Revision:Studying the LandscapeTSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Archaeology > Studying the Landscape
Studying the Landscape
- Reconstruction of local area terrain, availability of water ground water, susceptibility to flooding. Conditions over different years. Loss of sits through erosion, inundation and burial under sediment.
- Glaciers can give us clue to possible resources of earlier ages.
- Varves etc layers of sediment thickness explaining climate
- Rivers: important as settlement often nearby due to settle deposits, changing course through natural processes shows lots of changes. Rough chronology of sites from rivers etc
- Sediments composition of information on weathering, past use of soil, and soil types.
- Soil development: source of sediment, process of soil formation, human modification. Butzer three types of human activity:
- Primary Cultural Deposits accumulate on the surface from human activity
- Secondary Cultural Deposits primary deposits that have undergone displacement
- Tertiary Cultural Deposits Completely removed from original context and may have been reused build terracing
- Ancient human landscapes: human effects with deforestation and farming also to build a better general picture of the site as a whole.
- Analysing whether human artefacts are in their primary context.
- Soil Micro morphology an activity take place indoors or outdoors, what type of one etc.
- Movement of sediment and sediment deposits show us Mediterranean over agricultural in some areas.
- Loess soil fine silt evidence of climatic change; cold dry climate. Linked to areas of Neolithic farming 0 70@ of LBK sites associated with this type of soil.
- Buried Land Surfaces fenland life, also half buried water trees showing us water levels and possible droughts (Anasazi cliff dwellers and Scott Sine droughts of 1209 1350.
- Tree ring analysis complete levels of moisture, growth, forest cover etc, helps explain why Jamestown colony occurred during an extraordinary drought 1606 - 1612
- Organic remains richest source of evidence for environmental reconstruction.
- Reconstructing the Plant Environment
- Main point suggest what vegetation people encountered at different times, base of food chain, local and human life, good reflection of climatic change.
- Pollen Analysis palynology fluctuation in vegetation through time. Pollen zones characterised by different plant communities.
- Ethiopia shown tropical wetter, greener, more tropical climate years ago.
- Phytoliths usages of plants as they survive for a relatively long time.
- Animal Environment complex relationship between animals and their environment.
- Smaller animals or microfauna more reflective of climatic and environmental change sensitive to oscillations better indicator of immediate environment
- Insects York 3rd century canal had grain flies (possibly showing granry as well as affluent).
- Reconstructing the Human Environment
- Main interest is why humans choose particular site or location for their settlement. Also spiritual or non-empirical factors.
- Modification of the immediate human environment examine closely traces of skins and fires etc
- Wider environment test water for pollution levels etc
- Land management physical evidence boundaries etc
- Humans bringing their own landscapes to new parts of the world was quickly and efficiently destructive.
- Easter Island prime example used to be a forest but is now completely grassland as now trees left.
SUMMARY
- Developed from inconsequential species at the mercy of the environment to huge influence over its surroundings. Determines WHERE and HOW people live, battery of techniques aiding explanations.
- Now looks at key variables that influence operation of cultural systems 0 no longer focus on individual sites, but on systems and changing patterns.
- History of the Countryside Rackham
- Landscape Archaeology soil marks, crop marks, wood banks, hedge banks, ridge and furrow and differences of level.
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