Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology, by Marie Agnes Courty, Paul
Goldberg and Richard Macphail, 1989, Cambridge University Press, xx + 344 pp., $65.00 (clothbound).
Micromorphology in soil science is the study of pedologic characteristics at the microscopic and submicroscopic scale, largely, but not exclusively, by examination of petrographic thin sections. The technique was developed largely in Europe earlier in the century and Europe is where the technique is still most commonly employed in studies of soil genesis. Soil science, largely pedology and soil chemistry, as a tool in archaeology was also more widely applied in Europe until recent decades, so it is not surprising that the volume under review was written by three practitioners who reside and work in the Old World and who are also perhaps the three leading micromorphologists in geoarchaeology. Their approach covers more than just the study of pedologic features, however, and there is considerable emphasis on the microscopy of natural and artificial sediments, thereby encompassing the domain of sedimentary petrology.
Courty, Goldberg, and Macphail collaborated to produce a volume that is both an introduction to the topic as well as a survey of various archaeological applications of micromorphology. The book is divided into three parts: I, Basic Principles; 11, Processes and Features; and 111, Case Studies. The first part of the book summarizes basic principles of pedology in general and micromorphology specifically. Following an introduction (Chapter 1) that discusses geoarchaeological problems that can be tackled by micromorphology, the authors review basic concepts in soil science and current methods (Chapter 2), field strategies (Chapter 3), the microscope approach (Chapter 4), and thin-section description (Chapter 5). This first part of the book is a well organized and presents a discussion, taking the reader from the broad field of soil science down to the specifics of studying thin sections. Chapter 2 is a good introduction to pedology, although not as comprehensive as it could be. For example, Table .1 presents US. soil horizon nomenclature, which had been outdated for almost a decade and Figure .1, showing distribution of soils on a slope, may be difficult to understand in the absence of any discussion of soil classification. And considering the vast literature on pedology there are relatively few references. The third chapter is, however, an excellent discussion of various field techniques and various means of approaching different field problems. Chapter 4 is a good review of soil microscopy, including summaries of techniques such as optical and scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis, as well as several submicroscopic techniques. The chapter also presents