Micromorphology of Cave Sediments in the Humid Tropics
Niah Cave, Sarawak
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5086674 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark Stephens (0000-0001-7303-0372), James Rose (0000-0002-8613-4792), D D Gilbertson, Matthew G Canti, Matthew Canti |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 42-55 |
| Publication date | 2005-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Asian perspectives (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0066-8435 • E-ISSN: 1535-8283 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/asi.2005.0014 |
| OpenAlex | W2131943637 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
| References cited | 10 |
This is the first detailed study of the micromorphology of archaeologically important cave sediments in the Great Cave of Niah, in the humid tropics of Sarawak, Borneo. Micromorphology is used to describe the sediments and post-depositional alteration, reconstruct the palaeoenvironments, and refine the environmental history of late Pleistocene deposits associated with the human remains (the so-called Deep Skull dated to ca. 43,000-42,000 B.P.). Micromorphology provides details of the shape, roundedness, arrangement, and chemistry of grains, aggregates, precipitates, and sedimentary structures that make up the cave sediments. The dominant processes in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah are guano sedimentation, fluvial and shallow pond deposition interrupted by desiccation, mass movement, and chemical weathering. Also important is post-depositional alteration by bioturbation, mineral translocation and reprecipitation, and diagenesis. Micromorphology also provides evidence for short periods of soil development, burnt surfaces, and deposition of small fragments of bone within the sediment. Together this information indicates the fine details of the environment occupied by humans, the scale and effects of the mass movement processes that deformed the beds in which the human remains are preserved, and the taphonomic processes that reworked and redistributed archaeological material within this part of the cave
Archaeology · Bioturbation · Cave · Deposition (geology · Diagenesis · Fluvial · Geochemistry · Geography · Guano · Pleistocene · Sediment · Sedimentary depositional environment · Sedimentary rock · Sedimentary structures · Sedimentology · Taphonomy · Weathering · Geological formations and processes · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
The geoarchaeology of hominin dispersals to and from tropical Southeast Asia
Understanding the Callao Cave Depositional History
Taphonomic Analyses of Cave Breccia in Southeast Asia
Years of archaeological site stratigraphy and micromorphology in Boodie Cave, Barrow Island, Western Australia
Microstratigraphy reveals cycles of occupation and abandonment at the mid Holocene coastal site of Thach Lac, northern-central Vietnam
Rockshelter sedimentation in a dynamic tropical landscape
Preliminary soil micromorphology studies of landscape and occupation history at Tabon Cave, Palawan, Philippines
Geoarchaeological research in the humid tropics
Modern humans in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3
Post-depositional alteration of humid tropical cave sediments
Shell-gathering from mangroves and the seasonality of the Southeast Asian Monsoon using high-resolution stable isotopic analysis of the tropical estuarine bivalve (Geloina erosa) from the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak
Megabeasts under the microscope
Foragers, tropical forests and the formation of archaeological evidences
The acid test
Initial micromorphological results from Liang Bua, Flores (Indonesia)
Sedimentation, re-sedimentation and chronologies in archaeologically-important caves
Cave site formation processes, climate change and hominin activities
Bringing Capital Back In, or Social Democracy Reconsidered
The 'human revolution' in lowland tropical Southeast Asia
Site formation processes of outdoor spaces in tropical environments
Cave Sites in Northeastern Luzon, Philippines
Aboriginal man and environment in Australia.
Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology
Diagenesis in Prehistoric Caves
Micromorphology of Pech-de-l'Azé II sediments
Differential Burning, Recrystallization, and Fragmentation of Archaeological Bone
Relationship of cave fills to glaciation in the Nelson River Valley, Central Western Tasmania
Middens and Megafauna
Environmental history of Nombe rockshelter, Papua New Guinea Highlands
| Unique citing works | 21 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,6 |
| Citation span | 1991 - 2025 (35) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |