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Archaeological Soil Micromorphology

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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

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Introduction

Archaeological soil micromorphology, which has become increasingly developed as a technique over the last 70 years, is now a major global component of geoarchaeological investigations. This is because it not only provides information for landscape studies but is best able to identify site formation processes, land use such as numerous types of cultivation, and use of space within houses and settlements (Lee et al. 2014). Key to this is the recognition that soils and sediments are not only worthy of contextual study but also that being artifacts they are a fundamental part of the archaeological record.

Definition

Archaeological soil micromorphology is adapted from soil science and geology using thin sections and the polarizing microscope, where undisturbed soils and sediment samples are stabilized by resin impregnation before thin sectioning. This method has now become developed specifically in order to investigate soils and sediments affected or produced by humans; the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK

    Richard I. Macphail

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  1. Richard I. Macphail
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Correspondence to Richard I. Macphail .

Section Editor information

  1. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK

    Dorian Q. Fuller

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Macphail, R.I. (2019). Archaeological Soil Micromorphology. In: Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_227-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_227-2

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