Supermagnetic enhancement, superparamagnetism, and archaeological soils

Peters, C.; Thompson, Roy

doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6548(199906)14:5<401::aid-gea3>3.0.co;2-a

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Within Atlantic Scotland, a regional zone defined by Piggott (1966) and Batt and Dockrill (1998) have integrated magnetic susceptibilities, gradiometry, and archaeomagnetic data with other archaeological evidence to evaluate site formation processes and land management strategies at the multi-period site of Old Scatness, Shetland. Mineral magnetic enhancement has also been demonstrated in the eroding archaeological coastal sites of St. Boniface, Orkney (Peters and Thompson, 1999), and Galson, Lewis , the signal being fixed through burning on hearths and the subsequent spread of ash throughout the archaeological contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Sourcing fire ash on archaeological sites in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland, using mineral magnetism

2007

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The application of a new technique developed to identify different fuel sources from ash on nine archaeological sites in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland is presented. The technique is based on variations observed in the mineral magnetic signatures that derive from the experimental burning of different fuels. The application of the technique is successful, demonstrating both uniformity and diversity in fuel use. A marked continuity of practice in fuel procurement is apparent over thousands of years from seven sites in Lewis, with well-humified peat the dominant fuel source. This implies a long-term stability in the division and tenure of the peatlands. Greater magnetic variation is displayed by the samples from Cladh Hallan, South Uist, and Scatness, Shetland, suggesting more diverse fuel procurement strategies were in operation at these sites. The uniformity and diversity in fuel types also has implications in terms of the residuality of plant remains from the fuel source within archaeobotanical assemblages recovered from the sites.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Sourcing fire ash on archaeological sites in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland, using mineral magnetism

2007

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“…Peters and Thompson [62], using archaeological soils from Orkney and Cyprus, suggest burning produces significant fine-grained magnetic minerals, of SP grains close to the SP-SD boundary. Studies of wood ash in modern fire pits [63] also indicate fine-grained magnetic minerals, probably magnetite, with a large contribution from SP grains.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cutbank Geophysics: A New Method for Expanding Magnetic Investigations to the Subsurface Using Magnetic Susceptibility Testing at an Awatixa Hidatsa Village, North Dakota

Dalan

Sturdevant

Wallace³

et al. 2017

Remote Sensing

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Magnetic susceptibility investigations were conducted at an Awatixa Hidatsa village (32ME11, also known as Sakakawea Village) along a cutbank at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (KNRI) in central North Dakota, USA. This extensive exposure provided a superb opportunity to correlate magnetic susceptibility measurements with a variety of subsurface features. These features were visible in the cutbank, and also recorded in cutbank profiles completed in the late 1970s in work supervised by Robert Nickel and Stanley Ahler. The susceptibility studies are part of a larger program of geophysics at KNRI that commenced with pioneering surveys of John Weymouth and Robert Nickel, also in the 1970s, and continued with extensive surface-based magnetic surveys over the interior portion of the site in 2012 by the National Park Service. Our magnetic susceptibility study differs from other geophysical efforts in that measurements were collected from the vertical cutbank, not from the surface, to investigate different feature types within their stratigraphic context and to map small-scale vertical changes in susceptibility. In situ measurements of volume magnetic susceptibility were accomplished on the cutbank at six areas within the village and a control location off-site. Samples were collected for use in soil magnetic studies aimed at providing an understanding of susceptibility contrasts in terms of magnetic mineralogy, grain size, and concentration. Distinctive susceptibility signatures for natural and cultural soils, different feature types, and buried soils, suggest that down-hole susceptibility surveys could be usefully paired with surface-based geophysics and soil magnetic studies to explore interior areas of this and other KNRI sites, mapping vertical and horizontal site limits, activity areas, features, and perhaps even earlier occupations. This study showcases the potential of cutbank studies for future geophysical survey design and interpretation, and also underscores the importance of information gained through pioneering studies of the past.

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“…The magnetic enhancement of soils is used as a proxy indicator for long term patterns of rainfall and drought such as the 2.5 million year record of the Chinese Loess Plateau, and a 500,000 year record in southern Illinois (Grimley, et al 2003;Maher and Thompson 1995). Magnetic susceptibility values can indicate the presence of buried paleosols and anthropogenic activity, contributing to the geomorphic interpretation used to identify archaeological site formation processes (Batt and Dockrill 1998;Crowther 2003;Macphail, et al 2004;Marwick 2005;Peters, et al 2001;Peters and Thompson 1999).…”

Section: Data Recovery Excavation Mapping Unit Designations and Sampmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of magnetic materials and their level of intensity have numerous sources that include the original base material for the soil, the addition of magnetic particles from natural deposition from wind blown loess and ash, pedogenic processes that include both biogenic and inorganic chemical transformations, and anthropogenic enhancement (Crowther 2003;Hanesch and Scholger 2005;Maher and Thompson 1995;Peters and Thompson 1999;Singer, et al 1996). …”

Section: Data Recovery Excavation Mapping Unit Designations and Sampmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two sources of magnetic enhancement from fire are the heating and burning of the topsoil and the introduction of ash and burned organic matter. Peters and Thompson (1999) Samples were placed in 6 cm3 plastic containers and were analyzed with a Bartington MS2 Magnetic Susceptibility meter and a dual frequency detector operating at a low frequency (LF) of 0.465 kHz and high frequency (HF) of 4.65 kHz. Samples were analyzed by mass and data was collected directly from the MS2 into Multisus 2 © software on a Dell Latitude notebook computer.…”

Section: Data Recovery Excavation Mapping Unit Designations and Sampmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Archaeological Investigations at the Ice House Site, 41HY161: Early Archaic Technology, Subsistence, and Settlement Along the Balcones Escarpment, Hays County, Texas

Oksanen¹

2010

ITA

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Supermagnetic enhancement, superparamagnetism, and archaeological soils

Cited by 18 publications

References 14 publications

Sourcing fire ash on archaeological sites in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland, using mineral magnetism

Sourcing fire ash on archaeological sites in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland, using mineral magnetism

Cutbank Geophysics: A New Method for Expanding Magnetic Investigations to the Subsurface Using Magnetic Susceptibility Testing at an Awatixa Hidatsa Village, North Dakota

Archaeological Investigations at the Ice House Site, 41HY161: Early Archaic Technology, Subsistence, and Settlement Along the Balcones Escarpment, Hays County, Texas

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