Charles French

Microstratigraphic traces of site formation processes and human activities

Abstract The aim of this paper is to show how micromorphology is able to furnish information with the degree of precision necessary for analysing site formation processes and traces of activities in a variety of settings. Use of large resin‐impregnated thin sections allows contextual analysis of taphonomy and depositional relationships between sediments and artefact and bioarchaeological remains. We illustrate this by reference to results from a three‐year NERC project which examined depositional sequences in core domestic and ritual contexts in three early urban sites in the Near East in different sociocultural and environmental contexts. We discuss how micromorphology is able to trace different pre‐depositional, depositional and post‐depositional histories of components, before considering its contribution to detecting spatial and temporal variation in uses of space; enabling identification of single depositional episodes within secondary contexts. Together these capacities are providing richly networke...

Flag Fen, Fengate, Peterborough I: Discovery, Reconnaissance and Initial Excavation (1982–85)

The discovery and initial excavation of an unenclosed, timber platform settlement site of Late Bronze Age date is described. The site is located in open Fen just off the Fen-edge at Fengate in an area of well-known prehistoric activity. The site includes the remains of a remarkably well-preserved three-aisled rectangular building, with at least two floor levels still intact. Finds include items of pottery, flint and wood. Current environmental research is outlined and the report concludes with a discussion of the sites role and status.

Water management and agricultural intensification of rice farming at the late-Neolithic site of Maoshan, Lower Yangtze River, China

Intensifying water management for rice farming and related land use involves increasing labour investment in transforming local landscapes. By applying geoarchaeological investigation at the well-preserved late-Neolithic rice paddy site of Maoshan, Lower Yangtze River, during the excavation, this study provides detailed information of the changing relationship between water management, agricultural intensification, environmental change and social evolution during the critical time period of the late Holocene. It illustrates that the intensification of rice farming was facilitated by successful water management and landscape management in most time, and it was the combined effect of gradually increasing aridity, fluctuating sea-level patterns and increasing labour investment in water management that led to the eventual abandonment of the paddy field at the end of the Neolithic in this region. This study therefore draws attention from large-scale sites to small-scale, but economically important, sites in enhancing our understanding of the dynamic relationship between human societies and environmental changes during the late Holocene in this region.

An Interim Report on Excavations at Etton, Maxey, Cambridgeshire, 1982–1984

This interim report is principally concerned with waterlogged lower ditch deposits of the Etton causewayed enclosure. The site is situated near the eastern edge of the Maxey complex of cropmarks, and owes its remarkable preservation to a high local water table and a blanket deposit of clayey alluvium which has protected the archaeological deposits from plough-damage. The description of the causewayed enclosure includes interim discussions of woodworking, the use of cattle as draught animals, and outlines of the environmental succession. Short statements on pottery and other finds are also included. Brief mention is also made of the earlier (Phase I) and later (Phase II) Neolithic sites at Etton Woodgate, immediately to the west of the causewayed enclosure. These sites, which were also partially waterlogged, were discovered during a watching brief of topsoil-removal work in the adjacent quarry. Etton Woodgate II produced very early evidence for textiles and for possible charcoal manufacture. The Discussion outlines recent research in the region and offers provisional explanations for the roles of lowland causewayed enclosures.

An analysis of the molluscs from an Ipswichian interglacial river channel deposit at Maxey, Cambridgeshire, England

A freshwater and land molluscan assemblage from an Ipswichian stream channel at Maxey, Cambridgeshire, is discussed. The presence of Belgrandia marginata and Vallonia enniensis suggests that summer temperatures may have been somewhat warmer in the Ipswichian period. The assemblage represents the silting processes under relatively quiet water conditions, possibly in a side channel or backwater of a meandering river system.

State formation and water resources management in the Horn of Africa: the Aksumite Kingdom of the northern Ethiopian highlands

Abstract Intensification of agriculture and irrigation are often considered triggers for both the flourishing and demise of civilizations. Was irrigation a key factor of state formation and urban development in northern Ethiopia? We argue that a household-based management of farmland and water would have provided a strategy sustainable over the long term and flexible enough to adjust to population expansion and contraction at the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Aksum (first millennium ad). This conclusion is based on research into environmental, archaeological and historical data concerning the forms and use of water resources together with new information originating from geoarchaeological and palaeobotanical work in the Aksum area. The results indicate that the characteristics of the environment and traditional farming system are such that intensive irrigation works were not necessary. It appears likely that ancient Aksumites utilized seasonal rainfall and water conservation methods to sustain food production.

Archaeological and Palaeo-environmental Investigations of the Upper Allen Valley, Cranborne Chase, Dorset (1998-2000): a New Model of Earlier Holocene Landscape Development

A combination of on- and off-site palaeo-environmental and archaeological investigations of the upper Allen valley of Dorset conducted in 1998–2000 has begun to reveal a different model of landscape development than those previously put forward. A combination of off-site geoarchaeological and aerial photographic survey and palynological analyses of two relict palaeochannel systems, and sample investigations of four Bronze Age round barrows and a Neolithic enclosure, have been combined with inter-regional summaries of the archaeological and molluscan records to re-examine the prehistoric landscape dynamics in the study area. Preliminary results suggest that woodland development in the earlier Holocene appears to have been more patchy than the presumed model of full climax deciduous woodland. With open areas still present in the Mesolithic, the area witnessed its first exploitation of the chalk downs, thus slowing and altering soil development of the downlands. Consequently, many areas perhaps never developed thick, well structured, clay-enriched soils (or argillic brown earths), but rather thin brown earths. By the later Neolithic these under-developed soils had become thin rendzinas, largely as a consequence of human exploitation. The presence of thinner and less well-developed soils over large areas of downland removes the necessity for envisaging extensive soil erosion and thick aggraded deposits in the valley bottom in later prehistory. The investigations have suggested that, if there were major changes in vegetation and soil complexes, these had already occurred by the Neolithic rather than in the Bronze Age as suggested by previous researchers, and the area has remained relatively stable since.

Hydrological monitoring of an alluviated landscape in the lower Great Ouse valley at Over, Cambridgeshire: the quarry restoration phase

Abstract This paper sets out the results of the last phase of the hydrological monitoring programme conducted at the Hanson Over quarry in Cambridgeshire, during the first full year (March 2004 to March 2005) in which the area of the first phase of gravel extraction was reinstated as reed beds under the management of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It follows on from the studies of the pre-extraction and extraction phases, both published previously in Environmental Archaeology (French et al. 1999; French 2004). It is reassuring to report that the groundwater table in the formerly quarried area and the landscape immediately upstream and downstream has ostensibly been restored to pre-extraction levels, along with a return to previous pH, conductivity, redox and dissolved oxygen values in the groundwater system. Significantly, the continuing gradual fall in groundwater levels observed beyond 500 m from the quarry face for a distance of at least 1·5 km was seen to be arrested, although these had not quite recovered to pre-extraction levels downstream to the northeast. In addition, the soil moisture within the alluvial overburden and the buried palaeosol has also almost returned to pre-extraction levels. This indicates that the clay bunding of the formerly quarried areas acts as an effective barrier against further water abstraction, both inside and outside the sealed area, and allows the natural aquifer to begin to return to its previous levels of influence. The study dramatically indicates that both the mineral operator, drainage authority and archaeological curator need to collaborate from the outset of any quarrying operation to ensure the continuing maintenance of the groundwater and soil moisture system regardless of how well the combined gravel and water abstraction processes are conducted, and how successful the post-quarry conservation is. As every sites landscape dynamics contribute to its individual hydrological setting, each case is different and requires tailored monitoring programmes to protect the archaeological and palaeo-environmental record from the adverse effects of water abstraction associated with development schemes.

People, Societies, and Landscapes

Sophisticated geographical models are aiding archaeological research into how people have used and altered local landscapes. Ever since humans domesticated plants and animals, they have wielded the potential to substantially change the shape of the landscape. But more often than not, landscape change is driven not just by human activity but also by underlying factors such as climate and soil type. In the long-term interactions among people, society, and landscape, any one factor—including climate—may be responsible for tipping a system into instability. Archaeologists increasingly use advanced geographical modeling techniques to unravel these complex interactions at a community or farmstead scale (1–4).

Expanding the research parameters of geoarchaeology: case studies from Aksum in Ethiopia and Haryana in India

A wide-ranging geoarchaeological approach is put forward using two case studies in northern highland Ethiopia at Aksum and in Haryana province of northwestern India where the authors are part of collaborative archaeological research projects. Geoarchaeological approaches are well placed to underpin archaeological project design and contribute to the understanding and modelling of the human ecosystem legacy. There is also the potential to use that data to both inform wider audiences of the importance of long-term land-use dynamics in shaping our landscapes today and influencing modern land-use policy and implementation.