available in the US from the University of Pennsylvania Museum), $30.00 (paperbound). xv ฯฉ 239 pp., There are few books that focus specifically on archaeological sediments and soils and even fewer that clearly make the distinction between the two. This edited volume is the final publication for the 1989 Tenth Anniversary Conference Proceedings of the Association for Environmental Archaeology. The papers exemplify the distinguished interdisciplinary history originating at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, focusing on the geology, sedimentology, and pedology of archaeological sites. The conceptualization and identification of lithostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic, and biostratigraphic units, at a variety of scales, is an essential foundation of geoarchaeology and a significant theme throughout this collection. Most of the papers concentrate on the appropriate application of analytical techniques in the context of archaeological stratigraphy and the kinds of data these techniques produce. The majority of the sites used to illustrate these methods and approaches understandably are found in the UK.
The volume is divided into three parts and begins with a thoughtful introduction by Barham and Macphail discussing the role of the subsequent chapters in the 1989 conference, and their collective themes and quandaries. Part I consists of three papers centering on the technique of soil micromorphology in archaeological and experimental contexts. The first paper by Macphail and Goldberg (both of whom are primary movers in the development of micromorphology in archaeology), emphasizes the recent theoretical and interpretive advances this technique has made in solving archaeological problems. Stressing multi-disciplinary collaboration, they elaborate on experimental and ethnoarchaeological micromorphological studies and the resulting enhancement of our understanding around complex stratigraphy and site formation processes. Brief examples are offered from several archaeological and experimental situations, including deposits associated with ancient pastoralism, urban dark earth, hearths, earthworks, and caves.
The next paper focuses on agrarian archaeology. Gebhardt discusses the nature of experimentation in understanding the impact of early tools and the agricultural management of soils, offering a brief look at the micromorphology at such experimental projects as Butser Ancient Farm (UK) and Gignon Forest (France). Matthews rounds out Part I with a discussion, based on her research at the site of Abu Salabikj in Mesopotamia, of microstratigraphic analysis of occupational sequences. She discusses in some detail the kinds of materials, components, and features observed in archaeological thin section. The well-defined nature of the tell deposits allows her to initiate the construction of micromorphological characterizations and interpretations needed in the study of occupational sequences within defined spaces.
Part I is a brief but excellent review of the current state of micromorphology and its complementary techniques in archaeology. The language is unavoidably technical, so those not well versed in soil science or sedimentology may have some difficulty following aspects of the presentations. Reproduced photomicrographs in publications are often poor, but those offered in Part I are clear and well labeled. It is unfortunate that they are black and white, but color would have significantly increased the cover price.
A primary theme among the five papers making up Part II is designing research (description, sampling, analysis, and interpretation) around specific goals. These goals typically address lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic, and chronostratigraphic units. Part II begins with Quine's overview of his unique geoar-