Author:

Keywords:

Soil micromorphology, Crete, Bronze Age, Minoan Archaeology

Abstract:

Traditionally, the Cretan Bronze Age archaeological community is often reluctant in adopting new approaches within the discipline. An example of this is its use of soil micromorphology, the study of (archaeologically relevant) soil at the microscopic level. Despite a decades-long presence in archaeology and its tried and proven merit as a unique source of information for stratigraphical and geomorphological analysis, the use of soil micromorphology remains undervalued as an analysis technique in Cretan Bronze Age Archaeology, with approximately only one in ten excavations in the last ten years including soil micromorphological analysis. One such exception has been the joint Université catholique de Louvain - KU Leuven excavations at Sissi carried out between 2007 and 2011, where extensive micromorphological sampling and analysis of intra-building contexts took place. Using the results of this research as an example, this paper aims to highlight the added value of soil micromorphology for the understanding of these contexts, even in cases where significant bioturbation has occurred. Specifically, the emphasis will be on the insights regarding materiality and formation processes of archaeologically relevant soil constituents gained through the adoption of soil micromorphology as an integrated field work technique.