Earth Architecture and Construction in the colonial archaeological site of Piura la Vieja, La Matanza (Piura, Perú)

Ponencia en el congreso internacional RESTAPIA 2012 que recoge los resultados de los trabajos de investigación realizados en el yacimiento arqueológico colonial de Piura la Vieja, La Matanza (Piura, Perú).

Dating sediments in coastal areas and potential applications for constraining the palaeo-environmental context of an archaeological site at Vohemar

We present an overview on different environmental zones within coastal areas and summarise the physical basis behind the three most important methods that are available to date Holocene coastal sediments. Besides radiocarbon and uranium series dating, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (Osl) has increasingly been applied for dating in coastal settings over the past decade. This is illustrated by a number of case studies showing that Osl can be applied to sediments from almost any kind of coastal environment, covering a potential dating range from some years up to several hundred thousand years. Osl dating may hence be the method of choice for deciphering natural environmental change along coasts as well as the presence and the impact of human occupation in such areas. In addition, we briefly show how and where these dating methods could be applied to constrain the palaeo-environmental context of an archaeological site at Vohemar in north-eastern Madagascar.

Anisotropy-magnetic susceptibility from the Krems Wachtberg archaeological Site (Austria) and high temperature susceptibility

The loess sediment embedding the main Gravettian layer at the Krems-Wachtberg archaeological site facilitates exceptional preservation. To gain insight in the sedimentation process before and after the Paleolithic settlement, the magnetic fabric (preferential orientation of magnetic particles) of loess of the Krems-Wachtberg site is investigated. Magnetic fabric properties clearly show an eolian origin of the loess, but may indicate some relocation in the meter above the cultural layer. The magnetic fabric properties can be divided into three intervals, the top interval shows lowest foliation and inconsistent magnetic fabric directions. The middle interval around the main cultural layer shows low foliation, but a clear preferential NW - SE direction of the lineation. This lineation is interpreted as preferential direction of the eolian loess accumulation from the South-East. The interval below ca. 0.5 m underneath the main find horizon shows a northeast-southwest lineation, but an imbrication suggesting that sediment accumulation occurred perpendicular to this direction, similar to the interval around the find horizon.

An archaeological site near Gleeson, Arizona

Bibliography: p. 65-66.

Book Reviews

Mode of access: Internet.