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Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology pp 841–855Cite as

Soil Stratigraphy

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

Introduction

Soil stratigraphy or pedostratigraphy is a way of grouping and correlating sediments and rocks based on soil-related, or pedogenic, criteria. This contrasts with lithostratigraphy (classification based on lithological characteristics such as color or grain size), chronostratigraphy (classification based on age of deposits or rocks), and biostratigraphy (classification based on biological characteristics such as pollen or vertebrate fauna) (see the entry on “Stratigraphy” in this volume). It has been defined as “the study of different soil associations formed in an area during past periods of varied soil-forming conditions” Catt (1990, 169). Here, the term association refers to a group of related soils that vary laterally due to changes in soil-forming factors. This is a more generic use of the term compared to the soil-mapping parlance of the USDA (see the entry on “Soil Survey” in this volume). The unique physical and chemical properties that distinguish soils from...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anthropology and Departments Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Vance T. Holliday

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd, 622 Fraser Hall, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    Rolfe D. Mandel

  3. Department of Geography and the Environment, The University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd Street CLA building, main office- CLA 3.306, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Timothy Beach

Authors
  1. Vance T. Holliday
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  2. Rolfe D. Mandel
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  3. Timothy Beach
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Correspondence to Vance T. Holliday .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Allan S. Gilbert

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Holliday, V.T., Mandel, R.D., Beach, T. (2017). Soil Stratigraphy. 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_177

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