Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 1970. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-86). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

This thesis presents an original theoretical investigation, based on diffraction theory (extended for permeable structures by Sollitt & Cross [56]), of the performance of segmented rubble mound breakwaters. The amount of protection offered by such a breakwater is a function of the rubble construction (characterized by porosity and permeability), geometry and spacing of segments as well as depending on the the characteristics of the incident wave field. To explore the influence of these factors on the performance of these breakwaters, the diffraction by three related structures have been considered :a periodic array of impermeable blocks, a single continuous rectangular section permeable structure and a periodic array of permeable blocks in shallow water.

In the summer of 2007, magnetic and electromagnetic conductivity surveys were performed on the third (front) terrace of Monks Mound, Cahokia, 6 miles (~10 km) east of St Louis in Illinois. A 17 m by 40 m rectangular grid was established on the third terrace of the 850 year old mound surface. Readings were taken on the rectangular grid at one meter spacing. A Geometrics G-856 proton precession magnetometer and a Geonics EM38 conductivity meter were used for the survey. The survey was designed and executed to detect anomalous features within the very shallow subsurface (one to two meters deep). It was hoped to delineate and categorize the sources of the anomalies. The causes are known to be natural (in this case limited to lightning strikes), prehistoric (pottery, kilns, hearths), historic (metal, fire pits, structure remnants), or modern (metal). The larger, better-defined anomalies were numbered and discussed. Magnetic anomaly interpretations include a root cellar (4), outhouse (10), house (6), and metal features (7, 8, 14, 15). The certainty of the interpretations varied and there was often multiple interpretations possible. The EM anomaly interpretations proposed include metal, pit, grave, and animal burrowing. Good correlation is observed between some of the anomalies for the magnetic and electromagnetic methods, while other anomalies were observed using only one method. Further testing suggested to confirm the interpretations is outlined in the thesis.

Lyon’s Bluff is an archaeological site covering approximately 25 hectares in Oktibbeha County, MS. Richard Marshall proposed that the site can be divided into two occupations – the eastern area, occupied during the Mississippian period (A.D. 1000- 1540); and the western area, occupied during the Protohistoric period (A.D. 1540-1750). Starting in 1935 several archaeological excavations have taken place at Lyon’s Bluff, but the work has always focused on the eastern area of the site. To test Marshall’s proposal, a series of shovel tests was dug over the site, and 14 one-m2 excavation units were placed on purported house mounds in the western area. Eight of the fourteen excavation units were proven to be on house mounds, with the others being on natural rises. Typological analysis of the artifacts collected showed that the east-west division is speculative and that the entire site was occupied throughout the course of its history.

An environmental evaluation concerning land designated for park and recreation development was conducted in Flower Mound, Texas. Results were compared with the findings of a public opinion survey of the citizenry of Flower Mound. The first section is an introduction to land use and recreation planning. Section two presents a review of pertinent literature concerning environmental evaluation and recreation and recreation planning. Third is a brief description of Flower Mound, Texas, and existing park properties. The fourth section discusses both the environmental evaluation and the survey research techniques employed. Results of the environmental evaluation are examined in section five. The public opinion survey results are discussed in the sixth section. Flower Mound is fortunate to have a number of sites suitable for recreational development. If recreational development is to be successful and satisfactory to the users, decisions will need to be made in an organized fashion. Park and recreation planning should be incorporated within a general land use planning framework.

Shell mound or sambaqui, as commonly named in Brazil, are anthropic intentional mound constructions made by complex hunter-gatherer fishing communities. Typically distributed along shorelines and inland regions of Brazil, these sites are arguably one of the earliest evidence of human presence in South America, with dates ranging from 910-660 to 10,179-9,708 cal. yr. B.P. As archaeobotanical investigations reported the presence of various plant resources in these sites, a debate that has received much attention in recent years is regarding the scale of which the shell mound builders managed these resources. The Monte Castelo (9,495-9,137 cal. yr. B.P - state of Rondônia) and the Tucumã shell mound (4,425-4245 cal. yr. B.P. - state of Pará) will be the case studies of this research. The aim of this thesis is to use phytolith data from archaeological contexts in order to evaluate and discern the extent to which these mound builders managed plant resources. The outcome of this study provides novel evidence revealing the management and consumption of wild and domesticated plants through the mid-Holocene. The data calls for an evaluation on the potential scale of horticulture practices by Amazonian shell mound builders as well as the relative contribution of each domesticated resources to the indigenous diet.

The Marana Platform Mound Community (AZ AA:12:251[ASM]) in the Tucson Basin of southern Arizona provides a unique opportunity to examine the mechanisms of social organization within an early Classic Period Hohokam community. The role of the platform mound for integrative communal ritual or segregated elite-controlled activity is examined through faunal remains from the platform mound and nearby residential localities. Taxonomic diversity, relative abundance, and element distribution are used to measure the extent to which the platform mound served to integrate or distinguish site residents. Subtle differences in the diversity of taxa, the quantity of deposited faunal remains, and the quality of portions and taxa are indicative of differential access to resources between residents at the Platform Mound and residents in sites further away in the Tucson Basin. The findings support the current hypothesis that a dual mode of network and corporate strategy was used to organize the community.

The Pile Mound survey includes magnetometry paired with targeted ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys of the mound and testing of associated features over the ca. 6.5 ha site. The GPR survey discovered six rock features (five large rock features within the mound and one marking the outside of the mound). Knowledge of mounds in the Upper Cumberland Plateau (UCP) is lacking—the closest other studied sites are at the Corbin Site, Croley-Evans, Bell Site, and Beasley Mounds, approximately 75 – 100 km away. However, the most similar mound construction is found at Corbin and Cherokee sites, some 175 – 275 km away. In addition, the associated ceramic assemblage appears to reflect more similarity to the East Tennessee Valley rather than the Middle Cumberland region. These data provide a unique opportunity to better understand the Mississippian occupation in the UCP of Tennessee.

No description available.

A dinâmica da água em campos de murundus do Planalto dos Parecis é estudada neste trabalho por meio de observações de campo realizados na Fazenda São Fidel, município de Sorriso, estado de Mato Grosso. Esses campos, nitidamente dependentes do regime pluvial, possuem grande importância para a conservação da água de superfície e da biodiversidade, por estarem diretamente ligados aos cursos d'água formadores das bacias hidrográficas, como também por abrigar numerosas espécies florísticas e faunísticas do cerrado brasileiro O trabalho tem como objetivo principal conhecer a dinâmica da água e a estrutura pedológica de um campo de murundus, também conhecidos como microrrelevos, e regionalmente, por monchões, cocorutos, covoais, ilhas e capãozinhos, utilizando-se de revisão bibliográfica, interpretação de imagens de satélite e fotografias aéreas, levantamento dos solos com procedimentos da análise estrutural da cobertura pedológica, e estudos climatológicos, por meio da análise de dados pluviométricos a partir de 1985 e de dados piezométricos obtidos durante coleta sistemática em duas vertentes representativas de um campo de murundus do Planalto. Os principais resultados obtidos, referem-se à origem dos murundus por diferentes teorias, uma geomorfológica e outra biológica, estas paisagens ocorrem ao redor dos cursos d'água formadores da bacia hidrográfica, apresentando configuração e distribuição distinta em cada setor da vertente. Nos campos de murundus estudados o solo que ocorre na base da vertente é o PLINTOSSOLO ARGILÚVICO Distrófico, enquanto que na parte média e superior da vertente ocorre o LATOSSOLO BRUNO Distrófico câmbico e o Distroférrico plíntico, sendo que a característica comum e notável destes solos é a presença de concreções ferruginosas formando o horizonte plíntico, correspondendo ao nível de oscilação do lençol freático. A dinâmica da água nos campos de murundus possui comportamento peculiar, diretamente ligado ao regime pluviométrico, mantendo-se saturados ou supersaturados em água nos meses chuvosos, esvaziando-se lenta e continuamente nos meses secos, por meio do rebaixamento do nível freático a uma taxa média de 17% ao mês. O estudo realizado indica a presença de dois lençóis, um suspenso de características sazonais e outro perene e profundo, separado do anterior por uma camada argilosa confinante. Os dados obtidos foram utilizados no sentido de compreender a dinâmica hídrica nos campos de murundus, bem como a estrutura pedológica, o regime pluviométrico, o comportamento piezométrico, as relações com a rede hidrográfica, a sua função no bioma do cerrado, e ainda avaliar o impacto ambiental, devido ao rebaixamento do nível freático por meio da escavação de uma rede de drenos, possibilitando assim a prática da agricultura mecanizada nessas áreas naturalmente impróprias. / Water dynamics in earth mound (murundus) of the "Parecis" plateau, was studied at the São Fidel farm, municipality of Sorriso, state of Mato Grosso. These fields, essentially dependent on pluvial waters, are of great importance for conservation of surface and biodiversity, once they are directly linked to streams feeding the hydrographic basins as well as providing shelter to a wide diversity of species from the flora and fauna of the Brazilian savanna. The main purpose of this research is to understand the water dynamics and the pedologic structure of murundus fields,also known as microrelieves, and regionally known as monchões, cocorutos, covoais, isles and capãozinhos. The research tools applied include bibliographic revision, interpretation of satellite images and aerial photography, soil samples and corresponding structural and pedologic analysis, climatological studies by means of the anlysis of the pluviometric record starting from 1985 and of piezometric data systematically obtained from two typical slopes in a murundus field of the Planalto. The main results aer discussed within the frame os two distinct theories about the origin of mounds, one geomorphological and the other biological. These formations occur along the head watercourses of the hydrigraphic basin and they show a distinctive configuration and distribution with different sections of the slope. In these fields, the soil at the slope base corresponds to dystrophic argillaceous plinth soil, whilst on the medium and superior section of the slope the soil corresponds to the dystrophic cambric (LATOSSOLO BRUNO) and dystroferric plinth. The distinctive and outstanding characteristic of both types of soil is the presence of ferruginous concretions along the plinth corresponding the phreatic oscillation levels. Water dynamics in these fields has a distinctive behavior directly related to the pluviometric regime. The are water saturated or supersaturated during the rainy season and during the dry season they progresssively loose their water by mean of the lowering of the phreatic level at an average rate of 17% per month. The research indicated the presence of two water sheets, one temporary and dependent on seasonal changes and a second deep and perennial, separated one from another by a confined argillous stratum. The data was used to further understand the water dynamics in murundus fields as well as the pedagogic structure, the pluviometric regime, the piezometric behavior, the relationship with the hydrographic system, their role in the bio-system of the savanna, and, furthermore, to assess the ecological impact of the artificial decrease in the phreatic level brought about by a drainage system allowing for mechanized agriculture in these areas naturally inappropriate for farming.