Articles | Volume 10, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-727-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-727-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Original research article
| 
14 Oct 2024
Original research article |
| 14 Oct 2024
| 14 Oct 2024
The impact of agriculture on tropical mountain soils in the western Peruvian Andes: a pedo-geoarchaeological study of terrace agricultural systems in the Laramate region (14.5° S)
Fernando Leceta
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geomorphology and Soil Geography, Geographical Institute, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
Historical Mapping Laboratory, Espacio Interdisciplinario, Universidad de la República Uruguay (UdelaR), Montevideo, C.P. 11200, Uruguay
Christoph Binder
Geoarchaeology and Quaternary Science, Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg 97074, Germany
Christian Mader
ArchDepth Research Group, Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn, Bonn 53113, Germany
Bertil Mächtle
Geomorphology and Soil Geography, Geographical Institute, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
Erik Marsh
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Laboratorio de Paleoecología Humana, Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza 5500, Argentina
Laura Dietrich
Prehistoric Archaeology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle 06108, Germany
Markus Reindel
Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures, German Archaeological Institute, Bonn 53173, Germany
Bernhard Eitel
Geomorphology and Soil Geography, Geographical Institute, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
Julia Meister
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geoarchaeology and Quaternary Science, Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg 97074, Germany
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Gilles Rixhon, Julia Meister, and Ingmar Unkel
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 74, 147–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-147-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-147-2025, 2025
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This article is the preface of the special issue "Quaternary research in times of change – inspired by INQUA Roma 2023". It is a result of the XXI INQUA Congress held in Rome in July 2023. It briefly presents the nine contributions published in this volume.
Elena Appel, Thomas Becker, Dennis Wilken, Peter Fischer, Timo Willershäuser, Lea Obrocki, Henrik Schäfer, Markus Scholz, Olaf Bubenzer, Bertil Mächtle, and Andreas Vött
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 179–202, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-179-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-179-2024, 2024
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Human intervention in the natural drainage system of the Hessische Ried (Germany) resulted in the transformation of a large wetland into a cultural landscape. In this study, we reconstruct the river network that was used by Romans for transportation and security. We found that the Romans collected water from several smaller rivers to establish the river Landgraben as a navigable waterway. Unexpectedly, larger rivers did not contribute any water to the Landgraben system during Roman times.
Philipp Garbe, Amr Abd El-Raouf, Ashraf Es-Senussi, Eva Lange-Athinodorou, and Julia Meister
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 95–99, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-95-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-95-2024, 2024
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Geoarchaeological research in ancient Bubastis has concentrated on the western and central parts of the city. Although the “Temple of Hermes” was investigated and roughly located in eastern Bubastis during exploratory excavations in the 19th century, no traces of the temple can be seen on the surface today. Geomorphological surveys carried out in 2023 to determine the possible location of the temple revealed a central area of elevated sandy deposits, providing a suitable area for the building.
Julia Meister, Hans von Suchodoletz, and Christian Zeeden
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 72, 185–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-185-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-185-2023, 2023
Tobias Ullmann, Eric Möller, Roland Baumhauer, Eva Lange-Athinodorou, and Julia Meister
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 243–247, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-243-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-243-2022, 2022
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In this contribution we highlight as an example the application of a freely available tool for the Google Earth Engine. The software allows cloud-free satellite images to be processed. We show processing examples for the Nile Delta (Egypt) and how the remote sensing images are used to find hints of buried landforms, such as former river branches of the Nile.
André Kirchner, Nico Herrmann, Paul Matras, Iris Müller, Julia Meister, and Thomas G. Schattner
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 123–143, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-123-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-123-2022, 2022
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Our results indicate that the soils around Munigua currently have the potential for at least limited agricultural use in larger areas and would certainly allow the production of basic agricultural goods, not only today but most likely also in Roman times. Multi-layered colluvial deposits. as well as an excavated Roman hortic Anthrosol, indicate a long-term agrarian utilization of the area. Based on these results we can conclude that the city's economy was by no means focused solely on mining.
Julia Meister, Eva Lange-Athinodorou, and Tobias Ullmann
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 187–190, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-187-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-187-2021, 2021
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This is the preface to the special issue "Geoarchaeology of the Nile Delta: Current Research and Future Prospects", which brings together geoarchaeological case studies from different regions of the Nile Delta.
Sascha Scherer, Benjamin Höpfer, Katleen Deckers, Elske Fischer, Markus Fuchs, Ellen Kandeler, Jutta Lechterbeck, Eva Lehndorff, Johanna Lomax, Sven Marhan, Elena Marinova, Julia Meister, Christian Poll, Humay Rahimova, Manfred Rösch, Kristen Wroth, Julia Zastrow, Thomas Knopf, Thomas Scholten, and Peter Kühn
SOIL, 7, 269–304, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-269-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-269-2021, 2021
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This paper aims to reconstruct Middle Bronze Age (MBA) land use practices in the northwestern Alpine foreland (SW Germany, Hegau). We used a multi-proxy approach including biogeochemical proxies from colluvial deposits in the surroundings of a MBA settlement, on-site archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data and off-site pollen data. From our data we infer land use practices such as plowing, cereal growth, forest farming and use of fire that marked the beginning of major colluvial deposition.
Tobias Ullmann, Leon Nill, Robert Schiestl, Julian Trappe, Eva Lange-Athinodorou, Roland Baumhauer, and Julia Meister
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 69, 225–245, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-225-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-225-2020, 2020
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The contribution highlights the use of Landsat archive data (1985–2019) for the detection of surface anomalies potentially related to buried near-surface paleogeomorphological deposits in the Nile Delta (Egypt). The analyses of selected spectral-temporal metrics showed several anomalies in the immediate surroundings of Pleistocene sand hills (geziras) and settlement mounds (tells) of the eastern Delta, which allowed mapping of the potential near-surface continuation.
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Short summary
This study explores pre-Hispanic terrace agriculture in the southern Peruvian Andes, focusing on soil development and agricultural impacts. It examines soil types and properties, as well as agricultural practices, and traces the region's agricultural development over four phases, highlighting the resilience of ancient communities. The abandonment of terraces was not due to soil degradation, emphasizing the sustainability of pre-Hispanic practices and the adaptation to environmental change.
This study explores pre-Hispanic terrace agriculture in the southern Peruvian Andes, focusing on...
