[Go to Parent Theme] [Previous Page] [SEARCH] [DAILY OUTLINES]

The cultural use of caves and rockshelters I

Monday 30th June: 08:30 - 10:30
2 hour session: 10-20 minutes with discussion

Chris Hunt (The Queen's University, Belfast, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology)
Nikos Kourampas (University of Stirling, School of Biological & Environmental Sciences)
Hwedi el-Rishi (University of Garyounis)
Ian Simpson (University of Stirling, School of Biological & Environmental Sciences)

Abstract

Caves and rockshelters have been widely reported as natural sediment traps, where sedimentary sequences, archaeological materials and biological remains accumulate over long periods and where the resulting archives can be very well-preserved over long timescales. There are examples where this is apparently the case and these sites often become lynchpins in regional stratigraphies. The taphonomy of materials within caves can, however, be complex and cave sequences and the materials within them are prone to diagenesis, collapse and recycling, which may drastically affect the signal contained in the sediments. One strand of this session therefore will focus on the understanding of the environmental signal from cave sequences and the disentangling of this signal from taphonomic noise.

Caves and rockshelters are, however, far more than just passive places where sediment accumulates. They are locations which have or have had profound significance to many cultural groups. Human activity within caves was - and sometimes still is highly specialised and locality-specific, including such rarely-preserved behaviours as art. The second strand of this session thus examines the records from caves and rockshelters in terms of the indicators for human behaviour.

Papers