Alluvial geoarchaeology of an ephemeral stream

Implications for Holocene landscape change in the central part of the Ebro Depression, northeast Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID12133532
AuthorsAna Constante (Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, corresponding author), Jose Luís Peña‐Monné (Universidad de Zaragoza), Arsenio Muñoz Jiménez (0000-0001-5700-6495, Universidad de Zaragoza), Arsenio Muñoz
Year2010
Volume25
Issue4
Pages475-496
Publication date2010-06-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0883-6353 • E-ISSN: 1520-6548
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/gea.20314
OpenAlexW2068355531
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited28

La Virgen is an ephemeral tributary of the Ebro River in northeast Spain with a complex alluvial sequence. We analyzed alluvial stratigraphy to develop a model of Holocene fluvial evolution for La Virgen and infer causes of floodplain dynamics. Three alluvial terraces were mapped and described using a combination of geoarchaeological and geomorphological techniques. Stratigraphic ages were estimated using 14 C dating and archaeological remains. Sedimentation in the valley floor commenced in the Neolithic period ca. 6000 BC and continued during the Bronze and Iron ages (ca. 1800–500 BC), the Iberian and Roman periods (ca. 500 BC–AD 500), and the Middle Ages (ca. AD 500–1500). The main terrace (N3) is 14m thick and predominantly composed of sand, silt, and clay that we believe are derived from local hillslopes and represent a long period of human‐induced soil erosion that intensified during the Bronze and Iron ages until the Late Roman period. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Alluvial fan · Alluvium · Archaeology · Drumlin · Ephemeral key · Erosion · Floodplain · Fluvial · Geoarchaeology · Geochemistry · Geography · Geomorphology · Holocene · Period (music · Sedimentary rock · Silt · Structural basin · Terrace (agriculture · Tributary · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geological formations and processes · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Geology · Oceanography · Paleontology · Stratigraphy

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