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Soil Chemistry of Postmolds and Rodent Burrows: Identification without Excavation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Nikolaas J. van der Merwe  and
Pat H. Stein
Nikolaas J. van der Merwe
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Binghamton
Pat H. Stein
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Brandeis University
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Abstract

Chemical analyses of soil samples from the Utz site, Missouri, provide results which make it possible to distinguish between soil stains of human origin (postmolds) and similar stains produced by other agencies (for example, rodents). Based on the comparison of the concentrations of magnesium and phosphates in the stains with those of the immediately surrounding soil, postmolds were correctly identified with 96% accuracy in a limited sample. Other soil disturbances in the site (bulldozer drag, an old excavation, and so forth) were also localized on chemical grounds during the course of the research.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 1972 , pp. 245 - 254
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1972

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References

Christy, C. M. 1964 Soil testing in Missouri. Soils Department, University of Missouri, mimeographed.Google Scholar