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Speleothems

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology

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

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Definition

The term speleothem is used to cover all secondary chemical deposits in caves and, occasionally, of mines in limestone (karst) terrains. Its etymology is from the Greek “spēlaion” (or cave) and “thema” (or deposit). For a more specialist account of karst and speleology, see Ford and Williams (2007).

Introduction

Most people are familiar with the commonest forms of speleothems: stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstones. Their main relevance to the archaeology of caves stems from (1) their association with hominin and faunal remains or with artifacts such as stone tools, (2) the continuous records of climate change they contain, and (3) the fact that they can be reliably dated back hundreds of thousands of years and, in some cases, even millions of years. Thus, the dating of speleothems has contributed significantly to constructing a chronology of the stages of human evolution. This is because hominin remains are frequently well preserved in the alkaline environment of caves...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, Liverpool University, Liverpool, L69 3GS, UK

    Alfred G. Latham

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  1. Alfred G. Latham
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Correspondence to Alfred G. Latham .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Allan S. Gilbert

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Latham, A.G. (2017). Speleothems. 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_161

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