Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T19:58:23.347Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Utilizing Mole-Rat Activity for Archaeological Survey

A Case Study and a Proposal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Yair Sapir  and
Avraham Faust
Yair Sapir
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, The Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel ([email protected])
Avraham Faust
Affiliation:
The Institute of Archaeology, The Martin (Szusz) department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel ([email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Identifying previously unknown sites is a fundamental goal of the archaeological inquiry. In this article, after reporting the results of our work at Tel ‘Eton (Israel), we propose a new method that can increase the effectiveness of surveys. As part of a study of site formation processes, molehills (mole-rat back-dirt hills) were systematically sifted at Tel ‘Eton and its surroundings. It was apparent that the number and size of sherds in molehills on the mound greatly exceeded those found in its surroundings. The incidental identification of many sherds in molehills northwest of the mound, therefore, led us to suspect that this area was settled. This was tested by transecting the area. The finds, along with discoveries in the wadis cutting the plain, support this suggestion and allowed us to detect the lower city’s boundary. An examination of the site’s environments, moreover, enabled us to identify additional anomalies, like the co-occurrence of concentrations of sherds, red-soiled molehills, and slags, which might indicate an extra-mural workshop. Consequently, we suggest that a systematic examination of rodents’ back-dirt mounds can be an effective method—faster, cheaper, and more efficient than pedestrian surveys or shovel tests—of discovering unknown sites even in regions with good visibility.

Identificar los sitios previamente desconocidos es un objetivo fundamental de la investigación arqueológica. Eneste artículo, después de informar de los resultados de nuestro trabajo en Tel ‘Eton (Israel), proponemos un nuevo método que puede aumentar la eficacia de los peritajes. Como parte de un estudio de los procesos de formación de sitio, unas toperas (montículos formados por la rata topo con la tierra extraída) fueron sistemáticamente tamizadas en Tel ‘Eton y sus alrededores. Aparentemente el número y tamaño de fragmentos de ceramica en las toperas sobre el montículo superaba al de los de alrededor. La identificación incidental un gran numero de fragmentos en toperas al noroeste del montículo, nos llevó a sospechar que esta zona también fue habitada. Esto fue probado transectando la zona. Los hallazgos, junto con descubrimientos en los wadies que cortan la llanura, apoyan esta sugerencia, y nos permitió detectar los límites de la ciudad inferior. Un examen del entorno del sitio, además, nos permitió identificar anomalías adicionales, como la coocurrencia de las concentraciones de fragmentos, montículos de tierra rojiza y escorias, lo que podría la presencia de taller extramural. En consecuencia, se sugiere que un examen sistemático de los montículos de desechos de roedores puede ser un método efectivo—más rápido, más barato y más eficiente que los peritajes pedestres o pruebas de pala - de descubrir sitios desconocidos, incluso en regiones con buena visibilidad.

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , February 2016 , pp. 55 - 70
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Adams, Robert McCormick 1972. The Uruk Countryside. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London.Google Scholar
Alcock, Susan E., and Cherry, John F. 2004. Side-by-Side Survey: Comparative Regional Studies in the Mediterranean World. Oxbow, Oxford.Google Scholar
Ayalon, Etan 1985. Trial Excavation of Two Iron Age Strata at Tel ‘Eton. Tel Aviv 12:54–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balek, Cynthia L. 2002. Buried Artifacts in Stable Upland Sites and the Role of Bioturbation: A Review. Geoarchaeology 17:41–51.Google Scholar
Banning, Edward B. 1996. Highlands and Lowlands: Problems and Survey Frameworks for Rural Archaeology in the Near East. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 301:25–45.Google Scholar
Banning, Edward B. 2002. Archaeological Survey. Plenum, New York.Google Scholar
Becker, Thomas E., and Roulette, Bill R. 2008. Cultural Resources Investigation of the Oregon State Hospital Property, Marion County, Oregon. Applied Archaeological Research Inc. Report No. 682. Prepared for Architectural Resource Group, McMinnville, Oregon. Copies available from Applied Archaeological Research Inc., Portland.Google Scholar
Berna, Francesco, Behar, Adi, Shahack-Gross, Ruth, Berg, John, Boaretto, Elisabetta, Gilboa, Ayelet, Sharon, Ilan, Shalev, Sariel, Shilstein, Sana, Yahalom-Mack, Naama, Zorn, Jeffrey R., and Weiner, Steve 2007. Sediments Exposed to High Temperatures: Reconstructing Pyrotechnological Processes in Late Bronze and Iron Age Strata at Tel Dor (Israel). Journal of Archaeological Science 34:358–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bintliff, John, Howard, Phil, and Snodgrass, Anthony 1999. The Hidden Landscape of Prehistoric Greece. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 12:139–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bintliff, John, Howard, Phil, and Snodgrass, Anthony 2000. A Rejoinder. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 13:116–123.Google Scholar
Blackham, Mark 2000. Distinguishing Bioturbation and Trampling Using Pottery Sherd Measures, Tell Fendi, Jordan. Geoarchaeology 15:469–497.Google Scholar
Bocek, Barbara 1986. Rodent Ecology and Burrowing Behavior: Predicted Effects on Archaeological Site Formation. American Antiquity 51:589–603.Google Scholar
Boula, Kathryn M. 2009. Archaeological Survey of the Mason Dam Hydroelectric Expansion Project Baker County Oregon. Prepared for Baker County, Project No. P-12058-0020. Copies available from Baker County, St. Baker City.Google Scholar
Bruder, Gershon 1982. The Vertical Movement of Rocks and Flint Artifacts on the Yiron Plateau, Upper Galilee. Mitekufat Haeven 17:16–29 (in Hebrew); 27–29 (English summary).Google Scholar
Bubel, Shawn 2002. The Effects of Bioturbation on the Archaeological Record: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Collections. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Archaeology, Art History and Musicology Research Unit, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.Google Scholar
Burger, Oskar 2002. A Multi-Scale Perspective for Archaeological Survey: Colorado State University Collections. Master’s thesis, Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.Google Scholar
Casana, Jesse 2014. Regional-Scale Archaeological Remote Sensing in the Age of Big Data. Advances in Archaeological Practice 3:222–233.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen, Chase, Diane, Awe, Jaime, Weishampel, John, Iannone, Gyles, Moyes, Holley, Yaeger, Jason, and Brown, M. Kathryn 2014. The Use of LiDAR in Understanding the Ancient Maya Landscape. Advances in Archaeological Practice 3:208–221.Google Scholar
Cornell, Rochelle M., and Schwertman, Udo 2003. The Iron Oxides: Structure, Properties, Reactions, Occurrences and Uses. 2nd ed. Wiley, Weinheim.Google Scholar
Dagan, Yehuda 2000. The Settlement in the Judean Shephelah in the Second and First Millennium B.C.: A Test-Case of Settlement Processes in a Geographic Region: Tel Aviv University Collections. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Dagan, Yehuda 2006. Archaeological Survey of Israel, Map of Amazya. Map No. 109. Archaeological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Dagan, Yehuda 2014. The Survey Project in the Judean Shephelah: an Intermediate Summary. Qadmoniot 148:90–96 (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Davis, Jack L. 2004. Are the Landscapes of Greek Prehistory Hidden? A Comparative Approach. In Side-by-Side Survey: Comparative Regional Studies in the Mediterranean World, edited by Alcock, Susan E. and Cherry, John F., pp. 22–35. Oxbow, Oxford.Google Scholar
Dunnel, Robert C. 1990. Artifact Size and Lateral Displacement under Tillage: Comments on the Odell and Cowan Experiment. American Antiquity 55:592–594.Google Scholar
Erlandson, Jon M. 1984. A Case Study in Faunalturbation: Delineating the Effects of the Burrowing Pocket Gopher on the Distribution of Archaeological Materials.American Antiquity 49:785–790.Google Scholar
Faust, Avraham 2009. Tel‘Eton, 2006–2007 (Notes and News). Israel Exploration Journal 59:112–119.Google Scholar
Faust, Avraham 2011. The Excavations at Tel ‘Eton (2006–2009): A Preliminary Report. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 143:198–224.Google Scholar
Faust, Avraham 2014. The History of Tel ‘Eton Following the Results of the First Seven Seasons of Excavations (2006–2012). In Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE): 30 April–4 May 2012, University of Warsaw (Volume 2, Excavations and Progress Reports), edited by Bieliński, Piotr, Gawlikowski, Michał, Koliński, Rafał, Ławecka, Dorota, Sołtysiak, Arkadiusz, and Wygnańska, Zuzanna, pp. 585–604. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.Google Scholar
Faust, Avraham, and Katz, Haya 2012. Survey, Shovel Tests and Excavations at Tel ‘Eton : On Methodology and Site History. Tel Aviv 39:30–57.Google Scholar
Faust, Avraham, and Katz, Haya 2015. A Canaanite Town, a Judahite Center, and a Persian Period Fort: Excavating Over Two Thousand Years of History at Tel ‘Eton. Near Eastern Archaeology 78:88–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faust, Avraham, Katz, Haya, Ben-Shlomo, David, Sapir, Yair, and Eyall, Pirchiya 2014. Tel ‘Eton/Tell ‘Etun and its Interregional Contacts from the Late Bronze Age to the Persian-Hellenistic Period: Between Highlands and Lowlands. ZDPV 130:43–76.Google Scholar
Faust, Avraham, Katz, Haya, and Eyall, Pirchiya 2015. Late Persian–Early Hellenistic Remains at Tel ‘Eton: A Preliminary Report (2006–2014). Tel Aviv 42:103–126.Google Scholar
Field, John, and Banning, Edward B. 1998. Hillslopes Processes and Archaeology in Wadi Ziqlab, Jordan. Geoarchaeology 13:595–616.Google Scholar
Finkelstein, Israel, Lederman, Zvi, and Bunimovitz, Shlomo 1997. Methods of the Field Survey and Data Recording. In Highlands of Many Cultures: The Southern Samaria Survey (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 14), edited by Finkelstein, Israel, Lederman, Zvi, and Bunimovitz, Shlomo, pp. 11–24. Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University Publications Section, Tel Aviv.Google Scholar
Francovich, Riccardo, and Patterson, Helen (editors) 2000. Extracting Meaning from Ploughsoil Assemblages. Oxbow, Oxford.Google Scholar
Gause, Seana L. S., and Gerike, Christian 1997. Surface Survey for the Subsurface Site. Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology 10:1–3.Google Scholar
Golley, Frank B., Ryszkowski, Lech, and Sokur, J. T. 1975. The Role of Small Mammals in Temperate Forests, Grasslands and Cultivated Fields. In Small Mammals: Their Productivity and Population Dynamics (vol. 5), edited by Golley, Frank B., Petrusewicz, Kazimierz, and Ryszkowski, Lech, pp. 223–242. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Gualtieri, Alessandro F., and Venturelli, Paolo 1999. In Situ Study of the Goethite-Hematite Phase Transformation by Real Time Synchrotron Powder Diffraction. American Mineralogist 84:895–904.Google Scholar
Heth, Giora 1989. Burrow Patterns of the Mole Rat Spalax Ehrenbergi in Two Soil Types (Terra-Rossa and Rendzina) in Mount Carmel, Israel. Journal of Zoology 217:39–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heth, Giora, Golenberg, Edward M., and Nevo, Eviatar 1989. Foraging Strategy in a Subterranean Rodent, Spalax Ehrenbergi: A Test Case for Optimal Foraging Theory. Oecologia 79:496–505.Google Scholar
Hitchings, P.M.N., Jayyab, K. Abu, Bikoulis, P., and Banning, Edward B. 2013. A Bayesian Approach to Archaeological Survey in north-west Jordan. Antiquity 87(336). Electronic document, http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/hitchings336/, accessed August 3, 2015.Google Scholar
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List 2015. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.1. Electronic document, http://www.iucnredlist.org, accessed August 3, 2015.Google Scholar
Johnston, Kevin J. 2002. Protrusion, Bioturbation, and Settlement Detection during Surface Survey: The Lowland Maya Case. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 9:1–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaplan, Jacob 1958. Excavations at Wadi Rabah. Israel Exploration Journal 8:149–160.Google Scholar
Katz, Hayah, and Faust, Avraham 2012. The Assyrian Destruction Layer at Tel ‘Eton. Israel Exploration Journal 62:22–53 Google Scholar
Kimchi, Tali, and Terkel, Joseph 2003. Mole Rats (Spalax Ehrenbergi) Select Bypass Burrowing Strategies in Accordance with Obstacle Size. Die Naturwissenschaften 90:36–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kintigh, Keith W. 1988. The Effectiveness of Subsurface Testing: A Simulation Approach. American Antiquity 53:686–707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krakker, James J., Shott, Michael J., and Welch, Paul D. 1983. Design and Evaluation of Shovel-Test Sampling in Regional Archaeological Survey. Journal of Field Archaeology 10:469–480.Google Scholar
Leibner, Uzi 2009. Settlement and History in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Galilee: An Archaeological Survey of an Eastern Galilee. Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen.Google Scholar
Lightfoot, Kent G. 1989. A Defense of Shovel-Test Sampling: A Reply to Shott. American Antiquity 54:413–416.Google Scholar
Ludwig, Brian 2013. King Road Safety Lane Widening Project: Archaeological Survey Report. North State Resources, Inc. Prepared for the State of California, Department of Transportation, District 3-Office of Environmental Management, M1. Copies available from Placer County, Auburn and Tahoe City.Google Scholar
MacDonald, Burton 2004. Introduction. In The Tafila-Busayra Archaeological Survey 1999–2001, West-Central Jordan, edited by MacDonald, B., Herr, L.G., Neeley, M.P., T., Gagos, Moumani, K. and Rockman, M., pp. 1–20. The American Schools of Oriental Research, Boston.Google Scholar
Marder, Ofer, Bankirer, Rina Y., Dagan, Yehuda, Khalaily, Hamoudi, and Zbenovich, Vladimir 2011. Patterns of Settlements: Paleolithic to Neolithic Periods. In The Ramat Bet Shemesh Regional Project: Landscapes of Settlement: From the Paleolithic to the Ottoman Periods. IAA Reports 47, edited by Dagan, Yehuda, pp. 223–230. Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Mee, Christopher, and Cavanagh, William 2000. The Hidden Landscape of Prehistoric Greece: A View from Laconia and Methana. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 13:102–107.Google Scholar
Miller, J. Maxwell 1991. Archaeological Survey of the Kerak Plateau. Scholars Press and the American Schools of Oriental Research, Atlanta.Google Scholar
Minor, Rick 2005. Archaeological Survey Report for Union Street Railroad Bridge (Trail Connection Project), City of Salem Marion and Polk Counties Oregon, Key No. 11085. Heritage Research Associates, Inc. Report prepared for HDR Engineering for City of Salem, HDR Project No. 007337: 30289. Copies available from Urban Development Department, City of Salem.Google Scholar
Nance, Jack D., and Ball, Bruce F. 1986. No Surprises? The Reliability and Validity of Test Pit Sampling. American Antiquity 51:457–483.Google Scholar
Nance, Jack D., and Ball, Bruce F. 1989. A Shot in the Dark: Shott’s Comments on Nance and Ball. American Antiquity 54:405–412.Google Scholar
Nevo, Eviatar 1961. Observations on Israeli Populations of the Mole Rat Spalax E. Ehrenbergi Nehring 1898. Mammalia 25:127–144.Google Scholar
Nicholson, Bev A. 2011. The Role of Pocket Gophers (Thomomys talpoides) in Restructuring Stratigraphic Relationships at the Lovstrom Site. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 35:323–331.Google Scholar
Ofer, Avi 1993. The Highlands of Judah during the Biblical Period: Tel Aviv University Collections. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Pasquinucci, Marinella, and Fredric, Trement (editors) 2000. Non-Destructive Techniques Applied to Landscape Archaeology. Oxbow, Oxford.Google Scholar
Pomies, Marie-Pierre, Morin, Guillaume, and Vignaud, Colette 1998. XRD Study of the Goethite-Hematite Transformation: Application to the Identification of Heated Prehistoric Pigments. European Journal of Solid State and Inorganic Chemistry 35:9–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portugali, Yuval 1982. A Field Methodology for Regional Archaeology (the Jezreel Valley Survey, 1981). Tel Aviv 9:170–188.Google Scholar
Robbins-Wade, Mary 2003. Archaeological Resources Survey, Highlands Ranch, Spring Valley, San Diego County, California SPA 02-002, TM 5299, P02-023, ER 02-19-021. Affinis Job No. 1823. REC Consultants. Prepared for County of San Diego, Department of Planning and Land Use. Copies available from Department of Planning and Land Use, County of San Diego.Google Scholar
Rosen, Arlene M. 1986. Cities of Clay. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London.Google Scholar
Sapir, Yair, Avraham, Assaf, and Faust, Avraham 2016. Mud-Brick Composition, Archaeological Phasing and Pre-Planning in Iron Age Structures: Tel ‘Eton (Israel) as a Test-Case. Manuscript on file, The Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.Google Scholar
Sapir, Yair, Pariente, Sarah, Sapir, Yuval, Katz, Hayah, and Faust, Avraham 2016. How Are Tells Formed? On the Formation of Mound Topsoil at Tel ‘Eton, Israel. Manuscript on file, The Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.Google Scholar
Scheele, Harry G. 1990. Comments on Shovel-Tests in Archaeological Survey. Society for American Archaeology Bulletin 8:6.Google Scholar
Schlitter, D., Shenbrot, G. Kryštufek, B., and Sozen, M. 2008. Spalax Ehrenbergi. In IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.1.Electronic document, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/summary/14326/0, accessed August 3, 2015.Google Scholar
Schon, Robert 2000. On a Site and Out of Sight: Where Have Our Data Gone? Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 13:107–111.Google Scholar
Shott, Michael J. 1985. Shovel-Test Sampling as a Site Discovery Technique: A Case Study from Michigan. Journal of Field Archaeology 12:457–468.Google Scholar
Shott, Michael J. 1989. Shovel-Test Sampling in Archaeological Survey: Comments on Nance and Ball, and Lightfoot. American Antiquity 54:396–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torrent, Jose, and Barrón, Vidal 2003. Iron Oxides in Relation to the Colour of Mediterranean Soils. InApplied Study of Cultural Heritage and Clays, edited by Pérez-Rodríguez, J. L., pp. 377–386. Editorial CSIC, Madrid.Google Scholar
UC Berkeley Physical & Environmental Planning Capital Projects 2013. University of California Blue Oak Ranch Reserve Multi-Use Facilities and Infrastructure Project. Appendix C. UC Berkeley Physical & Environmental Planning Capital Projects. Electronic document, http://www.facilities.berkeley.edu/CP/Projects/BlueOakRanch/Final-ISMND/ApxC_ArchaeologicalResources.pdf, accessed August 29, 2015.Google Scholar
Ur, Jason A. 2010. Urbanism and Cultural Landscapes in Northeastern Syria: The Tell Hamoukar Survey, 1999–2001. Oriental Institute Publications Vol. 137. The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.Google Scholar
Ur, Jason A. 2013. Spying on the Past: Declassified Intelligence Satellite Images and Near Eastern Landscapes. Near Eastern Archaeology 76:28–36.Google Scholar
Więckowski, Wiesław, Cohen, Susan, Mienis, Henk K., and Horwitz, Liora Kolska 2013. The Excavation and Analysis of Porcupine Dens and Burrowing on Ancient and Recent Faunal and Human Remains at Tel Zahara (Israel). Bioarchaeology of the Near East 7:3–20.Google Scholar
Wood, W. Raymond, and Johnson, Donald L. 1978. A Survey of Disturbance Processes in Archaeological Site Formation. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 1, edited by Schiffer, Michael B., pp. 315–381. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Zertal, Adam 1992–2005. The Menasseh Hill Country Survey. Vol. 1–4. Tel Aviv and Haifa.Google Scholar
Zimhoni, Orna 1985. The Iron Age Pottery of Tel ‘Eton and Its Relations to the Lachish, Tell Beit Mirsim and Arad Assemblages. Tel Aviv 12:63–90.Google Scholar
Zuri, Ido, and Terkel, Joseph 1996. Locomotor Patterns, Territory, and Tunnel Utilization in the Mole-Rat Spalax Ehrenbergi. Journal of Zoology 240:123–140.Google Scholar