INTRODUCTION

The following discussion is based on 42 sediment samples collected in 1998 and processed at the University of Michigan; it also includes comparisons made with the sediment studies published by Henri-Martin (1957). Coordinates of the sample locations were determined in the field with a total station, except for the samples from the Witness Section and samples FCH 11 and FCH 12 in Henri-Martin's old Test Pit 3 (designated as “Test Pit” in recent excavations). Stratum designations were taken from tags on the section faces, where these still existed, and from information supplied by the excavators. Strata identified in the 1998 study are labeled “Levels” in this chapter, and the term “Beds” is retained for the strata in Henri-Martin's earlier study.

In attempting comparisons with the sections of Henri-Martin, it would have been useful to know the relation of the present datum to her “ligne de repère” (datum line), but it could not be located. Although Henri-Martin's sediment analysis, both physical and chemical, has been studied in some detail, the locations of her samples are quite indeterminate, being identified only to “secteur” (sector; see Fig. 1.8) and “couche” (bed), but she gives no depths, limiting close comparisons with the current data.

SAMPLE COLLECTION

Samples are labeled FCH 1–2, FCH 3–1, etc., where the first digit stands for the sample column and the second is the specific sample number from “1” at the top progressively downward in that column.