Deciphering a shell midden

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Bibliographic Information

Deciphering a shell midden

edited by Julie K. Stein

Academic Press, c1992

Available at  / 8 libraries

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Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book presents the latest research on shell middens - sites that contain shell and are located near coastal and fluvial settings around the world. The shell imparts certain characteristics to sites such as complex discontinuous strata, low densities of artifacts, large volumes of deposits, alkaline chemistry and proximity to fluctuating sea level. The shell midden is often a product of both cultural and non-cultural events, such as saturation of the lower portion of the midden by rising sea level, or differential weathering of shell and bone. These non-cultural events affect cultural interpretations. The book aims to provide a detailed history os shell midden research and a description of procedures and analyses using an example of a Northwest Coast shell midden, including excavation strategy; use of microartifacts; classification of fire-cracked rock; detection of burned bone; use of grain-size analysis on shell and stratigraphic and sedimentological analysis.

Table of Contents

  • Analysis of shell midden, J.K. Stein
  • shell midden boundaries in relation to past and present shorelines, F.H. Whittaker and J.K. Stein
  • geophysical exploration of the shell midden, R. Dalan, et al
  • historic treatment of a prehistoric landscape, B. Thomas and J.W. Thomson
  • interpreting stratification of a shell midden, J.K. Stein
  • British camp shell midden stratigraphy, J.K. Stein, et al
  • sediment analysis of the British camp shell midden, J.K. Stein
  • shell midden lithic technology - analysis of stone artifacts from British camp, K.D. Kornbacher
  • lithic manufacturing at British camp - evidence from size distributions and microartifacts, M.E. madsen
  • analysis of fire-cracked rocks - a sedimentological approach, T.W. Latas
  • shell midden deposits an the archaeobotanical record - a case from the northwest coast, M.A. Nelson
  • effects of recovery techniques and post-depositional environment on archaeological wood charcoal assemblages, D.M. Greenlee
  • interpreting the grain-size distributions of archaeological shell, P.J. Ford
  • is bone safe in a shell midden?, A.R. Linse
  • burned archaeological bone, P.T. McCutcheon.

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