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Results for pedology:

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paleopedology

SYNONYM: palaeopedology
CATEGORY: related field
DEFINITION: The study of the creation, character, stratigraphy of buried fossil soils (palaeosols), which includes material in both geological and archaeological contexts and their geomorphic, temporal, and palaeoenvironmental significance. Soil scientists can assist archaeologists by explaining the natural and man-influenced processes on sites, such as the manner of filling of certain types of feature. Information may be deduced about climatic and environmental variation, which can lead to conclusions about the manipulation of the land by man.

pedology

CATEGORY: related field
DEFINITION: The study of soils and their structure, especially the creation, characteristics, distribution, and uses of soils. Archaeology depends an identification of soils to come up with the proper interpretation of the context and integrity of deposits. This scientific discipline is concerned with all aspects of soils, including their physical and chemical properties, the role of organisms in soil production and in relation to soil character, the description and mapping of soil units, and the origin and formation of soils.

soil analysis

SYNONYM: pedology
CATEGORY: technique
DEFINITION: The study of soil and subsoil to determine climate, vegetation, and human disturbance. It is used to assist the interpretation of deposits. Tools are primarily mechanical grading of particle size, determination of soil color, chemical tests like phosphate analysis, and pollen analysis.

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facie

CATEGORY: culture; term
DEFINITION: Any subgroup of elements within an industry or main culture tradition that is distinguished from the whole on the basis of some aspect of appearance or composition. A major division of a cultural sequence, such as the Mousterian culture of the European Palaeolithic, is often described as having different facies -- for example, the Quina Mousterian or the Mousterian of Acheulian tradition -- though these may reflect different industries or cultures. It is also a geological term used to describe the characters of any part of a formation which is differentiated by its appearance or composition, especially by the fossils it contains, its constituent rocks, or its texture. The term has also been applied to pedology (soil).

facies

CATEGORY: culture; term
DEFINITION: Any subgroup of elements within an industry or main culture tradition that is distinguished from the whole on the basis of some aspect of appearance or composition. A major division of a cultural sequence, such as the Mousterian culture of the European Palaeolithic, is often described as having different facies -- for example, the Quina Mousterian or the Mousterian of Acheulian tradition -- though these may reflect different industries or cultures. It is also a geological term used to describe the characters of any part of a formation which is differentiated by its appearance or composition, especially by the fossils it contains, its constituent rocks, or its texture. The term has also been applied to pedology (soil).

soil

CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: Mineral or organic matter that is unconsolidated and on or near the land surface. A prerequisite for soil formation is the growth of vegetation. Gradual colonization, first by lichens and then by higher plants causes build-up of organic matter (humus) in the developing soil. Clay minerals form complexes with humus and act as reservoirs of nutrients. Water from rainfall, entering the top of a soil profile, drains down the soil, taking with it nutrients and sometimes parts of the clay/humus complexes. The type of vegetation, the fauna of small animals that lives in the soil, the type of parent material, the way in which the clay/humus complexes behave, the amount of rainfall and the quality of drainage all go to determine the type of soil that develops. Soil forms differentiated layers (soil horizons) with respect to the land surface. The study of soils is called pedology. Studies of the way soils have developed may allow a reconstruction of the environmental changes which have taken place. Several complicated soil classification systems exist.