Materials, archaeological human activities

The archaeological chemistry of soils and sediments is an important area of smdy because of the variety of information that these materials contain. Soils from prehistoric occupations may contain information on site extent, boundaries, activities, chronology, resource availability, or past environments. Although the chemistry of soil is remarkably complex, useful data have been obtained from a number of different elements. Arrhenius in 1929 first documented a correlation between soil phosphate and human activity and used that information to determine site location and study former beach lines. 

A series of case studies are used to illustrate the study of technology, function, and past human activity. These studies include a variety of microscopic and instrumental methods to look at a number of different kinds of material. The discovery of the early use of fire has involved both archaeological chemistry and distribution studies of specific artifact types to try and document that humans used and controlled fire more than 500,000 years ago. 

Bethell, P.H., L.J. Goad, R.P. Evershed, and J. Ottaway. 1994. The study of molecular markers of human activity the use of coprostanol in the soil as an indicator of human faecal material. Journal of Archaeological Science 21 619-632. 

The main object of archaeology is the study of human activity in the past however, the evidence upon which this relies is entirely provided by the material remains that still survive. To connect two subjects so far apart draws on a wide range of analytical methods to extract often unexpected forms of information from recalcitrant and sometimes unique material. Furthermore, analytical results usually require interpretation within a context that can be quite specialized, although overlaps with palaeoecology or geochemistry or palaeoclimate are common. 

Research in the laboratory usually involves the study of the composition and source of different kinds of materials to answer archaeological questions about past human behavior. The lab methods involve the trace element and isotopic analyses of bones, stone, ceramics, and sediments and have expanded to include organic residues, lithics, pigments, and other materials. Research questions include past diet, human migration, raw material sources, interaction and trade, and the identification of activity areas on prehistoric sites. 

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