Archaeological Geology of North America

This volume covers the geological aspects of archaeology from both regional and topical perspectives in an attempt to reflect the diverse and heterogeneous nature of archaeological geology. Of the 28 chapters, some are site-specific archaeological investigations that typify a variety of other sites: for example, the Commins site, Canada; the Calico site, California; and the Teotihuacan site, Mexico. Others summarize the archaeological geology of regions such as Alaska, western Canada, glacial Lake Agassiz basin, the central and southern Great Plains, or the North American continental shelf. Others focus more generally on topics such as the old copper industry of the continent, point-bar geoarchaeology of the Savannah River valley, and molluscs and coastal archaeology. Finally, a section on techniques includes chapters on geophysics, isotope geochemistry, pedology, and stratigraphic nomenclature as each applies to archaeology.