On soups and sediments: Contributions of experimental lab and field archaeology to the study of sedimentological modifications.

KLIGMANN, DEBORA; LANTOS, IRENE JOHANNA

Physical, Chemical and Biological Markers in Argentine Archaeology: Theory, Methods and Applications.

British Archaeological Reports (BAR) International Series

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2014; p. 131 - 146

This paper presents the geoarchaeological results of an experiment carried out to examine human modifications of sediments resulting from food preparation and consumption activities. We conducted experiments involving the deposition of organic matter coming from food remains in sediments, both in the field and in the lab, and measured their postdepositional decomposition. Our study suggests that while color is not a good indicator of organic matter deposition if the amount deposited is too small, pH, available phosphorus, organic matter concentration, lipids and fatty acids are good indicators of anthropic deposition and postdepositional processes and transformations. We observed that the postdepositional alteration of buried foodstuff is progressive in time, that humid environments accelerate these processes even in the same sedimentary contexts, and that clayey substrates help to better preserve organic matter for longer periods. These results support previous research in human modification of sediments through organic enrichment.