Can LaRamie Soils Service help us determine if the cultural materials at our site are in situ?
This is one of the services we are most frequently asked to perform, and for good reason. Depending upon the setting of the site (e.g., floodplain, alluvial terrace, dune field, lake margins), a variety of geologic processes may have affected a site’s integrity. During a flood, near channel sites are often eroded but sites further from the channel are gently buried by overbank silts and clays. Eolian deposition often buries cultural materials in situ, but eolian deflation may concentrate multiple components on a single surface. In addition, human treadage during and after site occupation can obscure the archaeological record. In the path of many debris slides, archaeology sites may be completely destroyed. However, at a site we investigated in western Wyoming the debris slide actually rode a cushion of air down the slope and buried the site in situ! Every geologic setting has its unique circumstances that determine the state of site preservation. Our 25+ combined years of geoachaeologi
Related Questions
- We have an archaeology site that does not contain datable materials. Can LaRamie Soils Service help us asses the sites age?
- Can LaRamie Soils Service help us determine what the environment was like during a sites occupation?
- Can LaRamie Soils Service help us determine if the cultural materials at our site are in situ?
