This work presents new methodological approaches and perspectives on the relationship between past humans and maritime environments by focusing specifically on the geochemical traces left by the users and inhabitants of coastlines. In order to do so it proposes four novel scientific techniques presented in four case-study papers, together with best practice protocols that archaeologists can use to conduct similar studies on other sites. These methods were designed to allow for convenient data collection, fast sample processing, sound statistical analysis, and meaningful data interpretations; all this in order to better understand past human activity in coastal areas. The thesis addresses various themes related to the character of human activity, its chronology, spatial distribution, zonation, and linkage to the neighboring waterbody. It tackles issues linked with geochemical signal preservation in different post-depositional contexts, and discusses various modes of soil sampling, extraction and elemental analysis (eg. colorimetric method, portable XRF or XRF core scanning), as well as problems related to geo-statistical analysis of complex, spatially distributed, multivariable datasets. In terms of its geographical scope, this thesis explores coastal sites and archaeological features in the North Atlantic region, and it covers vast chronological spectrum from the Stone Age to the Early Modern period. However, the results are considered universally applicable to any type of site and any period. Hopefully, by providing new sources of archaeological evidence, this work will inspire a lively discussion on the global maritime cultural landscape and the best methods for studying it.

No description available.

This dissertation explores some of the thousands of smaller Native American archaeological sites with meager architectural elements commonly found along part of the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau in east-central Arizona in an area known as the Mogollon Plateau. Small surface structures of less than five rooms were typically built of a combination of stone masonry and wattle and daub, and they are generally interpreted as evidence of repeated occupations of limited duration, primarily dating between AD 800 and 1300. Accordingly, these small sites have also served a number of roles in ongoing discussions of settlement systems and land use, and they present challenges for cultural resources management. The fundamental characteristics (or lack thereof) typically used to classify small sites have traditionally relegated them to settlement pattern studies rather than extensive excavation, generating a broad range of hypotheses concerning their significance and drawing heavily upon historical ecology. GIS methods are used to explore several ecologically and socially-driven models and examine the roles of small architectural sites in archaeological and systemic landscapes. Common pool resources offer some explanatory power regarding small sites, but some have suggested competition and conflict led to a "tragedy of the commons" and environmental degradation. Two primary site concentrations are identified, and the evidence supports an interpretation of extensive and sustainable use of the area, much of which seems to have been a frontier. Recommendations for research-driven management and preservation of cultural resources are provided.