This book presents the latest research on shell middens: sites that contain shell and are located near coastal and fluvial settings around the world. The shell imparts certain characteristics to sites such as complex discontinuous strata, low densities of artifacts, large volumes of deposits, alkaline chemistry and proximity to fluctuating sea level. The shell midden is often a product of both cultural and non-cultural events, such as saturation of the lower portion of the midden by rising sea level, or differential weathering of shell and bone. These non-cultural events affect cultural interpretations. The book aims to provide a detailed history of shell midden research and a description of procedures and analyses using an example of a Northwest Coast shell midden. Key Features * Excavation strategy * Use of microartifacts * Classification of fire-cracked rock * Detection of burned bone * Use of grain-size analysis on shell * Stratigraphic and sedimentological analysis

Deciphering a Shell Midden

History

Stein, Julie K.

Americas

Academic Press

Every year thousands of people visit the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. With a copy of Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory in hand, they will enjoy an introduction both to archaeology in general and to sites within San Juan Island National Historic Park. The Coast Salish people inhabited the San Juans for 5,000 years. One important site on San Juan Island, Cattle Point, was a summer camp where residents engaged in fishing and shellfish harvesting. Native peoples' recollections of activities there have been confirmed by physical evidence in the form of shell middens, fish bones, and other artifacts. Another San Juan site, English Camp, was a winter village site for 2,000 years. Structural remains provide insight into how people's lives and activities changed over time. Tools found at the site have allowed archaeologists to deduce that early residents ate camas bulbs and other plants, engaged in woodworking, weaving, fishing, and carving, and manufactured and used stone tools. Stein's discussions of the sites and archaeological practices are enhanced by numerous illustrations. Clear photos of different types of artifacts, topographical maps, and other images help the reader to understand how people lived in the San Juans thousands of years ago.

Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory: The Archaeology of San Juan Island (Burke Museum Monograph)

University of Washington Press

Selected papers from the Geological Society symposium on the effects of scale on archaeological and geoscientific perspectives, held in Dallas, Texas, in 1990. Among the topics: scale of soil investigations in archaeology, and geo-archaeological perspectives on the past. No index. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Effects of Scale on Archaeological and Geoscientific Perspectives (SPECIAL PAPER (GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA))

Geological Society of Amer

Almost every artifact in archaeological analysis originates in or on the ground. While there are elaborate methods for extracting and analyzing artifacts, treatment of the matrix within which they are located is often unsophisticated and does not include systematic analysis. Sediments in Archaeological Context concerns the analysis of this matrix and the potential use of sediments to answer archaeological questions. Describing sediments and sampling them in appropriate ways do not replace the study of artifacts, but they can provide additional, useful information regarding a site complex, its physical environment, and the relations of artifacts to each other. Each chapter in the volume considers sediments within a specific context. Topics include sediments found in a variety of environments: cultural environments, rockshelter and cave environments, dryland alluvial environments, humid alluvial environments, lake environments, shoreline environments, and spring and wetland environments. Sediments in Archaeological Context is intended for every archaeologist who investigates sites in depositional contexts.

Sediments In Archaeological Context

Politics & Social Sciences

Archaeology

University of Utah Press

Almost every artifact in archaeological analysis originates in or on the ground. While there are elaborate methods for extracting and analyzing artifacts, treatment of the matrix within which they are located is often unsophisticated and does not include systematic analysis. Sediments in Archaeological Context concerns the analysis of this matrix and the potential use of sediments to answer archaeological questions. Describing sediments and sampling them in appropriate ways do not replace the study of artifacts, but they can provide additional, useful information regarding a site complex, its physical environment, and the relations of artifacts to each other. Each chapter in the volume considers sediments within a specific context. Topics include sediments found in a variety of environments: cultural environments, rockshelter and cave environments, dryland alluvial environments, humid alluvial environments, lake environments, shoreline environments, and spring and wetland environments. Sediments in Archaeological Context is intended for every archaeologist who investigates sites in depositional contexts.

Archaeological Sediments in Context (Peopling of the Americas. Edited Volume Series, Vol 1)

Science & Math

Center for the Study of the First

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stein, Julie K.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Stein, Julie K.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stein, Julie K.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Deciphering a Shell Midden

Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory: The Archaeology of San Juan Island (Burke Museum Monograph)

Effects of Scale on Archaeological and Geoscientific Perspectives (SPECIAL PAPER (GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA))

Sediments In Archaeological Context

Sediments In Archaeological Context

Archaeological Sediments in Context (Peopling of the Americas. Edited Volume Series, Vol 1)