| Abstract: |
The book discusses the study of soils as a component of earth science applications in archaeology. It focuses on how the study of soils can be integrated with other aspects of archaeological and geoscientific research. The book approaches soils as a function of and as clues to the factors of soil formation -- that is, the external or environmental factors of climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time that drive the processes of soil formation -- and outlines the potential and realized applications of soil science, especially pedology and soil geomorphology, in archaeology. The author begins by presenting introductory discussions of soils in geoarchaeology and basic concepts; basic terminology and methods for studying soils; and theoretical or conceptual aspects of soil genesis. Two fundamental applications of soils in geoarchaeological research -- soil surveys and soil stratigraphy -- are then discussed. The next few chapters are explicitly organised around the soil-forming factors: the concept of time in pedogenesis and soils as age indicators; soils as indicators of past climate and vegetation; and soils as related to and indicators of relief and landscape evolution. The final chapters discuss soils in the context of site-formation processes, and land use and human impacts on the landscape. The author addresses each of these topics in terms of fundamentals as well as in field case histories from a range of locations, focussing on principles of soil geomorphology, soil stratigraphy, and soil chemistry and their applications in archaeological research. Includes |
