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also describes how the inhabitants of Colca Valley, Peru, over 1500 years ago, trans- formed the valley walls into a terraced landscape better suited to agricultural produc- tion. Soils on this terraced landscape are similar to European anthropogenic soils, with enhanced fertility.

Holliday and Goldberg conclude the volume with an excellent six-page glossary of selected soil science terms, focusing on the nomenclature and soil taxonomy used by the U S . Department of Agriculture. Although articles in the volume are not loaded with jargon, most readers who are not American soil scientists will find this helpful. In fact, the glossary probably could be treated like a set of short-course notes to be read before the research studies. Editors of similar volumes should imitate this glossary in the future, and possibly add a second glossary covering the age and significance of projectile point types discussed in the text.

In summary, Soils in Archaeology: Landscape Evolution and Human Occupation is a valuable contribution to libraries serving archaeologists and a wide range of other scholars. Readers new to the field will be introduced to important basic concepts, whereas more experienced scholars will find some excellent new ideas and methods to apply to their own work.

J. Steven Kite Department of Geology and Geography

West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6300

Deciphering a Shell Midden. Jul ie K. Stein (Editor), 1992, Academic Press, xix + 375 pp., $89.95 (hardbound).

Deciphering a Shell Midden aptly describes the contents of this contribution to under- standing archaeological sediments, with particular emphasis on shell midden sites. Those archaeologists for whom “sediments” means “dirt” between the good stuff (arti- facts) can learn much from this book if they take the time to read it. Readers of Geoarchaeology are, in all likelihood, already converted to the necessity of sediment analysis and all it implies. They too will find much to ponder in this book. Throughout, there is a skillful blending of two disciplines (archaeology and geology) in a fashion that is seldom realized. As in any recipe, the proportions of sugar to salt will vary with taste.

Stein’s point is quite straightforward: A sediments approach to sites is worthwhile, even mandated, if accurate statements regarding cultural activities are to follow from excavation. Closely related is the assertion that, despite the obvious links between artifacts, sediments and stratigraphy, archaeologists have not taken full advantage of the theory and method developed by geologists. Problems associated with nearby archaeological site interpretation are cited to substantiate the claim. For example, Stein and her associates hypothesize that a change in appearance of shells deep in a number of nearby middens is due to a rise in water level associated with sea-level rise.

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The color change has nothing to do with the culture history of the site and therefore should not be used to designate a “natural level” to order artifacts and features into separate culture types such as phases. Stein points out that the criteria for “natural levels” are vague, and often undisclosed in typical reports. In defense of those who toil in shell middens, the field worker is faced with a bewildering assortment of visually different layers, which start and stop and dip at various angles. And as Stein notes (p. 103), these microstrata may or may not show up in sectional profiles drawn at regular intervals. Add to that the kind of mixing that occurs both during occupation and after, and a very challenging site matrix appears. The number of articles and symposia dedicated to midden analysis reflect this frustration. Undoubtedly, the same events occur in most sites; the issue with shell middens is that the results are so much more apparent to the naked eye and hence demand our attention as conscientious investi- gators.

British Camp, a large shell midden site on San Juan Island, State of Washington, is the test site for Stein’s approach. Excavated over several years by Stein and her students, a number of highly focused studies became student projects, theses, and eventually chapters in this book. As might be expected, Deciphering a Shell Midden does not tackle the major questions typical in modern shell midden archaeology in the Pacific Northwest. For example, issues of developing social complexity and differential distribu- tion of wealth driven by intensification on salmon resources and storage are not on the menu. Neither do we find much speculation on the cultural origin of the historic Coast Salish populations of the region. Rather, the volume is more of a “how to” book with methods driven by an explicit body of theory that can be used in shell heaps the world over. It is in this light that the book should be read.

Deciphering a Shell Midden consists of 15 chapters, of which Stein is author or coauthor of six. After a brief but adequate overview of shell midden studies, plus some specific background to the site, Stein carefully develops her concept of how shell midden stratification should be examined. She criticizes archaeologists for not keeping abreast of modern stratigraphic methods and practice. Archaeologists compare associations of artifacts, features, and other evidence of human behavior and arrive at culture types. Stratigraphic comparisons between sites are rare. However, the kind of adherence to stratigraphic principles advocated by Stein could well be employed to test the (‘law of physical association,” which is invoked so often in an uncritical manner and the source of much faulty interpretation. Carefully described stratigraphic units permit readers to evaluate the analysis, as Stein indicates. At British Camp the excavators termed the smallest lithostratigraphic units “facies.” By means of the Harris Matrix approach these were combined into larger units which, when linked with laboratory analysis, define four layers in the excavated part of the site.

A consideration of the radiocarbon dates and the diagnostic artifacts confirms the presence of two traditional localized culture types known as the Marpole Ethnochron- ozone (Marpole Phase in the traditional literature) and the more recent San Juan Ethnochronozone @an Juan Phase). The boundary between the two does not always coincide with the “boundary between the lithofacies drawn on the basis of the change in physical attributes of the strata observed in the field” (p. 131), which is, of course, a vindication of the methodology.

The chapters that follow describe the results of several analyses, designed to demon- strate the utility of the sediments approach and the wealth of data that can be extracted from a complex shell midden. The chapter format permits the authors to present details

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of the theory and method together with results, while the adequacy of the descriptions allows the reader to decide whether or not to employ similar studies in his or her own sites. Among the topics addressed are geophysical exploration, lithic technology, fire- cracked rock analysis, botanical remains, charcoal recovery, shell size, and comments on bone preservation. As might be expected, these chapters are of uneven quality and general interest.

Deciphering a Shell Midden joins the ranks of other interdisciplinary studies with archaeology as a focus. Invariably some topics get left out, whether by design or accident, not the least of which is the inclination of the principle investigator, the availability of personnel, specialized equipment, and money. In full recognition of these problems, I suspect many would have welcomed fuller discussions of paleo-environments, artifacts, faunal analysis, site functions, and British Camp’s position in regional prehistory. But this was not the rationale for the research in the first place and should not be used to evaluate the success of the volume. Nevertheless, after having excavated large chunks of the midden with such care and attention, opportunities for further studies abound.

In the past I have criticized Academic Press for unnecessarily wide margins and general waste of paper. The current format is tight and the contents well laid out in a highly readable format. The price of this volume ($go), which is not nearly as slim as it looks, incidentally, almost surely means that only those with strong interests in shell midden archaeology will be inclined to purchase i t for themselves. It is a shame Academic Press priced it so high because many of the ideas expressed in this book are pertinent to all those coping with archaeological sediments. A soft-covered version could be an affordable text. Those interested in geoarchaeology are urged to consider carefully Stein’s thoughtful approach to the integration of the two disciplines.

David Sanger Department of Anthropology

University of Maine Orano, Maine 04469

The Ceramic Legacy of Anna 0. Shepard. Ronald L. Bishop and Frederick W. Lange (Editors), 1991, University Press of Colorado, xi + 473 pp., $39.95 (clothbound).

No scholar’s name is more closely nor prominently associated with the application of physical science principles and techniques to the analysis of archaeological ceramics than Anna 0. Shepard. Yet despite her prominence in this domain, she lived the last decade and a half of her life (she died in 1973) disillusioned and bitter about archaeology, whose practitioners she felt were generally unappreciative or indifferent toward her efforts to integrate ceramic technology into their discipline. The experiences and frustra- tions of Shepard in her endeavors to conduct collaborative, interdisciplinary research with archaeologists provides an excellent, if sad, object lesson for us all in an age when such research is increasingly being encouraged by rapid technological growth and

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