Archaeological magnetometry in an Arctic setting: a case study from Maguse Lake, Nunavut

Hodgetts, Lisa; Dawson, Peter; Eastaugh, Edward

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.007

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Geophysical magnetic applications in Arctic archaeological research have been successful in identifying several types of anthropogenic remains, including middens, hearths and sunken turf houses (Eastaugh and Taylor, , ; Viberg et al ., ; ; Hodgetts et al ., ; Urban, ; Wolff and Urban ). Magnetic anomalies are caused by localized increases or decreases in magnetization, measured as variations from the background magnetic field.…”

Section: Geophysical Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wide use and success of geophysics in archaeology has been well documented in the literature (see Gaffney and Gater, ; Kvamme, ; Dalan, ; Johnson, ; Linford, ; Viberg et al ., ), yet its contributions to Arctic archaeological research remain limited to a few specific areas in North America (Eastaugh and Taylor, , ; Hodgetts et al ., ; Urban, ; Eastaugh et al ., ; Wolff and Urban, ), and the tundra mountains of Arctic Sweden (Viberg et al ., , ). This dearth of geophysical applications has been attributed to the small‐scale nature and commonly organic composition of hunter–gatherer remains in Canada and, specifically, in northern tundra regions where natural soil development processes are extremely slow and limited to a few centimetres thickness (Viberg et al ., ; Hodgetts et al ., ; Eastaugh et al ., ). The variable thickness of the soils and the near‐surface bedrock can create significant magnetic and electrical anomalies, making it more difficult to discern and separate anthropogenic signals in the data and leading to difficulties in the interpretation of the results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combined Geophysical Approach in a Complex Arctic Archaeological Environment: A Case Study from the LdFa‐1 Site, Southern Baffin Island, Nunavut

Landry

Ferguson

Milne

et al. 2015

Archaeological Prospection

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In 2014, we mapped the complex landscape of component Area 5 at LdFa-1, a 3000-year-old Palaeoeskimo site located in the deep interior of southern Baffin Island, using a combined magnetic and electromagnetic approach to define the physical characteristics of any large-or small-scale anthropogenic anomalies. Measurements were made using a GEM Systems Overhauser magnetometer-gradiometer and Geonics EM31 instrument, and a survey configuration designed to map in high resolution the total magnetic field, magnetic susceptibility and electrical conductivity responses of the underlying soils. Data-reduction methods were used for each survey, including, for example, removal of temporal drift, to produce final responses related closely to the subsurface physical properties. Six geophysical responses are presented in the results: total magnetic field, vertical magnetic gradient, horizontal-and verticaldipole-mode apparent susceptibility, and horizontal-and vertical-dipole-mode apparent conductivity. Spatial assemblages of small-scale (<2 m) anomalies, correlated between the magnetic and magnetic susceptibility results and interpreted to be associated with groupings of igneous boulders in the shallow subsurface, define three areas of archaeological interest. One grouping is a roughly circular arrangement of anomalies with a diameter of 4 m. Its spatial correlation with a productive excavation unit at the site suggests an anthropogenic origin. The complementarity of data acquired at this site reduces the chances of misidentifying anomalies, for example, the apparent conductivity results support interpretation of larger-scale anomalies observed at the site as being of lithogenic origin. This archaeogeophyiscal case study demonstrates the value of geophysical investigation in a complex Arctic archaeological environment and its role in providing information on subsurface archaeological features.

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Section: Geophysical Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Geophysical Approach in a Complex Arctic Archaeological Environment: A Case Study from the LdFa‐1 Site, Southern Baffin Island, Nunavut

Landry

Ferguson

Milne

et al. 2015

Archaeological Prospection

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“…However, while near-surface geophysical techniques are used in a variety of Arctic applications, including the study of permafrost (Kneisel et al 2008; Wu et al 2009), paleoclimate (Begét 1996; Vandenberghe et al 2004), and depositional and erosional processes (Nesje et al 2001; Zhu et al 2003), they are rarely employed in the investigation of archaeological sites. Their potential in this context is illustrated by their use to identify buried historic iron artifacts (Arnold 1982; Gibson 1982), locate buried dwellings, burials, middens, and burnt features, including hearths (Eastaugh and Taylor 2005, 2011; Stamnes and Gustavsen 2014; Viberg et al 2009; Viberg et al 2013), identify buried stone features, including tent rings (Landry et al 2015), and distinguish anthropogenic features from naturally occurring permafrost and geological features (Hodgetts et al 2011; Wolff and Urban 2013).…”

Section: Archaeological Geophysics and The Arctic Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Magnetometry in Managing Arctic Archaeological Sites in the Face of Climate Change

Hodgetts¹,

Eastaugh²

2017

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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Climate change is impacting archaeological sites around the globe, and Arctic sites are among the most vulnerable because the region is experiencing particularly rapid change. In the face of this threat, archaeologists, heritage managers, and northern communities need to develop strategies for documenting and monitoring Arctic sites and prioritizing them for further investigation. Using three case studies from Banks Island in the western Canadian Arctic, we demonstrate how magnetometer survey could assist in this process, despite the region's poorly developed soils, widespread glacial tills, and periglacial geomorphology, which pose challenges for the technique. The case studies illustrate the utility of magnetometry in mapping both archaeological and permafrost features in the Arctic, allowing it to rapidly investigate site structure and assess the level of threat due to climate change.

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“…Houses range from 3.5 to 4.5 m in diameter. They were constructed by digging a halfmetre-deep circular pit into lake-shore sands and esker gravels then building up the sediments around the perimeters (Hodgetts et al 2011). Hearth features were established in the centres of the houses.…”

Section: The Ikirahak Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…These sites suggest that some Taltheilei people spent longer periods of time living at tundra‐based settlements during colder seasons (Hodgetts et al . ). Our study site, the Ikirahak site, is one of these settlements.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Untangling natural and anthropogenic multi‐element signatures in archaeological soils at the Ikirahak site, Arctic Canada

Butler

Dawson

2017

Boreas

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Multi-element archives housed within archaeological soils and sediments are useful for identifying ancient human activities invisible to routine methodologies. These records, however, are rarely studied in the Canadian Arctic. Contributing to this area of research, we address the fundamental issue of isolating natural and anthropogenic multielement signatures in archaeological soils from the region. We specifically investigated the element record in the soil system at the Ikirahak site, a Taltheilei hunter-gatherer camp in southern Nunavut that was established roughly 2000 years ago. Ikirahak soils displayed high potential for the preservation of anthropogenic element additions. This owes to the fine textures, high cation adsorbance capacities and acidic pH levels of the local soils, as well as the absence of processes such as brunification and solifluction. Multi-element characterization was accomplished using x-ray fluorescence and inductively coupled plasma -mass spectroscopy. Several locations with anomalous concentrations were pinpointed using enrichment factors. Natural and anthropogenic signals were untangled using categorical principal components analysis of a mixed quantitative/qualitative data set comprised of the element concentrations and contextual information such as the presence of specific archaeological materials, organic matter content, and vegetation communities. Results indicated that enrichments in CaO, P 2 O 5 , Ba, Fe 2 O 3 , MnO, Cu and Sc across the site relate to the disposal of burned refuse that was produced in pit-house hearths. Concentrations of Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs (alkali metals), Mg and Sr (alkaline earths), Ti, V, Cr, Ni, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo and Hf (transition metals), Al, Ga and Pb (post-transition metals), and La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu (rare earths) were linked to esker and lacustrine parent sediments.

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Archaeological magnetometry in an Arctic setting: a case study from Maguse Lake, Nunavut

Cited by 18 publications

References 15 publications

Combined Geophysical Approach in a Complex Arctic Archaeological Environment: A Case Study from the LdFa‐1 Site, Southern Baffin Island, Nunavut

Combined Geophysical Approach in a Complex Arctic Archaeological Environment: A Case Study from the LdFa‐1 Site, Southern Baffin Island, Nunavut

The Role of Magnetometry in Managing Arctic Archaeological Sites in the Face of Climate Change

Untangling natural and anthropogenic multi‐element signatures in archaeological soils at the Ikirahak site, Arctic Canada

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