Testing heterogeneity in faunal assemblages from archaeological sites. Tumbling and trampling experiments at the early-Middle Pleistocene site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (Israel)

The current paper reports an experimental case study to test the heterogeneity of faunal assemblages from the Early-Middle Pleistocene Layers V-5 and V-6 of the Gesher Benot Ya’aqov Acheulian site (Israel). Tumbling and trampling experiments were initiated to gain qualitative insight into processes of bone modification and to assess the timing of the biostratonomic chronology, as it was assumed that both mechanisms were responsible for the formation of striations documented on the bone surfaces from the site. The tumbling experiments mimicked sediment movement in a calm lacustrine shoreline environment whereas the trampling experiments investigate the role of animal/hominin activities in dry, muddy and wet environments. Models for the internal operational sequence of an abrasional process due to uni- and multidirectional water movement and of a trampling scenario are presented. These models are used for the interpretation of the fauna from Gesher Benot Ya’aqov.     

Shoreline Change and Coastal Vulnerability Characterization with Landsat Imagery: A Case Study in the Outer Hebrides,Scotland

Abstract

Observation of cause–effect patterns of change in coastal environments provides insights into vulnerable areas and supports prediction and adaptation to flooding and erosion. Historic and periodic (6–8 year intervals) imagery from the Landsat archive is used to investigate transformations in the Atlantic coast of two Scottish islands over the period 1989–2011. Supervised classification of spectrally normalized images followed by change detection and spatial analysis reveals the patterns of change and the location of the most dynamic coastal areas. Quantitative measures of recent shifts and movement rates of relevant coastal lines, such as the lower limit of land-based vegetation, are assessed with the Digital Shoreline Analysis System. While very low rates are indicated for horizontal changes in the position of the lower limit of land-based vegetation (0.3?m?y^?1), specific areas have been subjected to high rates of coastal progradation as well as erosion (e.g. 2.5?m?y^?1 at Stilligarry). Information derived from satellite data supports the characterization of geomorphologically dynamic coasts at regional scales. With a rich and open access archive of imagery, a commitment to continuity, and compatibility with the Earth observation missions of other space programs, the Landsat mission offers useful and otherwise unavailable data for monitoring of coastal areas.     

The Library is on Fire,Now What? Assessing the Damage and How to Approach It: A Case Study from the Chesapeake Bay

ABSTRACT

The Longwood Institute of Archaeology conducted the Vulnerability, Potential and Condition (VPC) assessment of shoreline archaeological sites along 1990 km (1237 miles) of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. VPC assessment involves a three-pronged approach that includes (1) the assessment of site vulnerability due to changing shorelines using an analytical package called Analysing Moving Boundaries Using R – AMBUR, (2) the assessment of potential shoreline site locations through predictive modelling using Weights of Evidence – WofE – analysis, and (3) the assessment of current conditions of known sites through direct observation. Vulnerability assessment results indicated that 49% of site shorelines in the project area are moving landward. Potential assessment located high-probability site locations with an 83% efficiency. Condition assessment, conducted using standard field protocols, provided feedback of the sites’ current conditions. The intended outcome of this method is to provide resource managers with information needed to make informed, data-driven management decisions.     

Holocene Relative Sea-Level Change on the Isle of Skye,Inner Hebrides,Scotland

Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) changes are described for the Isle of Skye, based upon evidence from isolation basins and back barrier environments. RSL rose across low-lying coastal areas in the early Holocene, inundating isolation basins in the Sleat peninsula, and then fell back in the early-middle Holocene before a fluctuating rise occurred later in the middle and late Holocene. A short-lived marine inundation at one site may have been caused by an episode of rapid RSL rise after the discharge of Lakes Agassiz–Ojibway in North America and/or the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami, generated by submarine landsliding off South-West Norway. The empirical evidence for RSL change on Skye is compared with a recent shoreline-based glacio-isostatic adjustment model, which includes Skye, showing altitudes for the Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami, Main Postglacial, Blairdrummond and Wigtown shorelines in the area. The empirical evidence is shown to be in accord with the altitudes predicted by the model.