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Geoarchaeology in Alluvial Landscapes

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Earth Sciences and Archaeology

Abstract

This chapter is a discussion of geoarchaeology in fluvial environments ranging from temperate to arid. This environmental framework is chosen because of the striking differences in fluvial systems that pertain to alluvial records across different environments. The archaeological objectives in these different settings may differ slightly, owing to unique or specialized forms of adaptation in different environments; for example, the use of irrigation. But in the main, it is the characteristics of alluvial landforms, deposits, and soils that vary across bioclimatic clines, rather than the kinds of archaeological questions and problems that are pursued there. In this sense, geoarchaeological methods employed for defining stratigraphic frameworks, dating deposits and sites, and reconstructing environments and site formation histories are not specific to certain bioclimatic settings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, 76203, USA

    C. Reid Ferring

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  1. Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Paul Goldberg

  2. University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Vance T. Holliday

  3. University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA

    C. Reid Ferring

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Ferring, C.R. (2001). Geoarchaeology in Alluvial Landscapes. In: Goldberg, P., Holliday, V.T., Ferring, C.R. (eds) Earth Sciences and Archaeology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1183-0_4

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