Soil and landscape history in the vicinity of archaeological sites at Glen Davis, New South Wales
Abstract
[excerpt from p. 258] The soils above layer T at cave 1 provide a marked contrast between relatively uniform undifferentiated materials inside the cave and materials with distinct clay segregation outside. The shelter of the cave would be expected to afford considerable protection against the direct effects of leaching which are evident outside the cave; in addition, the more or less continuous disturbance of cave deposits by man, together with the accretion of charcoal and other organic material, would tend to mask the evidence of soil formation. The presence of clayey material and segregations within layer T inside the cave indicate, however, that soil development does take place in the sheltered environment when man is absent from the site. The high permeability of the sediments is no doubt sufficient to permit the movement of colloids with seepage water which would encroach on sheltered sites. It is likely, therefore, that disturbance and accretion due to human occupation have been major factors in minimizing soil differentiation of layers corresponding to PQ.R and S within the cave, while in exposed sites these layers were weathered and clay was translocated to form bands of accumulation.
