Wetland microfossils in soil: implications for the study of land use on archaeological landscapes

Abstract

In this study we identify wetland microfossils in agricultural soils in Polynesian stone mounds at Pouerua, northern New Zealand. As the presence of these microfossils is most likely anthropogenic and as the soils are free-draining, this shows that wetland microfossils can provide evidence for land use in dryland archaeological landscapes. However, whether the microfossils in the mounds at Pouerua are related to pre- or post-European activity is uncertain because at this stage the rate of microfossil percolation in local soils is unknown.

Keywords

Microfossils, diatoms, sponge spicules, pollen, percolation, bioturbation, agriculture, New Zealand.