About this Research Topic
Over millennia, humans have greatly contributed to shaping landscapes and places across the vast Latin American region. Its expression can be seen from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego and from hearths to cities in the diverse archaeological record encountered in its different territories. In the last decades, geoarchaeological studies have allowed the understanding of the complex processes behind impacts, interactions, and transformations involving people and environments in Latin America. By focusing on theories, methods, and proxies for targeting minerals, rocks, and soil/sediments, geoarchaeologists in Latin America have been able to disentangle these relationships from pre-Columbian times all the way to the present.
This Research Topic aims at presenting the current state of geoarchaeological research in Latin America. It is a space for the publication of original works resulting from the 10 th Developing International Geoarchaeology – 10th Group of Geoarchaeological Studies in Latin America (10 th DIG – GEGAL) conference. These two major international conferences were brought together for the first time in São Paulo, Brazil, in November 2023. To reflect upon the spirit of the joint conference, we seek with this topic to widen the visibility of geoarchaeological research carried out in Latin America within a global-scale atmosphere. Among the topics covered in this volume are the landscape-scale effects of human activities on soils/sediments, the understanding of the major geogenic, biogenic, and anthropogenic processes behind depositional and post-depositional site histories, and the procurement of raw materials for artefacts and buildings. Contributions are expected to show the application of diverse geoarchaeological techniques such as micromorphology, multielement and molecular analyses, geophysical procedures, x-ray diffractometry, textural analyses, site surveys, etc.
We welcome works presented at the 10 th DIG – GEGAL conference. Contributions can be submitted as Original Research, Systematic Review, Methods, Review, Mini Review, Perspective, and Brief Research Report articles. While the focus of the Research Topic is on studies carried out in Latin America, contributions dealing with other regions that were presented at the conference are also welcomed. Issues of interest include:
● Landscape transformations and legacies through time
● Site formation processes in different settings
● Raw materials and procurement
● Geoarchaeological mapping and survey
● Anthropogenic contributions to sites and landscapes
● Novel methods in geoarchaeological research
This Research Topic aims at presenting the current state of geoarchaeological research in Latin America. It is a space for the publication of original works resulting from the 10 th Developing International Geoarchaeology – 10th Group of Geoarchaeological Studies in Latin America (10 th DIG – GEGAL) conference. These two major international conferences were brought together for the first time in São Paulo, Brazil, in November 2023. To reflect upon the spirit of the joint conference, we seek with this topic to widen the visibility of geoarchaeological research carried out in Latin America within a global-scale atmosphere. Among the topics covered in this volume are the landscape-scale effects of human activities on soils/sediments, the understanding of the major geogenic, biogenic, and anthropogenic processes behind depositional and post-depositional site histories, and the procurement of raw materials for artefacts and buildings. Contributions are expected to show the application of diverse geoarchaeological techniques such as micromorphology, multielement and molecular analyses, geophysical procedures, x-ray diffractometry, textural analyses, site surveys, etc.
We welcome works presented at the 10 th DIG – GEGAL conference. Contributions can be submitted as Original Research, Systematic Review, Methods, Review, Mini Review, Perspective, and Brief Research Report articles. While the focus of the Research Topic is on studies carried out in Latin America, contributions dealing with other regions that were presented at the conference are also welcomed. Issues of interest include:
● Landscape transformations and legacies through time
● Site formation processes in different settings
● Raw materials and procurement
● Geoarchaeological mapping and survey
● Anthropogenic contributions to sites and landscapes
● Novel methods in geoarchaeological research
Keywords: geoarchaeological research, latin america, landscapes, micromorphology, environment
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
