Snails

Archaeology and Landscape Change

Paul Davies

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781782975946
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

The remains of snails in ancient soils and sediments are one of the most important biological indicators of past landscapes, and have attracted study for well over a century. In spite of this, the only English-language textbook was published in 1972 and is long since out of print. Snails provides a comprehensive, up to date reference text on the use of snails as indicators of past environments in Quaternary landscape studies and archaeology. It considers the use of terrestrial and freshwater sub-fossil snail remains as indicators of Late Quaternary (c. last 15, 000 years) environmental change and as indicators of past environments and human impacts on the landscape. The volume also demonstrates how an understanding of modern snail ecology can be used to enhance our interpretation of landscape archaeology, and provides a detailed contextual approach to the main types of deposits in which snail remains are found. Davies also puts forward an agenda for future research on the use of snails in archaeological and environmental reconstruction.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introduction to Molluscan Analysis: Principles and Practice
• 2. Neoecology: Aspects of Distribution and Habitat-Based Studies
• 3. Late-glacial and Postglacial Environmental Change: the Molluscan Framework
• 4. Modern and Past: Archaeology and Land-Use Histories
• 5. Archaeology: Monuments, Contexts and Land-Use Histories
• 6. Tufa Deposits
• 7. Overbank Alluvium
• 8. Colluvium, Scree and Cave Deposits
• 9. Blown Sand and Associated Contexts
• 10. Freshwater Deposits
• 11. Epilogue: Future Directions
• Appendix 1. Habitat classification and ecological groups
• Appendix 2. Notes on British species ecology and identification: freshwater and brackish species
• Appendix 3. Habitat preferences of the Sphaeriidae in Switzerland
• Appendix 4. Notes on British species ecology and identification: terrestrial species
• References