Abstract

A multifaceted, multidisciplinary research strategy was employed to reconstruct the taphonomy and environmental history of a late Holocene coastal archaeological site (20LU115) at Sleeping Bear Point on the northeast coast of Lake Michigan, USA. Our case study shows how interdisciplinary examination of coastal processes that impact archaeological site preservation and destruction can beneficially integrate human settlement into an evolving landscape. We contextualize coastal site taphonomy into an environmental framework that includes changing Lake Michigan lake levels and coastlines, vegetation regimes, and eolian activation and stabilization cycles during the past 2,000 years. Chronology for this framework derives from 10 radiocarbon and 12 optically stimulated luminescence dates from beach ridges, dunes, paleosols, and human occupation horizons at or near the site. Such research outcomes, however, are not possible without focusing on the site as part of a larger landscape history, and could not have been realized without a multidisciplinary design that integrates geologists, physical geographers, environmental archaeologists, and cultural resources managers.

摘要

采用多方面、多学科的研究策略来重建位于美国密歇根湖东北海岸睡熊角的全新世晚期海岸考古遗址 (20LU115) 的埋藏学和环境历史。我们的案例研究展示了对影响考古遗址保护和破坏的沿海过程的跨学科研究如何有益地将人类住区融入不断发展的景观中。我们将沿海遗址埋藏学置于环境框架中，其中包括密歇根湖湖水位和海岸线、植被状况以及过去 2000 年间风成激活和稳定周期的变化。该框架的年表来自 10 个放射性碳和 12 个来自海滩山脊、沙丘、古土壤、以及现场或附近的人类职业视野。然而，如果没有将遗址作为更大的景观历史的一部分，这样的研究成果是不可能实现的，如果没有将地质学家、自然地理学家、环境考古学家和文化资源管理人员整合在一起的多学科设计，就不可能实现这些研究成果。