Charles French. Geoarchaeology in action: studies in soil morphology and landscape evolution.

Bell, Martin

CHARLES FRENCH. Geoarchaeology in action: studies in soil morphology and landscape evolution, xxi+291 pages, 105 figures, 11 tables. 2003. London: Routledge; 0-415-27309-9 hardback, 0-415-27310-2 paperback.

Geoarchaeology is an aspect of archaeological science which has, until recently, been neglected. In Britain particularly, the main emphasis of environmental studies has been on biological evidence. Since all sites have a soil and sedimentary context, the neglect is unfortunate, making this book especially welcome since it is written in a clear and interesting style, accessible to student and field archaeologist alike.

It is a book of two parts: the first an introduction to key geoarchaeological concepts and the main methods and soil processes. The emphasis is particularly on the examination of soils and sediments in thin section (micromorphology) but using that approach as part of a range of analytical techniques. The second part is based on twelve case studies from work by the author and that of his students. Six studies concern the East Anglian fenland, UK; others are of Cranborne Chase, UK, south-east Spain, Sicily, Yemen, Syria, and Kazakhstan.

A particular contribution, in research terms, is to challenge long-standing models of north-west European soil history. These envisage that in the mid-Holocene there was woodland almost everywhere with brown earth soils. These were then subject to various patterns of degradation and erosion with clearance and agriculture. The Cranborne Chase case study demonstrates that the early Holocene may have had a mosaic of soil and vegetation types: not all areas were densely wooded and evidence of erosion is by no means ubiquitous. The issue is of major archaeological import because the conditions arising from diverse environmental disturbance factors, including human agency, are likely to help explain contrasts in the distribution and nature of archaeological sites. This will help to establish why Cranborne Chase, and other areas, became long term foci of activity.

It is noted that there is debate concerning the ability of micromorphology on its own to provide definite answers. In the interests of resolving these problems, it would have been valuable if the key debate had been rather more fully articulated. Such problems do, however, emerge in relation to the specific difficulty of detecting evidence of cultivation. The contribution which experimental archaeology can make to a better understanding of preservation conditions, site formation and interpretation is acknowledged.

In the fenland, contrasts are now emerging in the environmental history of different subregions or embayments. Constantly fluctuating boundaries between freshwater and marine conditions are identified. The inference that increasing marine influence necessarily created a more hostile environment for people perhaps rests too heavily on twenty-first century normative assumptions, given growing evidence for the seasonal exploitation of saltmarsh elsewhere, such as the Severn Estuary.

Discussion of Mediterranean landscapes, particularly the Aguas Basin, in south-east Spain, the most arid area of Europe, concerns ongoing debate between various research projects about the extent to which the present gullied landscape is the result of climate, bedrock geology and human agency. Part of the debate hinges on whether terracing and irrigation occurred before they are first well documented in the last 500-600 years. The highly episodic nature of past erosion is clear and periods of rapid change are separated by those of apparent stability. Dramatic erosion is associated with agricultural changes of recent decades, e.g. in Sicily.

This book can and should be read by all field archaeologists, particularly those working in a rural and landscape context. There is not so much here for those working in urban contexts where the contribution of micromorphology and related sedimentary techniques is more in understanding human activities and the social use of space. The complex technical terminology which often characterises micromorphological writing is as far as possible avoided and the terms used are explained in a glossary. There is a useful treatment of increasingly important issues of in situ preservation, particularly in wetland. This involves monitoring of water table fluctuations and related chemical changes. This text is unusual in outlining the practical steps taken in setting up a project design and sampling strategy. A thoughtful and flexible approach to research design is advocated. The argument is that a research design which is as long as we would expect of the final report is unlikely to evolve and be responsive to the emerging field evidence and thus to generate new and exciting results. For Britain, there are important lessons here in terms of the detail of research design which the different archaeological funding bodies demand. Over all, it is a provocative and intelligent guide to the investigation of past landscapes using geoarchaeology.

MARTIN BELL

School of Human & Environmental Science,

University of Reading, Reading, England.

(Email: m.g.bell@reading.ac.uk)