Recent geochronology of the Mississippi Delta of coastal Louisiana, USA, provides a high-resolution record of land growth that facilitates the study of ancient settlement patterns in relation to delta evolution. We use stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to show that two Late Holocene earthen mounds were constructed several hundred years after the land emerged from open water. This multi-century pause allowed natural processes of overbank and crevasse splay deposition to elevate the land surface, reduce flood risk, and foster desirable environmental conditions prior to human occupation. These results are applied to obtain new age constraints for a large number of at-risk or lost archaeological sites with little-to-no absolute chronology. We use our findings to comment on prehistoric, contemporary, and future human-landscape interactions in the Mississippi Delta and other deltaic environments.

中文翻译：

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密西西比三角洲社区挑战和轨迹的地质考古学视角

美国路易斯安那州沿海密西西比三角洲的最新地质年代学提供了土地生长的高分辨率记录，有助于研究与三角洲演化相关的古代聚落模式。我们使用地层学和光学受激发光 (OSL) 测年表明，两个全新世晚期土丘是在陆地从开阔水域出现数百年后建造的。这种长达数个世纪的停顿让堤坝和裂隙展开沉积的自然过程抬高了地表，降低了洪水风险，并在人类占领之前营造了理想的环境条件。这些结果用于获得大量几乎没有绝对年表的处于危险中或丢失的考古遗址的新年龄限制。我们使用我们的发现来评论史前、当代、