Human trampling as an agent of archaeological disturbance: an experimental study of the effect of trampling on ceramic shard preservation and distribution

Abstract

Bokoni sites comprise stonewalled homesteads with associated agricultural terraces and roads. Unlike other southern African Farming Community sites middens are absent from Bokoni sites. Instead, pottery shards have been found in terrace excavations, and scattered across the sites with evidence for sudden abandonment. In order to identify processes that contributed to pottery distribution and taphonomy in these areas, this study explored the impact of human trampling on the distribution, and condition of ceramic shards in two contexts. The first context is similar to an agricultural terrace, and the second simulates path conditions. This study uses a methodology derived from experimental archaeology. The application of this method in this Research Report aids in understanding the archaeological record better. Archaeological material and experiments were replicated to reconstruct past human activities (i.e. trampling). This technique informed on the processes (trampling) behind site formation, and how they affect the integrity of archaeological record. Variables that were controlled are the shard volume, size, distribution, trampling direction and duration of trampling. The results generated in this study revealed that trampling modification is high for both the terrace and path experiment. Fragmentation is the dominant factor leading to size reduction of shards, rather than abrasion. Various sized shards are spatially distributed vertically and horizontally on the paths plot, whereas, the shards on the terrace are only displaced horizontally. The spatial distribution of the shards before trampling for both the two experiments was clustered, but trampling resulted in two different spatial distribution patterns. The terrace ended with a dispersed pattern, while the path experiment resulted in a more limited pattern of dispersion