![]() A shift in lithic materials, sources, and quarrying technologies propelled Tiwanaku’s rise as a primary urban center during the Andean Middle Horizon. monumental stone production was critical to Tiwanaku’s emergence as a central urban center. We discuss our research on stone quarrying and monumental production in light of previous investigation on the topic. Here we summarize ongoing geoarchaeological research into the lithic production of Tiwanaku monumentality. A vital component of Tiwanaku’s most important monuments, it defined Tiwanaku as a place and a people. Stone configured Tiwanaku construction and identity. Ground-penetrating radar data shows an anomalous reflection in the vicinity of the suspected blast furnace, which is partially beneath the modern roadway. A number of high-amplitude magnetic anomalies appear in the magnetic field gradient data that are thought to be associated with iron production, including extensive slag deposits and the possible location of the blast furnace. Several low-amplitude magnetic anomalies that appear in the data appear to be cultural in origin, and may be caused by features associated with the ironworks. Linear and rectangular anomalies that appear in the resistance data may be caused by architectural features, possibly shops or domestic structures associated with the ironworks. Additionally, ground-penetrating radar was used to investigate areas under an existing roadway. Electrical resistance and magnetic field gradient surveys were conducted over the site of the seventeenth century ironworks. Together these capacities are providing richly networked data on human activities and behaviour.Ī geophysical investigation was conducted at the site of the Falling Creek Ironworks (1619–1622), the first iron production facility in North America. We discuss how micromorphology is able to trace different pre‐depositional, depositional and post‐depositional histories of components, before considering its contribution to detecting spatial and temporal variation in uses of space enabling identification of single depositional episodes within secondary contexts. We illustrate this by reference to results from a three‐year NERC project which examined depositional sequences in core domestic and ritual contexts in three early urban sites in the Near East in different sociocultural and environmental contexts. Use of large resin‐impregnated thin sections allows contextual analysis of taphonomy and depositional relationships between sediments and artefact and bioarchaeological remains. The aim of this paper is to show how micromorphology is able to furnish information with the degree of precision necessary for analysing site formation processes and traces of activities in a variety of settings. ![]()
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