THE STRATIFICATION AND TAPHONOMY OF SHELLS IN CALCAREOUS SOILS - IMPLICATIONS FOR LAND SNAIL ANALYSIS IN ARCHAEOLOGY

The ecological interpretation of land snails from buried soils has depended on the assumption that assemblages are age-stratified and not seriously distorted by differential destruction. The temporal and ecological resolutions of assemblages are determined by taphonomic processes controlling the incorporation, mixing and subsequent destruction of shells in the soil. This paper describes those soil processes affecting snail assemblages in Britain and attempts to quantify their effects. It is concluded that, except in certain restricted circumstances, the temporal and ecological resolutions of land snail assemblages in buried soils are poor. © 1990.