Social Spaces of Daily Life: A Reflexive Approach to the Analysis of Chemical Residues by Multivariate Spatial Analysis

Abstract

Studying human activities requires an examination of the inherent epistemological problems in building arguments about the past based on chemical residues and modern observations. A reflexive approach to the analysis of chemical residues at the San Lucas archaeological site, a Classic Hohokam settlement located in Marana, Arizona, represents a unique opportunity to evaluate current techniques and paradigms for the interpretation of daily life activities. By incorporating an innovative program rooted in satellite remote sensing image analysis and spatial statistics, including new techniques, such as bulk density, loss on ignition, electrical conductivity, and salinity, results suggest that soil chemical analysis will benefit more from learning about structure and agency than from one single activity.

Shallow and ploughed settlement sites in forested environment: Opportunities to multilevel prospection (an example of a prehistoric site in eastern Lithuania)

“…It is estimated that over 50 chemical elements may be used as indicators of anthropogenic activities and P, Ca, Zn, Cu, Mn and Pb are among the most common (Aston et al, 1998;Dirix et al, 2013;Entwistle et al, 1998Entwistle et al, , 2000Middleton & Price, 1996;Misarti et al, 2011;Oonk, Slomp, Huisman, & Vriend, 2009;Parnell et al, 2002;Salisbury, 2016;Wilson et al, 2008). Magnetic susceptibility (MS), soil organic matter (SOM), soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and even pH measurements may also reveal an environment-altering impact of anthropogenic activities (Clark, 1990;Dearing, 1994;Grabowski, 2014;L opez Varela & Dore, 2010;Marwick, 2005). This way, one can expect to trace anthropogenic inputs even at the ploughed sites with disturbed stratigraphy.…”