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Rockshelter Settings

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Synonyms

  • English: cove; hole; hollow; rock shelter; rockhouse; rock-shelter; shelter

  • French: abri, abri sous roche, grotte

  • Spanish: abrigo roscoso, cova, cueva

  • German: Felsdachshutz, Höhle

  • Italian: riparo, grotta

  • Arabic: ghar

Definition

Rockshelter. A natural cavity enclosed by one or more rock walls and an overhang that provides protection from the elements (wind, precipitation, sun, or a combination thereof).

Introduction

Rockshelters are important settings for archaeological sites because they form in numerous ways and in a variety of bedrock types and landscapes. The same properties of rockshelters that provide protection to their human and animal inhabitants also contribute to the protection and preservation of archaeological deposits left within them.

Humans exploit rockshelters for a variety of reasons. Ethnographic studies have revealed many different human behaviors and spatial patterning of material remains within these sites. For example, Binford (1996) notes that...

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Acknowledgment

William R. Farrand (1931–2011) laid the foundation to a comprehensive framework for the study of rockshelter sequences and, in doing so, influenced and motivated a generation of geoarchaeologists, including the author, whose work here depends greatly on his research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070, Tübingen, Germany

    Susan M. Mentzer

  2. School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Rümelinstr. 23, Tucson, AZ, 72070, USA

    Susan M. Mentzer

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  1. Susan M. Mentzer
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Correspondence to Susan M. Mentzer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Allan S. Gilbert

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Mentzer, S.M. (2017). Rockshelter Settings. In: Gilbert, A.S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4409-0_159

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