RT journal article
T1 The Songon-M'Brathé shell midden (Ivory Coast): microstratigraphic evidence of human activities and paleoenvironmental evolution in the Late Holocene
A1 Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Mario
A1 Bernal Casasola, Darío
A1 Kouassi, Siméon Kouakou
A1 Portillo Sotelo, José Luis
A1 Toure, Aïcha Gninin
A1 Loba, Leon Fabrice
A1 Cantillo Duarte, Juan Jesús
A1 Ettien, Étienne N’Doua
A1 Vijande Vila, Eduardo
A2 HistoriaGeografía y Filosofía
K1 Shell midden
K1 Microstratigraphy
K1 µ-XRF
K1 Ivory Coast
K1 Africa
AB This study explores the site formation and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Songon-M’Brathé shell midden in IvoryCoast through microstratigraphic analysis. Using geoarchaeological and dating techniques—including micromorphology,µ-XRF elemental mapping, radiocarbon dating, and thermoluminescence—the human occupation at the site is dated fromthe 7th to the 17th centuries CE. The earliest deposits reflect periodic flooding from a paleochannel of the Agnéby River,embedding organic matter and pottery fragments, marking early human activity in a dynamic floodplain. A subsequentphase of prolonged water saturation led to the formation of a hydromorphic gley deposit, indicating a temporarily abandoned wetland. Later layers reveal anthropogenic inputs, with combustion by-products followed by shellfish remainslinked to cooking and dumping activities, alongside evidence of trampling. A hiatus in the midden’s formation is markedby overbank sediments with secondary calcitic cementation, signifying discontinuities in human occupation. Post-depositional reworking includes bioturbation and agricultural disturbances. As the first microstratigraphic study of a shell middenin Ivory Coast, this research expands African shell midden data to tropical regions, incorporates open-air contexts that hadnot previously been examined from this perspective, and refines their chronological framework. These findings enhancethe understanding of human–environment interactions in tropical coastal settings, contributing to broader geoarchaeological research on shell middens as a global phenomenon.
PB Springer
SN 1866-9565
YR 2026
FD 2026-12
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39557
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39557
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 05-nov-2026