Inglis, R. and French, C. and Hunt, C. and Reynolds, Tim and Barker, G. (2017) Sediment micromorphology and site formation processes during the middle to later Stone Ages at the Haua Fteah Cave, Cyrenaica, Libya. Geoarchaeology 33 (3), pp. 328-348. ISSN 0883-6353.
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Abstract
Understanding the timing and conditions of the Middle to Later Stone Age (MSA–LSA) transition in North Africa is, as with many cultural transitions during the Palaeolithic, based predominantly on archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records preserved within a small number of deep cave sediment sequences. The sedimentation processes that created these sequences, however, vary between sites, and impact on the observed cultural and environmental sequences and their interpretations. To use these sequences as chronological cornerstones it is vital to develop a robust understanding of the formation processes that created them. This paper utilises geoarchaeological analyses (field observations, soil micromorphology, bulk sedimentology) to examine site formation processes during the MSA– LSA at the Haua Fteah cave, Libya, one of North Africa's longest cultural sequences. The depositional processes identified vary in mode and energy, from 'dusty'/aeolian deposition to mass colluvial mudflows. This variability impacts greatly on the understanding of the sequence, not least in highlighting sporadic colluvial sediment reworking, including in layers identified as containing the MSA/LSA transition. The sedimentation processes observed are consistent with caves across the Mediterranean and beyond, highlighting the necessity for geoarchaeological analyses to fully unravel the limitations and potential of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records within key cultural sequences.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at the link above. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Depositing User: | Tim Reynolds |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Aug 2017 07:48 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:34 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/19351 |
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