Kevin Edwards - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Kevin Edwards

Research paper thumbnail of Competing hypotheses, ordination and pollen preservation: Landscape impacts of Norse landnám in southern Greenland

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 2017

Peat sequences in close proximity to former Norse farmsteads in southern Greenland are valuable p... more Peat sequences in close proximity to former Norse farmsteads in southern Greenland are valuable palaeoecological archives for exploring the impacts of the 10 th century Norse colonisation. Unfortunately they are far from widespread and many would be considered suboptimal for palaeoecological analysis owing to the taphonomic complexities perceived to be associated with their depositional environments. This paper explores the value of one such archive from the Vatnahverfi region of southern Greenland. On the basis of field observations, a problematic depositional context was anticipated and this is borne out in the contradictory palynological results which demonstrate evidence for agriculture and abandonment in contemporary horizons and radiocarbon age-depth reversals. Multiple working hypotheses are developed to explicitly demonstrate the equally plausible, but starkly different, interpretations that are possible from these data. To refine our interpretations we apply pollen preservation analysis and multivariate statistical analysis of this dataset with a large well dated fossil dataset from the same region. In so doing, this paper highlights the value of ordination as a chronological tool and the importance of pollen preservation analysis in interpreting taphonomically-complex depositional environments.

Research paper thumbnail of Excavation and environmental archaeology of a small cairn associated with cultivation ridges in Aberdeenshire

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1980

Research paper thumbnail of Palynology as a predictive tool in archaeology

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1995

Environmental approaches contribute to the methodologies available to archaeologists. Too often, ... more Environmental approaches contribute to the methodologies available to archaeologists. Too often, however, their perceived function leads to a relegation to post-excavation study rather than providing direction to archaeological investigation. Unlike many monument-and artefactdominated data sets, those of an environmental nature (particularly if obtained from off-site depositional contexts) are often continuous and can be employed predictively. Using the results of a pollen-analytical study from eastern Scotland, it is shown how such data can provide not only a fuller picture of environmental and cultural change (eg by producing evidence for the degree of exploitation of the prehistoric and later landscape in terms of vegetation types and change, the extent of cultivation, the arable/pastoral mix, soil erosion, the length of occupation, or even the degree of nomadism), but they also highlight lacunae in the archaeological record (the immediate vicinity of the pollen site is virtually devoid of monuments and finds). Palynology can produce plausible and challenging data which help to pose and isolate problems for the archaeologist.

Research paper thumbnail of Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement

Environmental Archaeology, Oct 17, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeological and palynological studies at the Mesolithic pitchstone and flint site of Auchareoch, Isle of Arran

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1989

The results of an archaeological and environmental (mainly palynological) investigation of a site... more The results of an archaeological and environmental (mainly palynological) investigation of a site of Mesolithic age are presented. The inland kame terrace site of Auchareoch on the Isle of Arran has produced some preserved features with over 4400 flint and pitchstone finds, and carbonized hazelnut shells. The extent and character of the occupation area are assessed and shown to be extensive (300-400m 2). The environmental data demonstrate the limitations imposed by soil pollen and charcoal studies, but suggest that the area has experienced possible hunter-gathering and agricultural impacts, prior to soil deterioration and peat growth. An attempt is made to place the site in the wider context of the Mesolithic of northern Britain.

Research paper thumbnail of Early Holocene Investigations at Saksunardalur and the Origins of the Faroese Biota

Research paper thumbnail of Palynological and Vegetational Changes Í ssociated with the Deposition of Saksunarvatn Ash in the Faroe Islands

Research paper thumbnail of A Rapid and Efficient Method for Evaluation of Suspect Testimony: Palynological Scanning

Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2015

A rapid method for evaluating suspect testimony is valuable at any stage in an inquiry and can re... more A rapid method for evaluating suspect testimony is valuable at any stage in an inquiry and can result in a change of direction in an investigation. Rape cases, in particular, can present problems where a defendant renders DNA analysis redundant by claiming that the claimant consented to have sexual relations. Forensic palynology is valuable in confirming or eliminating locations as being crime scenes, thus checking the testimony of both parties. In contrast to some forensic disciplines, forensic palynology can provide critical information without time‐consuming full analysis. Two cases are described where the palynological assemblages from comparator samples of pertinent places were compared with those obtained from clothing of claimants and defendants. The results of rapid microscopical scanning of relevant preparations led to early confessions, thus obviating the need for costly analyses and protracted court proceedings. A third case demonstrates the unbiased nature of this techni...

Research paper thumbnail of Landscapes at Landnám: Palynological and Palaeoentomological Evidence from Ibftanes, Faroe Islands

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing results of high-resolution palaeoecological analyses with oral histories of land-use of a Sami reindeer herding pen in northern Sweden

Research paper thumbnail of Palaeoecological Evidence for Possible Pre-European Settlement in the Falkland Islands

Journal of Archaeological Science, 1998

Research paper thumbnail of ‘The most remarkable man’: James Croll, Quaternary scientist

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2022

The year 2021 marked the bicentenary of the birth of James Croll (1821–1890), the self‐educated s... more The year 2021 marked the bicentenary of the birth of James Croll (1821–1890), the self‐educated son of a crofter‐stonemason, whose life was characterised by a dizzying range of occupations and homes, poor health and financial concerns, and yet he became a pioneer of orbital dynamics and ice age climate change with an impressive record of publication. Drawing upon archival information and recently published observations, this paper explores selected aspects of Croll's biography, his scientific connections and controversies, and that area of his life relevant to Quaternary science. He was a 19th century polymath whose multifaceted contributions have been a catalyst for subsequent systems‐based climate science on the grand scale, including the foundations for the seminal work of Milutin Milankovitch on the rhythms of Quaternary environmental change.

Research paper thumbnail of 8.1 Palynological studies in northeast Skye and Raasay

Pollen, microscopic charcoal and radiocarbon studies at four sites on Skye and Raasay provide env... more Pollen, microscopic charcoal and radiocarbon studies at four sites on Skye and Raasay provide environmental contexts for the archaeological investigations of Scotlands's First Settlers around the Inner Sound. One coring site, from a loch in northern Trotternish, Skye, provides a regional summary of environmental change. Other sites closer to the rockshelter at An Corran, Trotternish, furnish more localised pictures of landscapes change, some of which may be associated with human intervention of Mesolithic age, Intertidal organic deposits from Raasay assist in reconstructing the early Holocene environment of the area.

Research paper thumbnail of Radiocarbon Dating Tephra Layers in Britain and Iceland

Radiocarbon, 1995

Layers of volcanic ash, or tephra form widespread chronostratigraphic marker horizons which are i... more Layers of volcanic ash, or tephra form widespread chronostratigraphic marker horizons which are important because of their distinctive characteristics and rapid deposition over large areas. Absolute dating of prehistoric layers effectively depends upon 14C analysis. We focus here on Icelandic tephra layers at both proximal and distal sites and consider three strategies to obtain age estimates: 1) the conventional dating of individual profiles; 2) high-precision multisample techniques or “wiggle-matching” using stratigraphic sequences of peat; and 3) a combination of routine analyses from multiple sites. The first approach is illustrated by the dating of a peat profile in Scotland containing tephra from the ad 1510 eruption of Hekla. This produced a 14C age compatible with ad 1510, independently derived by geochemical correlation with historically dated Icelandic deposits. In addition, the ca. 2100 bp date for the Glen Garry tephra in Scotland, determined by a series of dates on a pe...

Research paper thumbnail of Organic geochemical characteristics of the Upper Cretaceous–Early Paleogene source rock and correlation with some Egyptian mummy bitumen and oil from the southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2015

In this paper, the organic geochemical characteristics of the upper Triassic Yanchang Formation s... more In this paper, the organic geochemical characteristics of the upper Triassic Yanchang Formation source rocks in the Panlong oilfield in the eastern Ordos Basin of China were systematically studied. The results showed that the organic matter abundance of the dark mudstone source rocks of the Chang 7 segment is high and reaches the standard of good or best source rocks. The organic matter type of the Chang 7 segment source rocks is mainly Type II 1 with strong oil generation ability. The biomarker compounds studies showed that the Chang 7 segment source rock has reached the mature stage, reflecting its good organic matter type and high evolution degree. The salinity of the original sedimentary water of this source rock is low, reflecting a terrestrial sedimentary environment. The oil source comparison confirmed that the crude oil Yanchang Formation in the Panlong oilfield was contributed by the Chang 7 source rocks.

Research paper thumbnail of Biomarker characteristics of the Turonian–Eocene succession, Belayim oilfields, central Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Basic and Applied Sciences, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Erratum to: The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain

The American Historical Review, 1978

Research paper thumbnail of James Croll – bicentenary and biography, from janitor to genius

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of The excavation and environmental investigation of a sub-peat stone bank near Loch Portain, North Uist, Outer Hebrides

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Reports probing, excavation, microfossil analysis, and radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dates indi... more Reports probing, excavation, microfossil analysis, and radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dates indicate construction in the first half of the first millennium BC. Pollen analysis revealed contemporary poor heath-grassland with no apparent arable farming. Microscopic charcoal evidence indicates burning activity in the second millennium BC.

Research paper thumbnail of Competing hypotheses, ordination and pollen preservation: Landscape impacts of Norse landnám in southern Greenland

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 2017

Peat sequences in close proximity to former Norse farmsteads in southern Greenland are valuable p... more Peat sequences in close proximity to former Norse farmsteads in southern Greenland are valuable palaeoecological archives for exploring the impacts of the 10 th century Norse colonisation. Unfortunately they are far from widespread and many would be considered suboptimal for palaeoecological analysis owing to the taphonomic complexities perceived to be associated with their depositional environments. This paper explores the value of one such archive from the Vatnahverfi region of southern Greenland. On the basis of field observations, a problematic depositional context was anticipated and this is borne out in the contradictory palynological results which demonstrate evidence for agriculture and abandonment in contemporary horizons and radiocarbon age-depth reversals. Multiple working hypotheses are developed to explicitly demonstrate the equally plausible, but starkly different, interpretations that are possible from these data. To refine our interpretations we apply pollen preservation analysis and multivariate statistical analysis of this dataset with a large well dated fossil dataset from the same region. In so doing, this paper highlights the value of ordination as a chronological tool and the importance of pollen preservation analysis in interpreting taphonomically-complex depositional environments.

Research paper thumbnail of Excavation and environmental archaeology of a small cairn associated with cultivation ridges in Aberdeenshire

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1980

Research paper thumbnail of Palynology as a predictive tool in archaeology

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1995

Environmental approaches contribute to the methodologies available to archaeologists. Too often, ... more Environmental approaches contribute to the methodologies available to archaeologists. Too often, however, their perceived function leads to a relegation to post-excavation study rather than providing direction to archaeological investigation. Unlike many monument-and artefactdominated data sets, those of an environmental nature (particularly if obtained from off-site depositional contexts) are often continuous and can be employed predictively. Using the results of a pollen-analytical study from eastern Scotland, it is shown how such data can provide not only a fuller picture of environmental and cultural change (eg by producing evidence for the degree of exploitation of the prehistoric and later landscape in terms of vegetation types and change, the extent of cultivation, the arable/pastoral mix, soil erosion, the length of occupation, or even the degree of nomadism), but they also highlight lacunae in the archaeological record (the immediate vicinity of the pollen site is virtually devoid of monuments and finds). Palynology can produce plausible and challenging data which help to pose and isolate problems for the archaeologist.

Research paper thumbnail of Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement

Environmental Archaeology, Oct 17, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeological and palynological studies at the Mesolithic pitchstone and flint site of Auchareoch, Isle of Arran

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1989

The results of an archaeological and environmental (mainly palynological) investigation of a site... more The results of an archaeological and environmental (mainly palynological) investigation of a site of Mesolithic age are presented. The inland kame terrace site of Auchareoch on the Isle of Arran has produced some preserved features with over 4400 flint and pitchstone finds, and carbonized hazelnut shells. The extent and character of the occupation area are assessed and shown to be extensive (300-400m 2). The environmental data demonstrate the limitations imposed by soil pollen and charcoal studies, but suggest that the area has experienced possible hunter-gathering and agricultural impacts, prior to soil deterioration and peat growth. An attempt is made to place the site in the wider context of the Mesolithic of northern Britain.

Research paper thumbnail of Early Holocene Investigations at Saksunardalur and the Origins of the Faroese Biota

Research paper thumbnail of Palynological and Vegetational Changes Í ssociated with the Deposition of Saksunarvatn Ash in the Faroe Islands

Research paper thumbnail of A Rapid and Efficient Method for Evaluation of Suspect Testimony: Palynological Scanning

Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2015

A rapid method for evaluating suspect testimony is valuable at any stage in an inquiry and can re... more A rapid method for evaluating suspect testimony is valuable at any stage in an inquiry and can result in a change of direction in an investigation. Rape cases, in particular, can present problems where a defendant renders DNA analysis redundant by claiming that the claimant consented to have sexual relations. Forensic palynology is valuable in confirming or eliminating locations as being crime scenes, thus checking the testimony of both parties. In contrast to some forensic disciplines, forensic palynology can provide critical information without time‐consuming full analysis. Two cases are described where the palynological assemblages from comparator samples of pertinent places were compared with those obtained from clothing of claimants and defendants. The results of rapid microscopical scanning of relevant preparations led to early confessions, thus obviating the need for costly analyses and protracted court proceedings. A third case demonstrates the unbiased nature of this techni...

Research paper thumbnail of Landscapes at Landnám: Palynological and Palaeoentomological Evidence from Ibftanes, Faroe Islands

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing results of high-resolution palaeoecological analyses with oral histories of land-use of a Sami reindeer herding pen in northern Sweden

Research paper thumbnail of Palaeoecological Evidence for Possible Pre-European Settlement in the Falkland Islands

Journal of Archaeological Science, 1998

Research paper thumbnail of ‘The most remarkable man’: James Croll, Quaternary scientist

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2022

The year 2021 marked the bicentenary of the birth of James Croll (1821–1890), the self‐educated s... more The year 2021 marked the bicentenary of the birth of James Croll (1821–1890), the self‐educated son of a crofter‐stonemason, whose life was characterised by a dizzying range of occupations and homes, poor health and financial concerns, and yet he became a pioneer of orbital dynamics and ice age climate change with an impressive record of publication. Drawing upon archival information and recently published observations, this paper explores selected aspects of Croll's biography, his scientific connections and controversies, and that area of his life relevant to Quaternary science. He was a 19th century polymath whose multifaceted contributions have been a catalyst for subsequent systems‐based climate science on the grand scale, including the foundations for the seminal work of Milutin Milankovitch on the rhythms of Quaternary environmental change.

Research paper thumbnail of 8.1 Palynological studies in northeast Skye and Raasay

Pollen, microscopic charcoal and radiocarbon studies at four sites on Skye and Raasay provide env... more Pollen, microscopic charcoal and radiocarbon studies at four sites on Skye and Raasay provide environmental contexts for the archaeological investigations of Scotlands's First Settlers around the Inner Sound. One coring site, from a loch in northern Trotternish, Skye, provides a regional summary of environmental change. Other sites closer to the rockshelter at An Corran, Trotternish, furnish more localised pictures of landscapes change, some of which may be associated with human intervention of Mesolithic age, Intertidal organic deposits from Raasay assist in reconstructing the early Holocene environment of the area.

Research paper thumbnail of Radiocarbon Dating Tephra Layers in Britain and Iceland

Radiocarbon, 1995

Layers of volcanic ash, or tephra form widespread chronostratigraphic marker horizons which are i... more Layers of volcanic ash, or tephra form widespread chronostratigraphic marker horizons which are important because of their distinctive characteristics and rapid deposition over large areas. Absolute dating of prehistoric layers effectively depends upon 14C analysis. We focus here on Icelandic tephra layers at both proximal and distal sites and consider three strategies to obtain age estimates: 1) the conventional dating of individual profiles; 2) high-precision multisample techniques or “wiggle-matching” using stratigraphic sequences of peat; and 3) a combination of routine analyses from multiple sites. The first approach is illustrated by the dating of a peat profile in Scotland containing tephra from the ad 1510 eruption of Hekla. This produced a 14C age compatible with ad 1510, independently derived by geochemical correlation with historically dated Icelandic deposits. In addition, the ca. 2100 bp date for the Glen Garry tephra in Scotland, determined by a series of dates on a pe...

Research paper thumbnail of Organic geochemical characteristics of the Upper Cretaceous–Early Paleogene source rock and correlation with some Egyptian mummy bitumen and oil from the southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2015

In this paper, the organic geochemical characteristics of the upper Triassic Yanchang Formation s... more In this paper, the organic geochemical characteristics of the upper Triassic Yanchang Formation source rocks in the Panlong oilfield in the eastern Ordos Basin of China were systematically studied. The results showed that the organic matter abundance of the dark mudstone source rocks of the Chang 7 segment is high and reaches the standard of good or best source rocks. The organic matter type of the Chang 7 segment source rocks is mainly Type II 1 with strong oil generation ability. The biomarker compounds studies showed that the Chang 7 segment source rock has reached the mature stage, reflecting its good organic matter type and high evolution degree. The salinity of the original sedimentary water of this source rock is low, reflecting a terrestrial sedimentary environment. The oil source comparison confirmed that the crude oil Yanchang Formation in the Panlong oilfield was contributed by the Chang 7 source rocks.

Research paper thumbnail of Biomarker characteristics of the Turonian–Eocene succession, Belayim oilfields, central Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Basic and Applied Sciences, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Erratum to: The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain

The American Historical Review, 1978

Research paper thumbnail of James Croll – bicentenary and biography, from janitor to genius

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of The excavation and environmental investigation of a sub-peat stone bank near Loch Portain, North Uist, Outer Hebrides

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Reports probing, excavation, microfossil analysis, and radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dates indi... more Reports probing, excavation, microfossil analysis, and radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dates indicate construction in the first half of the first millennium BC. Pollen analysis revealed contemporary poor heath-grassland with no apparent arable farming. Microscopic charcoal evidence indicates burning activity in the second millennium BC.