Case Studies:Case study 13

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Holocene Dune Building on San Miguel Island, California
Erlandson et al.’s (2005) paper uses radiocarbon dates from palaeosols in archaeological sites in San Miguel Island sand dunes providing a chronology for Holocene dune building. Evidence for human occupation, in the form of stratified shell middens, dates from around 11000BP. Holocene sea level rise, coastal erosion and historical deflation has caused preservation problems and conclusions of dune building events have been drawn from observations of the thickness, extent and location of Holocene dune deposits. Starting around 7000 to 6500BP dune building was more widespread. Humans may have abandoned the site when dunes were forming, as nearby freshwater springs and shellfish beds were buried under beach or dune sand. Dune building continued into the late Holocene (3400BP-present) and accumulations of marine shells, animal bones, burned rock and artefacts attest to the use of fire that may have caused episodes of vegetation stripping and dune destabilisation. However, the activities also contributed to soil formation and stability as the materials helped stabilise dune surfaces and contributed to the accumulation of widespread anthropogenic soils.

The full article is Erlandson, J.M., C. Waddington, T.C. Rick and C. Peterson (2005) A geoarchaeological chronology of Holocene dune building on San Miguel Island, California The Holocene 15, (8) 1227-1235. This can be found at http://hol.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/15/8/1227

Keywords: Holocene, California, palaeosols, shell middens, dune building

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