Marco Gonzalez, Ambergris Caye, Belize: A geoarchaeological record of ground raising associated with surface soil formation and the presence of a Dark Earth

Abstract

Highlights  Maya site formation processes including ground-raising from industrial activity and waste accumulation.  Insights into off site mud flat sedimentation from sponge spicule-rich clays used as a lime plaster floor temper and as a hypothetical source for producing brine for salt processing.  Late Classic marine inundation event at ca. 0.39m asl.  The characterisation of a Maya Dark Earth formed from weathered lime floors and ash deposits in contrast to typical Amazonian Dark Earths.  A proposal to distinguish modern surface soils from a Dark Earth owing to the paucity of charcoal and the presence of elements such as mercury.

Anthropogenic Soils Promote Biodiversity in Amazonian Rainforests

“…Similar biological selection processes probably occurred and are likely operating in other anthropogenic soils, either already created or being formed in various regions of the world (e.g., West Africa, Europe, Central America etc.) [36][37][38] . Studying the pathways to species selection (and possibly diversification) in ADEs and other anthropogenic soils requires further work, particularly expanding microbial and invertebrate biodiversity inventories.…”

Additional adjustment to the manuscript

“…Recorded use of this soil date at least 5000 Cal Years BP, with the majority forming between 1000 -2000 Cal Years BP (Whitehead et al, 2010). Statistical modeling indicates that more than 150 000 km2, representing 3.2% of the Amazon forest, may harbor dark earth soils from past settlement sites (McMichael et al, 2014). Although Amazonian dark earth occurs throughout Amazonia, however, mostly found in the central and eastern forests and riverine settings (Sombroek et al, 2002;Glaser and Birk, 2012).…”

“…1. Introduction Humans influenced historical events, such as plants and animals' domestication and metallurgy, have been responsible for changes in natural landscapes (Peverill et al, 1999;Howard, 2017). Many human activities are responsible for soil alteration; a blatant example is the creation of dark cultural horizons, mainly termed as archaeological black earth (ABE).…”

“…ABE formation consisted of a deliberate and unintentional accumulation of layers because of settlement activities, wastes deposition, charred residues, bones, shells, and biomass ashes from prehistoric up to recent times. Such anthropogenic soils usually are characterized by higher concentrations in macro-(e.g., N, P, K, and Ca) and micronutrients (e.g., Mn, Cu, and Zn), that determines a difference in terms of main physical-chemical properties in comparison to neighboring (natural) soils Nicosia et al, 2017). Archaeological black earth soils are physically characterized by black, dark brown, or dark grey color (Asare et al, 2020a, b).…”

“…The depth of the ABE mostly ranges from 0.4 to 0.8 m and can extend up to 1m or more (Courty et al, 1989;, with increasing depth indicating increasing longevity and intensity of settlement activities. Many studies on ABE previously were limited to visual descriptions of different organic and inorganic inclusions, archaeological features, artifacts, and post-depositional modifications (Runge, 1973;Mücher et al, 1990;van Smeerdijk et al, 1995). More recently, some authors used micromorphological analyses to determine the variability of ABEs concerning the position in local catena's, parent materials, and broader landscape locations (e.g., Glaser et al, , 2003b.…”