The Study of Archaeological Floors: Methodological Proposal for the Analysis of Anthropogenic Residues by Spot Tests, ICP-OES, and GC-MS

Abstract

The identification of chemical activity residues on archaeological surfaces requires the analysis of large numbers of samples, which can be costly and time consuming. Researchers wishing to apply sediment chemistry often are confronted with a dilemma of which technique to use and how to accommodate sediment chemistry into their budget. We propose an approach to the identification of chemical activity residues in which semiquantitative spot tests, which are cheap, quick, and easy to apply, are employed as an initial phase of analysis in order to leverage the results of more timeconsuming and costly instrumental techniques. Three examples that pair spot tests with gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry analysis show that spot tests successfully identify areas of interest. This approach can save both time and research funds.

Reconstructing site organization in the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska using multi-element chemical analysis of soils

“…Weak-acid element extraction of soils was used in this study (Burton and Simon, 1993;Hoffman, 2002;Knudson and Frink, 2010a,b;Knudson et al, 2004;Middleton and Price, 1996;Middleton, 1998;Middleton et al, 2010;Wells, 2004). Weak-acid extraction is preferred over strong-acid dilution because the goal of this type of study is to analyze the more mobile elements such as those deposited by human activity and not the chemical composition of the parent material, which would be released through more aggressive acid-dilutions (please see Middleton, 2004 for a more comprehensive discussion).…”

Multi-element characterization of archaeological floors at the prehistoric archaeological sites at Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in Northeast Thailand

“…Barba and Bello (1978) introduced chemical analysis to the analysis of archaeological floor areas in Mesoamerica. Since then, the analysis of chemical residues in archaeological surfaces has been applied widely in the interpretation of archaeological occupation areas (Middleton et al, 2010). Barba (2007) studied human activities in the lime-plastered floors in Mesoamerica, using differences in specific chemical residue quantities as evidence for ancient disturbance of presumed homogeneous floors.…”

Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry: an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania

“…In Bėčionys, one group of statistically-related (p<0.001) variables that had high RSD (relative standard deviation) and featured the consistent enhancement included Ca, Mg, Sr, SIC, and pH. The elevation pattern of Ca, Mg and Sr has been shown by numerous studies to correlate with the archaeological record and to be derived from bones, shells, and shell sand; these elements might indicate food preparation sites, wood ash and cultivated fields fertilized with domestic waste (Holliday 2004;Middleton, Price 1996;Middleton et al 2010;Wilson 2008;Salisbury 2016), whereas high pH is related to ash and fireplaces (Entwistle et al 1998;Holliday 2004;Dore, López Varela 2010). In Bėčionys, the concentration of SIC and alkaline earth metals was mostly high for samples from the substratum context (CL.3) and thus should be attributed to the calcareous geology of the site rather than to human activity.…”

“…(Aston et al 1998;Bintliff et al 1990;Davidson et al 2007;De Vos, Tarvainen 2006;Holliday, Gartner 2007;Linderholm, Lundberg 1994;Middleton et al 2010;Oonk et al 2009a;Ottaway, Matthews 1988;Parnell et al 2002;Salisbury 2016;Wilson et al 2008). The combustion process has been found to have a concentration Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry: an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania mechanism that suggests a role for bone and black carbonised particles in the post-depositional uptake and retention of enhanced elements (Aston et al 1998;Middleton 2004;Davidson et al 2007).…”