SITES | Formation Processes

Abstract

The notion of site formation originally put forward by F. E. Zeuner and K. W. Butzer over four decades ago, received a big impetus from M. B. Schiffer in the late 1980s. Since that time archaeologists and geoarchaeologists have been increasingly aware of the processes that are involved in the formation of archaeological sites and deposits. Such processes include natural and anthropogenic sedimentation, soil formation (pedogenesis), and other post-depositional effects, which can be of biological/human (e.g., trampling, digging, burrowing), or natural origin (diagenesis and mineralogical transformations). Methods used to study site formation involve detailed field recording and observation, and the use of numerous techniques in the laboratory, such as soil micromorphology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray analyses (e.g., microprobe and X-ray diffraction), and Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR). Establishing site formation processes is a requirement to comprehend fully the archaeological record and human history.