Special Issue

Soil chemistry provides the potential for interpreting the archaeological record without necessarily resorting to artifacts, historical documents, ethnoarchaeological observations, or experiments. The range of studies incorporating new technological developments, such as mass spectrometry and multi-element analyses, for analyzing and interpreting the chemical residues found at archaeological sites or modern contexts are increasing in the literature. However, the dilemmas of interpretation concentrate on evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques. Analytical approaches to how scientists make use of chemical residues to make statements about the past, discussed here, expand the potential of the breadth of techniques to investigate daily life activities and further our understanding of the materiality of social life.

Reviews the recent literature on soil sampling for spatial studies and then uses an example from prehispanic Honduras to examine how both quantitative and qualitative interpretations of soil chemical patterns can shift when sampling design changes. The results are argued to suggest that the principal challenges to selecting an appropriate sampling design are in determining the sample size and density, as well as recognizing and adequately dealing with variation in the soil properties being measured.

Describes the results of a program rooted in satellite remote sensing image analysis and spatial statistics, including new techniques, such as bulk density, loss on ignition, electrical conductivity, and salinity to argue that soil chemical analysis will benefit more from learning about structure and agency than from one single activity.