Soil chemical signatures of a historic sod house: activity area analysis of an arctic semisubterranean structure on Nelson Island,Alaska |
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Authors: | Kelly J Knudson Liam Frink |
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Institution: | (1) Archaeological Chemistry Laboratory, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, 85287, AZ, USA;(2) Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 455003, Las Vegas, 89154, NV, USA |
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Abstract: | On Nelson Island in western Alaska, some Yup’ik inhabitants built and inhabited semisubterranean houses until the early 1960s.
This affords a unique opportunity to examine known activity areas of ethnoarchaeological soils using multielement chemical
characterization of soils. These data can then be compared to archaeological investigations, allowing a nuanced and sophisticated
understanding of the activities performed in the past. Here, we present elemental concentration data from soil extracts, generated
with a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, of the following elements in the soil extract recorded in
parts per billion: sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), titanium (Ti),
chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr),
barium (Ba), lead (Pb), and uranium (U). When compared to an offsite area, the sod house samples were enriched in phosphorus
and magnesium, and specific areas within the sod house exhibited different signatures related to different activities, including
the incorporation of wood ash and waste into the soil. |
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