Experimental micromorphology in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina): building a reference collection for the study of shell middens in cold climates |
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| Authors: | Ximena S. Villagran,Andrea L. Balbo,Marco Madella,Assumpció Vila,Jordi Estevez |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Geosciences, Universidade de São Paulo (IGc/USP), Rua do Lago 562, Cidade Universitária, 05508-080 São Paulo, Brazil;2. Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Institución Milá y Fontanals, Spanish National Research Council (IMF/CSIC), C/Egipcíaques 15, 08001 Barcelona, Spain;3. ICREA, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Institución Milá y Fontanals, Spanish National Research Council (IMF/CSIC), C/Egipcíaques 15, 08001 Barcelona, Spain;4. Department of Prehistory, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), Edifici B, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Commonly used in archaeological contexts, micromorphology did not see a parallel advance in the field of experimental archaeology. Drawing from early work conducted in the 1990’s on ethnohistoric sites in the Beagle Channel, we analyze a set of 25 thin sections taken from control features and experimental tests. The control features include animal pathways and environmental contexts (beach samples, forest litter, soils from the proximities of archaeological sites), while the experimental samples comprise anthropic structures, such as hearths, and valves of Mytilus edulis (the most important component of shell middens in the region) heated from 200 °C to 800 °C. Their micromorphological study constitutes a modern analogue to assist archaeologists studying site formation and ethnographical settings in cold climates, with particular emphasis on shell midden contexts. |
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| Keywords: | Micromorphology Shell middens Beagle channel Geoarchaeology Mytilus edulis Temperature-induced changes Experimental hearths |
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