Chemical and Pedological Delimiting of Deeply Stratified Archaeological Sites in Frozen Ground

Abstract

Delimiting and testing deeply stratified archaeological sites in frozen ground is facilitated by drilling and analyzing soil cores. After a test grid of the proposed area has been surveyed, a lightweight, portable diamond drill is used to sample those subareas selected through the use of (1) surface clues, (2) test-pit data, and (3) knowledge of standard site patterns of the cultures represented. Gross core analysis demonstrates soil profile continuities and discontinuities throughout the site. Munsell colours, thicknesses and gross inclusions of soil levels are recorded before thawing of the cores. Most cultural and human chemical residues are studied following thawing and dissection of the cores. The locations of bone, lithics, and human waste in frozen arctic and alpine soils and possibly in augured southern soils aid in vertical and horizontal site delimitation. Small samples of archaeologically important trace chemicals such as bone apatite and phosphorous can be taken for field analysis. Reflected fluorescence caused by ultraviolet light on apatite in buried bone may be measured spectrophotometrically by lowering an appropriate probe in the drill hole and plotting light intensity with depth of levels. Primary application of soil-core studies is pedological.