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The Third Dimension in Site Structure: An Experiment in Trampling and Vertical Dispersal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Diane P. Gifford-Gonzalez ,
David B. Damrosch ,
Debra R. Damrosch ,
John Pryor  and
Robert L. Thunen
Diane P. Gifford-Gonzalez
Affiliation:
Board of Studies in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
David B. Damrosch
Affiliation:
Board of Studies in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Debra R. Damrosch
Affiliation:
Board of Studies in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
John Pryor
Affiliation:
Board of Studies in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Robert L. Thunen
Affiliation:
Board of Studies in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
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Abstract

Two measured and weighed assemblages of lithic debitage were subjected to human treadage, one set on a compact sandy silt (“loam”) substrate, the other on unconsolidated sand. The assemblages were excavated, plotted in three dimensions, and documented for damage. Downward migration of pieces at the loam site was minimal: fracture of small pieces was the dominant damage pattern. Most sand site pieces migrated to 3-8 cm depth; vertical distribution of pieces approximated a normal curve, and edge-damage to larger pieces was the dominant damage pattern. Vertical distribution of artifacts at the sand site approximated a pattern observed in two other trampling experiments and a number of archaeological occurrences. Factors influencing these distributions are discussed.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 803 - 818
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1985

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