- Institute for Archaeological Sciences
(Institut für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie)
Rümelinstraße 23
72070 Tübingen
Germany - +49 7071 29-77060
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
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Resin-impregnated sediment blocks are a by-product of micromorphological sample processing. These blocks can be further studied using a variety of destructive, nondestructive, and minimally destructive geochemical techniques. X-ray... more
Resin-impregnated sediment blocks are a by-product of micromorphological sample processing. These blocks can be further studied using a variety of destructive, nondestructive, and minimally destructive geochemical techniques. X-ray fluorescence microanalyses conducted on sediment blocks yield semiquantitative major and trace elemental abundances that can be used to generate compositional maps, and to illustrate compositional change within or between archaeological strata and features. Sediment blocks can also be drilled to obtain small sediment samples for stable oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses. Both elemental and isotopic analyses can be conducted in conjunction with micromorphological analyses to yield a holistic picture of archaeological sediment composition, source, and depositional processes. The integration of micromorphological, compositional, and isotopic analyses is used here to aid in the differentiation of calcareous ash and lime plasters from the Neolithic site of Asıklı Höyük, Turkey.
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Combustion features inform archaeologists about the prehistoric use of space, subsistence behaviors, and tempo of site visitation. Their study in the field is difficult because burned sediments are susceptible to reworking and diagenesis.... more
Combustion features inform archaeologists about the prehistoric use of space, subsistence behaviors, and tempo of site visitation. Their study in the field is difficult because burned sediments are susceptible to reworking and diagenesis. Microarchaeological analyses, including micromorphology, are essential for documenting the composition, preservation, and function of hearths and other burned residues. These investigations focus on the description of fuels, depositional fabrics and structures, and mineralogy. As evidenced by a literature review, microarchaeological analyses have much to offer Paleolithic archaeologists, while applications of the techniques to Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites and in ethnographic or experimental contexts are presently rare.
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Site formation processes at the Late Pleistocene rockshelter deposit of Obi-Rakhmat were reconstructed through soil micromorphology and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The entire sequence has undergone limited diagenesis... more
Site formation processes at the Late Pleistocene rockshelter deposit of Obi-Rakhmat were reconstructed through soil micromorphology and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The entire sequence has undergone limited diagenesis and is well preserved. The base of the stratified sequence represents a karstic setting with intermittent, low-energy deposition of autochthonous gravitational debris and anthropogenic material in a wet, muddy environment. These sediments were post-depositionally affected by episodic waterlogging. The bulk of the sequence overlying the karstic layers comprises a continuous series of primary freshwater spring deposits containing reworked anthropogenic material that was buried penecontemporaneously with calcium carbonate deposition. The top of the sequence is weakly cryoturbated, indicating a periodically cold, wet environment. No alluvial elements that could suggest sediment inputs from the nearby river terraces were documented. A single exogenous layer was identified, representing an episode of colluviation from directly above the rockshelter preceding a major roofspall event. The basal part of the sequence contains slightly reworked anthropogenic remnants of intense activities, including combustion. The anthropogenic elements present in the spring deposits show higher degrees of reworking, suggesting within-layer translocation. The development of spring activity at the site did not cause humans to abandon the rockshelter; they continued to carry out their activities throughout a changing local environment. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.