The acid test: An experimental microarchaeological study of guano-driven diagenesis in tropical cave sediments

McAdams, Conor; Morley, Mike W.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102947

Cited by 4 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Charcoal is present, but not in great abundance, possibly indicating that combustion/pyrotechnic activities were either taking place elsewhere in the cave (and being reworked to the study area in minor quantities) or were not a major occupation activity when this unit was deposited. While the reddish coloration and black coatings of some bone fragments suggest heating and burning [59], the extent of redoximorphism suggests that these features may also relate to post-depositional processes [22,60]. While the archaeologically sterile fabric unit resting on the flat rock may have been attached to the rock when it was deposited, it is interesting to note that, within LSU 1, shells in MC1B are less fragmented than those in MC1A.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used the IntCal20 dataset [51] to calibrate the radiocarbon ages using OxCal 4.4 [52]. We conducted OSL dating on individual sand-sized grains of quartz at the University of Wollongong using the same procedures as those used at the Con Moong Cave [22]. These OSL samples are still being analysed, and the impact of shell material on their external β dose rates is yet to be assessed (e.g.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radiocarbon dating of the aragonitic shells was carried out at the Waikato Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory using the same preparation procedures as described in McAdams et al . [22], including X-ray diffraction to confirm that shell recrystallization had not occurred. We used the IntCal20 dataset [51] to calibrate the radiocarbon ages using OxCal 4.4 [52].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bone is a porous material and its dissolution is greatly accelerated by wet/dry cycling [64,65]. Based on microstratigraphic investigations and taphonomic experiments [22,23], it has been suggested that bacteria may be more prominent taphonomic agents in the humid tropics than elsewhere. The phosphatic diagenesis that is recorded at the trampled surface at the upper extent of LSU 1 is likely to relate to guano deposition.…”

Section: Shell Midden Formation and Degradation Processes In North Vi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Con Moong Cave contains evidence of human occupation stretching back to before 42 ka [22], though not associated with shell midden deposition during this early period. The record at this site indicates that the human settlement of these upland landscapes was not a linear process, as episodes of site abandonment corresponded with episodes of climate deterioration during the Late Pleistocene at approximately 43.5 ka and approximately 30 ka.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Pleistocene shell midden microstratigraphy indicates a complex history of human–environment interactions in the uplands of northern Vietnam

McAdams

Morley

et al. 2022

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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North Vietnam is situated on a major route of Pleistocene hominin dispersal in East Asia, and the area's karstic caves preserve many prehistoric shell middens. Fossil and genomic evidence suggest a complex human history in this region and more widely across Southeast Asia and southern China, but related archaeological investigations are hampered by challenging site stratigraphies. Recent investigations of shell middens in other geographical settings have revealed the microstratigraphic complexity of these anthropogenic deposits. But caves promote distinctive site formation processes, while tropical climates may catalyse geomorphic and diagenetic changes. These environmental factors complicate the interpretation of North Vietnam's shell middens and constraining their effects upon the formation, preservation and destruction of these sites is critical to understanding the archaeology of this region. We examine two archaeological cave sites, dated to the Late Pleistocene and located in the limestone uplands surrounding the Hanoi Basin. Each contains multiple shell midden layers associated with prehistoric occupation and burials. Using thin-section micromorphology (microstratigraphy), we reconstruct the depositional and post-depositional histories of these sites, presenting a geoarchaeological framework of interpretation that is applicable to shell middens in mainland Southeast Asia and tropical zones more widely. This work represents a further step towards improving our understanding of prehistoric human dispersals and adaptations in this region. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Tropical forests in the deep human past’.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Shell Midden Formation and Degradation Processes In North Vi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Pleistocene shell midden microstratigraphy indicates a complex history of human–environment interactions in the uplands of northern Vietnam

McAdams

Morley

et al. 2022

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The ecosystem services framework in archaeology (and vice versa)

Katz

2022

People and Nature

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Economics, ecology and archaeology study various aspects of resource utilisation and mobilisation, differing in the studied systems, objects and currencies. However, the three disciplines have developed mostly independently, resulting in limited dialogue among them. Emergent fields such as ecological economics and environmental archaeology are now linking the three disciplines and promoting dialogue among them, but a theoretical framework that links all three disciplines at once is missing. I propose that ecosystem services (ES) can serve as such a theoretical framework. Moreover, after an ES‐centred framework establishes, it will be capable of further evolving – independently of ES—into a unified superdiscipline, relieving boundaries among disciplines. To demonstrate this potential, I present some examples of archaeology‐ES linkages, relating to the past, present and future. I show, in general, how archaeology studies past ES and informs us on current ES, as well as how ES benefit archaeological practice. Thus, I demonstrate the strong interface between archaeology and ES, and how it can promote the dialogue among the three disciplines, provide them with new practical tools, and resolve theoretical issues as the sustainability of ancient societies and anthropocentricity and monetisation of ES. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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The microstratigraphy and depositional environments of Lida Ajer and Ngalau Gupin, two fossil-bearing tropical limestone caves of west Sumatra

Anderson,

Morley,

McAdams

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Lida Ajer and Ngalau Gupin are karstic caves situated in the Padang Highlands, western Sumatra, Indonesia. Lida Ajer is best known for yielding fossil evidence that places the arrival of Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia during Marine Isotope Stage 4, one of the earliest records for the region. Ngalau Gupin recently produced the first record of hippopotamid Hexaprotodon on the island, representing the only globally extinct taxon in Pleistocene deposits from Sumatra. Microstratigraphic (micromorphological) analyses were applied to unconsolidated fossil-bearing cave sediments from these two sites. We use micromorphology as part of a micro-contextualised taphonomic approach to identify the diagenetic processes affecting fossils and sediments within these caves, through phases of their depositional history. The fossil-bearing sediments in Lida Ajer have been subjected to a suite of natural sedimentation processes ranging from water action to carnivore occupation, which would indicate the fossils underwent significant reworking prior to lithification of the deposit. The results demonstrate that the base of the unconsolidated fossil-bearing sediments in Ngalau Gupin were derived from the interior of the cave, where the matrix was partially phosphatized as a result of guano-driven diagenesis. These observations can be used to test hypotheses about the integrity of incorporated vertebrate remains and to aid in local palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The methods employed in this research have not previously been applied to cave sediments from sites in the Padang Highlands and provide key new insights into the palaeontological and natural history of the western region of Sumatra.

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The acid test: An experimental microarchaeological study of guano-driven diagenesis in tropical cave sediments

Cited by 4 publications

References 83 publications

Late Pleistocene shell midden microstratigraphy indicates a complex history of human–environment interactions in the uplands of northern Vietnam

Late Pleistocene shell midden microstratigraphy indicates a complex history of human–environment interactions in the uplands of northern Vietnam

The ecosystem services framework in archaeology (and vice versa)

The microstratigraphy and depositional environments of Lida Ajer and Ngalau Gupin, two fossil-bearing tropical limestone caves of west Sumatra

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