”

Section: Archaeology Beyond Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate archaeology 3.0

Pascual‐Garrido,

Carvalho,

Almeida‐Warren

2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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The new field of primate archaeology investigates the technological behavior and material record of nonhuman primates, providing valuable comparative data on our understanding of human technological evolution. Yet, paralleling hominin archaeology, the field is largely biased toward the analysis of lithic artifacts. While valuable comparative data have been gained through an examination of extant nonhuman primate tool use and its archaeological record, focusing on this one single aspect provides limited insights. It is therefore necessary to explore to what extent other non‐technological activities, such as non‐tool aided feeding, traveling, social behaviors or ritual displays, leave traces that could be detected in the archaeological record. Here we propose four new areas of investigation which we believe have been largely overlooked by primate archaeology and that are crucial to uncovering the full archaeological potential of the primate behavioral repertoire, including that of our own: (1) Plant technology; (2) Archaeology beyond technology; (3) Landscape archaeology; and (4) Primate cultural heritage. We discuss each theme in the context of the latest developments and challenges, as well as propose future directions. Developing a more “inclusive” primate archaeology will not only benefit the study of primate evolution in its own right but will aid conservation efforts by increasing our understanding of changes in primate‐environment interactions over time.

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Making the Most of Soils in Archaeology. A Review

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

More than urns: A multi-method pipeline for analyzing cremation burials

More than urns: A multi-method pipeline for analyzing cremation burials

Earliest archeological evidence of fertilization in Central Europe

Primate archaeology 3.0

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