How can LaRamie Soils Service help our rockshelter or cave investigations?
The thin stratigraphy of cave and rockshelter sites is an ideal application for geoarchaeological investigation. By delineating geologic strata that may only be a few centimeters thick, the duration (s) of cultural occupation(s) can be precisely pinpointed. Detailed stratigraphic analysis also allows very accurate correlation between cultural materials that may be widely separated within the shelter. The type of sediments within a rockshelter stratum can be important environmental indicators. For example, rock spall deposits are considered to represent a cool, moist climate (Fryxell 1963). Chemical analyses can also assist in determining cultural occupation levels, environmental changes, and soil formation. Our work at Pendejo Cave, near Orogrande, New Mexico, helped establish that possible lithic materials dating >14,000 years BP within the cave were not alluvial in origin.
