Buried Artifacts in Stable Upland Sites and the Role of Bioturbation: A Review

Abstract

Burial of artifacts in Holocene soils developed in pre-Holocene sediments on stable uplands is commonly interpreted as resulting from post-depositional accretion of sediment. However, soils are by nature dynamic and burial or displacement of artifacts can and does occur due to "normal" syndepositional and post-depositional biomechanical pedogenic processes. This paper presents a review of the role of bioturbation in artifact burial. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.