This article attempts to provide a history of archaeological soil research and outline some of the methods and approaches employed. In addition, some mainstream topics have been used as examples of where archaeological soils interface with other environmental disciplines and cultural archaeology. Both standard soil science and sedimentological methods are utilized alongside key techniques such as phosphate, magnetic susceptibility, organic matter measurements, and soil micromorphology (and associated X-ray techniques such as microprobe). Some insights into the use of these techniques are given. Examples from the experimental base - earthworks, palaeoa-griculture, floors, and animal management - and their application to site studies concerning human impact, use of space, and sustainable land use in complex societies are all briefly discussed. Finally, earth - and lime-based constructional materials, their use, and their weathered residues (e. g., the enigmatic dark earth) come under scrutiny. Clearly, archaeological soil studies have progressed enormously over the last 50 years, and have now become more focused upon site/cultural-specific questions, compared to before when soils were simply described as part of the environmental background to a site.
See also: Animal Domestication; Caves and Rock-shelters; Ethnoarchaeology; Experimental Archaeology; Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Methods; Phytolith Analysis; Pollen Analysis; Sites: Formation Processes; Spatial Analysis Within Households and Sites.
World History
