Jul 15, 2024
Standardized Protocol for Soil Survey and Archaeological Diagnosis for the DOPAMICS Research Program
- Marc Testé1,
- Kevin Mabobet1,
- Julien Engel1,
- Louise Brousseau1
- 1Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR AMAP
Protocol Citation: Marc Testé, Kevin Mabobet, Julien Engel, Louise Brousseau 2024. Standardized Protocol for Soil Survey and Archaeological Diagnosis for the DOPAMICS Research Program. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.14egn768pv5d/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: March 13, 2022
Last Modified: July 15, 2024
Protocol Integer ID: 59399
Keywords: DOPAMICS, pre-Columbian societies, ring ditch, human science, pedology, soil, archaeology, French Guiana, Guyane française, ERC
Funders Acknowledgement:
ERC
Grant ID: DOPAMICS grant number 101039272
Disclaimer
DOPAMICS is funded by the European Union under grant no. 101039272. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Abstract
We describe the protocol developed as part of the ERC-funded DOPAMICS research program for palm sampling in three forested pre-Columbian sites in French Guiana: MC87 near Régina, the "Grand plateau" in the CNRS Nouragues Research Station, and Mont Galbao near Saül.
This protocol follows the setting-up of the research transect (see "before start" section). It aims to carry out an extensive soil survey and archaeological diagnosis.
This protocol is made open access under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). It details the sampling strategy and steps, and the material needed with the aim to encourage future reuses of this protocol for the same or similar research purposes, and to improve the reproducibility of the research conducted. Reuse of this protocol must credit the authors and mention its DOI and download link.
Image Attribution
Elodie Schloesing #DOPAMICS2022
Materials
- Soil auger for hard and stony soils (gouge, edelman or riverside)
Eijkelkamp riverside auger
- Measuring tape of 1 or 2 meter long
- Handling gloves
- Spatula
- 2L Zip-lock plastic bags (for soil samples)
- Sampling pots or zip-lock plastic bags (for soil artifacts)
- Large (bullet) tip permanent marker (to write on plastic bags)
- Sieve (5mm)
- Colorimeter
Colorimax Pantone Capsure colorimeter
- 20 mL graduated cylinder
- Sieve (160 µm)
- Sodium hexametaphosphate (Na6P6O18) solution (40g/L)
- Orbital shaker
- Petri dishes
- Stereo microscope (8-40X)
- Manual clicker counter
Safety warnings
Working in isolated areas of the Amazonian rainforest can be dangerous. To ensure safety, it is important to carry a fully charged satellite phone and GPS device, and a first aid kit. It is also advisable to consult a doctor to undergo a health check-up before embarking on remote expeditions.
Before start
Protocol
NAME
Standardized Protocol for Transect Set-up and Palm Inventory for the DOPAMICS Research ProgramCREATED BY
Louise Brousseau
- Make sure the satellite phone and GPS batteries are fully charged.
- Gather all necessary materials.
Foreword: Sampling Strategy
Foreword: Sampling Strategy
Soils are sampled every 50 meters along the research transect spanning from the ring ditch hill (RH) to an adjacent hill or slope with no or sparse evidence of pre-Columian occupation (i.e. adjacent Hill, AH), according to the position of the pickets (Cx= Cstart, C1, C2, etc.).
→ see "Standardized Protocol for Transect Set-up and Palm Inventory for the DOPAMICS Research Program"
Additional pits are collected in the landscape surrounding the central line on the ring ditch hill (RHx = RH1, RH2, etc.) and, eventually, on the adjacent hill (AHx= AH1, AH2, etc.).
Figure 1. Sampling strategy.
Soils are sampled with a riverside auger (terra-firme, circles) or a gouge auger (bottomland, squares). "Cx" refer to pits made along the transect (Cstart, C1, C2, etc.). "RHx" and "AHx" refer to additional pits pits on the ring ditch hill (RH1, RH2, etc.) and on the adjacent hill or slope (AH1, AH2, etc.).
Soil sampling
Soil sampling
Every 50 meters along the central line (at the position of pickets "Cstart", "C1", "C2", etc.) and at the position of additional pits ("RH" and "AH"),
- Collect soil samples every 5 cm in depth, starting from the surface to 120 cm in depth
- Put the soil samples in zip-lock plastic bags
- With a large tip permanent marker, write down the sample ID on the plasic bag
- Record the GPS position of the pit
Note
Non-redundant soil sample ID formatting: "[SITE ID]_[pit ID].[depth range]"
- [site ID]= "MC87" (MC87), "NOUR" (Nouragues), "GALB" (Mont Galbao)
- [pit ID]= "Cstart", "C1", "C2", "C3", "RH1", "RH2", "AH1", "AH2", etc.
- [depth range]= "0-5","5-10","10-15", etc.
Lab analyses
Lab analyses
Samples from 0 to 60 cm are analyzed in the laboratory.
The remaining samples (60 - 120 cm) are stored for further analyses.
Soil samples preparation and artifact extraction
Soil samples preparation and artifact extraction
- Weigh wet soil samples
- Dry the soil samples drying oven at 50°C
- Sieve the soil (5 mm) to remove stones and roots and to extract archaelogical artefacts (i.e. ceramic shards)
- Extract macroscopic charcoals (>2mm) and soot deposits from the sieved fraction by hand
- Tranfer artifacts in sampling pots or zip-lock plastic bags
- With a large tip permanent marker, write down the soil sample ID on the pot
- Weigh dry soil samples
- ⇒ Note the wet and dry mass of the sample, the soil type (hydromorphic or ferralitic soil), presence/absence of stones, roots and artifacts in your lab book or in an excel spreadsheet
Selection of macroscopic charcoals for radiocarbon dating (subcontracted)
Selection of macroscopic charcoals for radiocarbon dating (subcontracted)
For each site,
- Identify soil layers with an increasing abundance of fragments of ceramics and charcoals in pits from the enclosure and slopes of the ring ditch (e.g. 0-45 cm deep)
- Select 10 charcoals >10mg (ideally between 20 and 100mg) for radiocarbon dating
Soil colorimetry
Soil colorimetry
With a colorimeter, measure the colour of each soil sample
⇒ Note the Munsell Color value in your lab book or in an excel spreadsheet
Soil conditioning for physico-chemistry (subcontracted)
Soil conditioning for physico-chemistry (subcontracted)
Note
Physico-chemistry is carried out on the following samples (see Figure 1):
- Terra-firme (6 samples/pit): Cx.5-10 ; Cx.15-20 ; Cx.25-30 ; Cx.35-40 ; Cx.45-50 ; Cx.55-60
- Bottomland (5 samples/pit): Cx.5-20 ; Cx.20-30 ; Cx.30-40 ; Cx.40-50 ; Cx.50-60
- Weigh 100 - 200 mg of each dry soil sample from 5 to 60 cm deep
- Transfer the sub-sample in a plastic bag for soil granulometry and chemistry analysis (pH, C, N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Na, Al)
- Write down the sample ID on the plastic bag
Abundance of microscopic charcoals (< 2 mm)
Abundance of microscopic charcoals (< 2 mm)
The remaining soil samples are used to extract micro-charcoals.
The abundance of microcharcoals was evaluated every 100 meters along the central line in soil samples from the surface to 60 cm deep.
Note
The abundance of microcharcoals is evaluated on the following samples (see Figure 1):
- Terra-firme: Cx.5-10 ; Cx.15-20 ; Cx.25-30 ; Cx.35-40 ; Cx.45-50 ; Cx.55-60
- Bottomland: samples from bottomlands are excluded because of a high level of organics matter enrichment (due to a slower decomposition process), which makes it difficult to distinguish between charcoals and plant residues.
For each soil sample,
- Measure 2.5 cm3 of soil sample with a graduated cylinder containing a solution of sodium hexametaphosphate (Na6P6O18) at 40g/L
- Transfer in a 50 mL Falcon tube and fill the tube with sodium hexametaphosphate (40 g/L) up to 50 mL
- Incubate the sample on an orbital shaker at ambiant temperature for 12 hours
- Sieve the sample (160 µm)
- Transfer the sample in a Petri dish
- Oven dry the sample at 50° during 12 hours
- Put the Pietri dish on a grid background composed of 0.25 x 0.25 cm squares
- Count the number of microscopic charchaols with a 40X stereo microscope and a manual clicker counter
⇒ Note the Munsell Color value in your lab book or in an excel spreadsheet
The remaining soil samples are stored in the plastic bags for further analyses.