Geoarchaeological importance of sub-Arctic bird perches dated by lee side turf mound accumulation and identified by lichen plumes
ABSTRACT Organic-rich turf mounds, fertilised with bird droppings, may develop in the lee of obstacles, including either natural or human-made structures, boulders and rock cairns in exposed mountain and sub-Arctic and Arctic periglacial/proglacial environments. These boulder-leeside deposits consis...
| Published in: | Polar Record |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247412000368 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247412000368 |
| Summary: | ABSTRACT Organic-rich turf mounds, fertilised with bird droppings, may develop in the lee of obstacles, including either natural or human-made structures, boulders and rock cairns in exposed mountain and sub-Arctic and Arctic periglacial/proglacial environments. These boulder-leeside deposits consist mainly of organic materials intermixed with loess trapped in baffling agents (turf), and may sometimes contain archaeological features. Certain animal and bird species may also contribute to turf-mounds by frequenting these locations. Boulders and other natural and human-made obstructions are observed to have lichen plumes, principally Xanthoria spp? , lacing the tops and downwind side of the mound and fertilised by defecating birds and mammals. Turf mounds, consisting of organic soil, can be used for both relative and chronometric age dating, the buried peat providing 14 C dates for archaeological context for specific mountain sites when artefacts are recovered. In addition, field and laboratory analyses of soils provide important palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological information about the sites. Examples are provided from a field site in the Norra Storfjället in the Swedish SubArctic. |
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