Geoarchaeological Study On The Function Of The Early Longshan Culture Moat(G114)at Dinggong Site

From 1985 to 2014,a total of eight excavations were carried out at the Dinggong site,and cultural remains mainly accumulated in the Longshan culture and the Shang and Zhou dynasties were found.In 2014,the archaeology team of the school of history and culture of Shandong University excavated the trench G114 which belongs to the early stage of Longshan culture in the east of the site.This paper aims to study the formation process of the moat and reconstruct the paleoenvironment and human behavior by geoarchaeological methods.A column of undisturbed block samples for soil micromorphology analysis and bulk samples for geochemical analysis were collected at the excavation in 2014.Through the analysis of soil micromorphology,magnetic susceptibility,LOI,phytolith and XRD analysis,the following understandings can be obtained:Four phases of moat sediments were identified through archaeology strata.In the first phase,at the initial stage of moat dug,the contribution of human activities to moat deposits was less,mainly natural accumulation.During this phase,the hydrodynamic force in the moat may be strong,and the vegetation in the moat is rare.At the same time,many soil aggregates collapsed or were transported from other places,indicating that the surface erosion was intense.In the second phase,after the continuous use of the moat,on the one hand,vegetation began to appear in the moat,while on the other hand,human activities also began to interfere with the formation of the accumulation in the moat,and more artificial inclusions appeared.There may be seasonal water flow in the moat,but the hydrodynamic conditions are not as strong as in the first phase.At the end of this phase,the soil formation process appeared.In the third phase,the moat was gradually abandoned,and the deposits in the moat were gradually increased,and the accumulation height was significantly increased.The repeated occurrence of soil formation process indicates the stable state of the accumulation surface.In the fourth stage,when the moat is abandoned and turned to be dry land,people may dump garbage in the moat,and eventually,the moat was finally leveled on the ground.House foundations and ash pits occurred in this area.G114 may have functions of defense,drainage and flood control in the first and second stages;In the third and fourth stages,it may become a dumping ground until it is completely filled.The reason of the function change of moat may be related to the development of Dinggong settlement.The dissertation composes the following chapters:Chapter 1:Introduction.Chapter 2:Excavation histories and studies of Dinggong site,and its modern and ancient environment.Chapter 3:Materials and methods.Sampling strategy and laboratory analysis.Chapter 4:Results.Chapter 5:Discussion.Chapter 6:Conclusion and problems...