Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Abbreviations xv Introduction: A Depositional Approach to the Study of Archaeological Excavations 1 1 Principles of Siteformation or Depositional Processes 11 1.1 The Concept of the Deposit 11 1.2 Types of Archaeological Deposits 14 1.3 Anthropogenic Sediments 14 1.4 Some Misconceptions of Siteformation and Depositional Processes 16 1.5 Soils and PostDepositional Processes 16 1.6 Recording Deposits and Siteformation Processes (Stratigraphy) 18 2 Natural Sediments and Processes in Sites 21 2.1 Introduction 21 2.

2 Principles of the Transport and Deposition of Sediments 22 2.2.1 Physical Processes 22 2.2.2 Sediment Properties 24 2.2.3 Fabric 28 2.2.

4 Sedimentary Structures 28 2.2.5 Some Remarks on the Interpretation of Textures, Fabrics, and Sedimentary Structures 33 2.3 Mass Movement in Sites 34 2.3.1 Slides and Slumps 35 2.3.2 Rock and Debris Falls, and Avalanches and Grain Flows 37 2.

3.3 Solifluction 40 2.3.4 Debris Flows and Mudflows 43 2.4 Water Flows in Sites 47 2.4.1 Shallow Water Flows 47 2.4.

2 Hyperconcentrated Flows 57 2.4.3 Highenergy Flows 60 2.5 Aeolian Processes 63 2.6 Biological Sediments and Processes 68 2.6.1 Dung, Coprolites, and Guano 68 2.6.

2 Bioturbation 71 2.7 Postdepositional Features and Processes 75 2.7.1 Erosional Features, Deflation, Lags, Stone Lines, and Pavements 76 2.7.2 Diagenesis 78 2.7.3 Soilforming Processes 86 2.

8 Concluding Remarks 93 3 Anthropogenic Sediments 99 3.1 Introduction 99 3.2 Burnt Remains 100 3.3 Organic Remains and Human Activities 116 3.3.1 Biological Constructions (Matting, Roofing) 116 3.3.2 Stabling 117 3.

4 Formation of Construction Materials 124 3.4.1 Living and Constructed Floors 124 3.4.2 Mudbricks, Daub and Other Mud Construction Materials 132 3.4.3 Mortar, Wall Plaster 135 3.5 Maintenance and Discard Processes 138 3.

5.1 Sweeping and Raking 138 3.5.2 Dumping and Filling 140 3.5.3 Trampling 146 3.6 Concluding Remarks 148 4 Site Stratigraphy 149 4.1 Introduction 149 4.

2 Historical Overview 150 4.3 The Definition of Stratigraphic Units in an Excavation 151 4.4 Nature of Contacts 154 4.5 Time and Stratigraphy 157 4.6 Massive Thick Layers 157 4.7 Basic Stratigraphic Principles 158 4.7.1 The Principle of Superposition of Beds 158 4.

7.2 The Principle of CrossCutting Relationships 159 4.7.3 The Principle of Original Continuity of Layers 160 4.7.4 The Principle of Original Horizontality of Layers 160 4.7.5 The Principle of Included Fragments 160 4.

8 What is ''In Situ'' ? 161 4.9 Human Constructions and Depositional Stratigraphy 162 4.10 The Concept of Facies 162 4.11 Practicing Stratigraphy 164 4.11.1 Erosional Contacts and Unconformities 166 4.11.2 The Importance of Baulks and Sections 167 4.

11.3 Inclined Layers 168 4.12 Concluding Remarks 169 5 Nonarchitectural Sites 171 5.1 Introduction 171 5.2 Openair vs Cave Sites 172 5.2.1 Caves 172 5.2.

2 Openair Sites 189 5.3 Other Stratigraphic Themes 192 5.3.1 Burials 192 5.3.2 Palimpsests 194 5.4 Concluding Remarks 197 6 Architectural Sites 199 6.1 Introduction 199 6.

2 Roofed Facies 199 6.3 Diachronic Spatial Organization 203 6.4 Unroofed Facies 204 6.4.1 How to Recognize an Unroofed Area 204 6.4.2 Destruction and Abandonment of Buildings 205 6.4.

3 Courtyards, Gardens, and Other Open Spaces 209 6.4.4 Street Deposits 211 6.5 House Pits, Pueblos and Kivas 213 6.5.1 House Pits 213 6.5.2 Plastered Floors from Structure 116 216 6.

5.3 Pueblos and Kivas 217 6.6 Tombs 218 6.7 Monumental Earthen Structures 219 6.8 Concluding Remarks 221 7 Some Approaches to Field Sediment Study 223 7.1 Introduction 223 7.2 Drawing 223 7.3 Photography 224 7.

4 Sampling Strategy 225 7.5 Representative Sampling 225 7.5.1 Sampling Methods 225 7.5.2 Number of Samples 226 7.5.3 Size of Samples 227 7.

5.4 Micromorphological Sampling 228 7.5.5 Microarchaeological Sampling 229 Concluding Remarks 231 References 233 Index 265.