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Phosphorus Accumulation in Soil of an Indian Habitation Site

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Eugene F. Dietz
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Extract

At the former habitation sites of aboriginal Indians considerable animal refuse must have been discarded close to their tents or houses. This material would have been largely composed of animal and bird bones, fish remains, and so on, rich in phosphorous. Accumulations of these wastes would have been left behind after abandoning the place, to slowly decay and percolate into the soil by rainwater.

In the humid regions, the visible evidence of such remains may have long since disappeared on an old campsite; however, the soil must have been enriched in phosphorus, and this enrichment might still be ascertainable by soil analysis.

Type
Facts and Comments
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , April 1957 , pp. 405 - 409
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1957

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References

Anonymous 1941 Soil Analysis. In “Notes and News.” Antiquity, Vol. 15, pp. 282-3. Gloucester.Google Scholar
Solecki, R. S. 1953 Exploration of an Adena Mound at Natrium, West Virginia. Anthropological Papers, No. 40, pp. 313-95, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 151. Washington.Google Scholar