Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T02:00:08.110Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Assessing lithologic discontinuities and parent material uniformity within the Texas sandy mantle and implications for archaeological burial and preservation potential in upland settings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2012

Steven W. Ahr ,
Lee C. Nordt  and
Steven G. Driese
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Alfisols within the Texas Gulf Coast Plain commonly exhibit textural contrasts between sandy, artifact-bearing A–E horizons (i.e., sandy mantle), and artifact-sterile clay-rich Bt (argillic) horizons. This has invoked debate about parent material uniformity and pedogenic versus geomorphic sandy mantle origins, which has implications for the scientific value of buried archaeological sites. To improve our understanding of archaeological burial in upland settings, we evaluated parent material uniformity within five pedons to distinguish pedogenically derived textural changes from geomorphologically created lithologic discontinuities. Depth trends in clay-free particle size classes and stable/immobile Ti and Zr constituents failed to reveal lithologic discontinuities between the sandy mantle and Bt horizons, and the observed textural differences are interpreted to have resulted from pedogenic processes. This interpretation is supported by clay skins, fine clay increases in Bt horizons, and micromorphological observations. Consequently, artifacts buried in upland summits have likely moved down the soil profile due to biomantle processes. Deep sandy mantle sites, non-parallel contacts between the sandy mantle and Bt horizons, and paleogullies incised into Eocene bedrock are better explained by colluvial/soil creep processes adjacent to summits, where archaeological materials may exhibit preservation potential. No single explanation can account for sandy mantle origins, and we advocate a case-by-case approach.

Keywords

Sandy mantleAlfisolsLithologic discontinuitiesParent material uniformityGulf Coastal Plain
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 78 , Issue 1 , July 2012 , pp. 60 - 71
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anda, M., Chittleborough, D.J., and Fitzpatrick, R.W. Assessing parent material uniformity of a red and black soil complex in the landscapes. Catena 78, (2009). 142–153.Google Scholar
Balek, C.L. Buried artifacts in stable upland sites and the role of bioturbation: a review. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 17, (2002). 41–51.Google Scholar
Barnes, V.E. Geologic Atlas of Texas, Austin Sheet. (1974). Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Google Scholar
Bateman, M.D., Boulter, C.H., Carr, A.S., Frederick, C.D., Peter, D., and Wilder, M. Preserving the palaeoenvironmental record in drylands: bioturbation and its significance for luminescence derived chronologies. Sedimentary Geology 195, (2007). 5–19.Google Scholar
Bateman, M.D., Boulter, C.H., Carr, A.S., Frederick, C.D., Peter, D., and Wilder, M. Detecting post-depositional sediment disturbance in sandy deposits using optical luminescence. Quaternary Geochronology 2, (2007). 57–64.Google Scholar
Boulter, C.H., Bateman, M.D., Carr, A.S., and Frederick, C.D. Assessment of archaeological site integrity of sandy substrates using luminescence dating. Newsletter of the Society of Archaeological Sciences 29, 2 (2006). 8–12.Google Scholar
Boulter, C., Bateman, M.D., and Frederick, C.D. Developing a protocol for selecting and dating sandy sites in East Central Texas: preliminary results. Quaternary Geochronology 2, (2007). 45–50.Google Scholar
Boulter, C., Bateman, M.D., and Frederick, C.D. Understanding geomorphic responses to environmental change: a 19,000-year case study from semi-arid central Texas, USA. Journal of Quaternary Science 25, 6 (2010). 889–902.Google Scholar
Bousman, C.B. Geomorphic investigations, 41LN29A and 41LN106. Fields, R.C. Excavations at the Charles Cox, Lambs Creek Knoll, and Buffalo Branch Sites, Jewett Mine Project, Leon and Freestone Counties, Texas. Reports of Investigations 70, (1990). Prewitt and Associates, Inc., Austin, Texas. 65–93.Google Scholar
Bousman, C.B. Paleoenvironmental change in central Texas: the palynological evidence. Plains Anthropologist 164, (1998). 201–219.Google Scholar
Bousman, C.B., and Fields, R.C. Environmental setting. Fields, R.C., Klement, L.W., Bousman, C.B., Tomka, S.A., Gadus, E.F., and Howard, M.A. Excavations at the Bottoms, Rena Branch, and Moccasin Springs Sites, Jewitt Mine Project, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas. Reports of Investigations 82, (1991). Prewitt and Associates, Inc., Austin, Texas. 5–20.Google Scholar
Brewer, R. Fabric and Mineral Analysis of Soils. (1976). Robert E. Krieger Publishing Co., New York.Google Scholar
Brinkman, R. Ferrolysis, a hydromorphic soil forming process. Geoderma 3, (1970). 199–206.Google Scholar
Bruseth, J.E., and Martin, W.A. OSL dating and sandy mantle sites in East Texas. Current Archeology in Texas 3, (2001). 12–17.Google Scholar
Cabrera-Martinez, F., Harris, W.G., Carlisle, V.W., and Collins, M.E. Evidence for clay translocation in Coastal Plain soils with sandy/loamy boundaries. Soil Science Society of America Journal 53, (1989). 1108–1114.Google Scholar
Caine, N. A source of bias in rates of surface soil movement as estimated from marked particles. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 6, (1981). 69–75.Google Scholar
Chapman, S.L., and Horn, M.E. Parent material uniformity and origin of silty soils in northwest Arkansas based on zirconium–titanium contents. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 32, (1968). 265–271.Google Scholar
Chittleborough, D.J., and Oades, J.M. The development of a red-brown earth. II. Uniformity of parent material. Australian Journal of Soil Research 18, (1980). 375–382.Google Scholar
Chittleborough, D.J., Oades, J.M., and Walker, P.H. Textural differentiation in chronosequences from eastern Australia. III. Evidence from elemental chemistry. Geoderma 32, (1984). 227–248.Google Scholar
Colin, F., Alarcon, C., and Vieillard, P. Zircon: an immobile index in soils?. Chemical Geology 107, (1999). 273–276.Google Scholar
Collins, M.B., and Bousman, C.B. Quaternary environments and archeology in Northeast Texas. Kenmotsu, N.A., and Perttula, T.K. Archeology in the Eastern Planning Region, Texas: A Planning Document. Department of Antiquities Protection Cultural Resource Management Report 3, (1992). Texas Historical Commission, 49–68.Google Scholar
Drees, L.R., and Wilding, L.P. Elemental variability within a sampling unit. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 37, (1973). 82–87.Google Scholar
Fields, R., and Heinrich, P. Geoarchaeology of the Alley Road site, 41LN149B. Excavations at the Alley Road site (41LN149B) and the Harris Hole Site (41LN30), Jewett Mine Project, Leon County, Texas. Reports of Investigations 61, (1987). Prewitt and Associates, Inc., Austin, Texas.Google Scholar
Frederick, C.D., Bateman, M.D., and Lehman, P.H. Geoarchaeological investigations. National Register Eligibility Testing at 41LE177, Alcoa Sandow Mine, Lee County. Texas: Archaeological, Geoarchaeological and Paleoenvironmental Assessment of an Upland Sandy Mantle Site (2000). Coastal Archaeological Research, Inc., Corpus Christi, TX. 53–90.Google Scholar
Frederick, C.D., Bateman, M.D., and Rogers, R. Evidence for eolian deposition in the sandy uplands of East Texas and implications for archaeological site integrity. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 17, 2 (2002). 191–217.Google Scholar
Gould, F.W. Texas Plants: A Checklist and Ecological Summary. 2nd ed. (1975). Texas A&M University, College Station.Google Scholar
Hallmark, C.T., and Franzmeier, D.P. Alfisols. Sumner, M.E. Handbook of Soil Science. (1999). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Hallmark, C.T., West, L., Wilding, L., and Drees, L. Characterization data for selected Texas soils. Misc. Publ. 1583. (1986). Texas Agriculture Experiment Station, College Station, TX. 239 pp.Google Scholar
Heimsath, A.M., Chappell, J., Spooner, N.A., and Questiaux, D.G. Creeping soil. Geology 30, (2002). 111–114.Google Scholar
Heinrich, P.V. Geomorphology of seven sites at the Jewett Mine Project. Fields, R.C., Lisk, S.V., Jackson, J.M., Freeman, M.D., and Bailey, G.L. National Register Assessments of Archeological and Historical Resources at the Jewett Mine, Leon County, Texas. Reports of Investigations 48, (1986). Prewitt and Associates, Inc., Austin, Texas. 191–223.Google Scholar
Jenny, H. The clay content of the soil as related to climatic factors, particularly temperature. Soil Science 40, (1935). 111–128.Google Scholar
Jenny, H. Factors of Soil Formation. (1941). McGraw-Hill, New York. 281 pp.Google Scholar
Jenny, H., and Leonard, C.D. Functional relationships between soil properties and rainfall. Soil Science 38, (1934). 363–381.Google Scholar
Johnson, D.L. Biomantle evolution and the redistribution of earth materials and artifacts. Soil Science 149, (1990). 84–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, D.L. Darwin would be proud: bioturbation, dynamic denudation, and the power of theory in science. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 17, 2 (2002). 7–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, D.L. Reflections on the nature of soil and its biomantles. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 95, (2008). 11–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jurena, M. Soil Survey of Burleson County, Texas. (2005). United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, In cooperation with Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board Google Scholar
Karathanasis, A., and Macneal, B. Evaluation of parent material uniformity criteria in loess-influenced soils of west-central Kentucky. Geoderma 64, (1994). 73–92.Google Scholar
Kaup, B., and Carter, B. Determining Ti source and distribution within a Paleustalf by micromorphology, submicroscopy and elemental analysis. Geoderma 40, (1987). 141–156.Google Scholar
Kühn, P., Aguilar, J., and Miedema, R. Chapter 11: textural pedofeatures and related horizons. Stoops, G., Marcelino, V., and Mees, F. Interpretation of Micromorphological Features of Soils and Regoliths. (2010). Elsevier Pub. Co., Amsterdam. 217–250.Google Scholar
Lane, G.L. Soil Survey of Hopkins and Rains Counties, Texas. (1977). United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service in cooperation with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Google Scholar
Leigh, D.S. Evaluating artifact burial by eolian versus bioturbation processes, South Carolina Sandhills, USA. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 13, (1998). 309–330.3.0.CO;2-8>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowther, A.C., and Werchan, L. The Soil Survey of Caldwell County, Texas. (1978). United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service in cooperation with Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Google Scholar
Mandel, R. Geomorphological investigations. Bement, L.C., Mandel, R.D., de la Teja, J.F., Utley, D.K., and Turpin, S.A. Buried in the bottoms: the archaeology of Lake Creek Reservoir, Montgomery County, Texas. Texas Archeological Survey Research Report 97, (1987). University of Texas at Austin, Google Scholar
McKay, L.D., Driese, S.G., Smith, K.H., and Vepraskas, M.J. Hydrogeology and pedology of saprolite formed from sedimentary rock, eastern Tennessee, USA. Geoderma 126, (2005). 27–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milnes, A.R., and Fitzpatrick, R.W. Titanium and zirconium minerals. Dixon, J.B., and Wee, S.B. Minerals in Soil Environment. 2nd ed. (1989). Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI. 1131–1205.Google Scholar
Owen, J.J., Amundson, R., Dietrich, W.E., Nishiizumi, K., Sutter, B., and Chong, G. The sensitivity of hillslope bedrock erosion to precipitation. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 36, (2011). 117–135.Google Scholar
Peacock, E., and Fant, D.W. Biomantle formation and artifact translocation in upland sandy soils: an example from the Holly Springs National Forest, North-Central Mississippi, U.S.A.. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 17, 1 (2002). 91–114.Google Scholar
Perttula, T.K., Skiles, B.D., Collins, M.B., Trachte, M.C., Valdez, F. Jr. This everlasting sandbed: cultural resources investigations at the Texas Big Sandy Project, Wood and Upshur Counties, Texas. Reports of Investigations 52, (1986). Prewitt and Associations, Inc., Austin, Texas.Google Scholar
Phillips, J.D. Genesis, pedogenesis, and multiple causality in the formation of texture-contrast soils. Catena 58, (2004). 275–295.Google Scholar
Phillips, J.D. Development of texture contrast soils by a combination of bioturbation and translocation. Catena 70, (2007). 92–104.Google Scholar
Raad, A.T., and Prozt, R. A new method for the identification of sediment stratification in soils of the Blue Ridge Springs Basin, Ontario. Geoderma 6, (1971). 23–41.Google Scholar
Ritter, D.F., Kochel, R.C., and Miller, J.R. Process Geomorphology. 3rd edition (1995). Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, IA.Google Scholar
Rogers, R. Excavations at the Walleye Creek Site (41LE57), Lee County, Texas. (1999). Espey, Huston and Associates, Inc., Austin.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J. Lithologic discontinuities in some soils on drumlins: theory, detection, and application. Soil Science 163, (1998). 570–590.Google Scholar
Schoenberger, P.J., Wysocki, D.A., Benham, E.C., and Broderson, W.D. Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils, Version 2.0. (2002). Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE.Google Scholar
Sellards, E.H., Adkins, W.S., and Plummer, F.B. The Geology of Texas. Bulletin 3232, (1932). The University of Texas at Austin, Google Scholar
Smeck, N.E., and Wilding, L.P. Quantitative evaluation of pedon formation in calcareous glacial deposits in Ohio. Geoderma 24, (1980). 1–16.Google Scholar
Soil Survey Staff, Soil Survey Manual. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook vol. 18, (1993). U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington.Google Scholar
Soil Survey Staff, Keys to Soil Taxonomy. 11th edition (2010). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington D.C..Google Scholar
Stevens, J.W., and Arriaga, D. Soil Survey of Dimmit and Zavala Counties, Texas. (1985). United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, In cooperation with Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Google Scholar
Stiles, C.A., Mora, C.I., and Driese, S.G. Pedogenic processes and domain boundaries in a Vertisol climosequence: evidence from titanium and zirconium distribution and morphology. Geoderma 116, (2003). 279–299.Google Scholar
Sudom, M.D., and St. Arnaud, R.J. Use of quartz, zirconium, and titanium as indices in pedologic studies. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 51, (1971). 358–396.Google Scholar
Taboada, T., Cortizas, A.M., Garcia, C., and Rodeja, E.G. Particle-size fractionation of titanium and zirconium during weathering and pedogenesis of granitic rocks in NW Spain. Geoderma 131, (2006). 218–236.Google Scholar
Taylor, F.B. Soil Survey of Wilson County, Texas. (1977). United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, In cooperation with Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Google Scholar
Thoms, A.V. The Brazos Valley Slopes Archaeological Project: Cultural Resources Assessments for the Texas A&M University Animal Science Teaching and Research Complex, Brazos County, Texas. Archaeological Research Laboratory, Reports of Investigations 14, (1993). Texas A&M University, College Station.Google Scholar
Thoms, A.V. Fire-cracked rock features on sandy landforms in the northern Rocky Mountains: toward establishing reliable frames of reference for assessing site integrity. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 22, (2007). 477–510.Google Scholar
Tsai, C.-C., and Chen, Z.-S. Lithologic discontinuities in Ultisols along a toposequence in Taiwan. Soil Science 165, (2000). 587–596.Google Scholar
USDA-NRCS, Soil survey laboratory methods manual. Soil Survey Investigations Report vol. 42, (1996). National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln.Google Scholar
Van Nest, J.V. The good earthworm: how natural processes preserve upland archaic archaeological sites of western Illinois, U.S.A. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 17, 2 (2002). 53–90.Google Scholar
Van Ranst, E., and De Coninck, F. Evaluation of ferrolysis in soil formation. European Journal of Soil Science 53, (2002). 513–520.Google Scholar
Wang, C., and Arnold, R.W. Quantifying pedogenesis for soils with discontinuities. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 37, (1973). 271–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilding, L.P., and Drees, L.R. Spatial variability and pedology. Wilding, L.P., Smeck, N.E., and Hall, G.P. Pedogenesis and soil taxonomy. I. Concepts and interactions. Developments in Soil Science, Volume 11, Part A (1983). Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 83–116.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, M.T., and Humphreys, G.S. Exploring pedogenesis via nuclide-based soil production rates and OSL-based bioturbation rates. Australian Journal of Soil Research 43, (2005). 767–779.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Ahr et al. Supplementary Material

Appendices

Download Ahr et al. Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 819.7 KB