Rare earth elements sediment analysis tracing anthropogenic activities in the stratigraphic sequence of Alagankulam (India)
Thirumalini Selvaraj,
Gianni Gallello,
Ashna Mehra,
Kunal Rungta,
Baskar Jaganathan,
Mirco Ramacciotti,
Agustín Pastor,
Simona Raneri
Affiliations
Thirumalini Selvaraj
CO2 Research and Green Technologies Centre, VIT University, Vellore, TN, 632014, India
Gianni Gallello
Department of Prehistory, Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Valencia, Spain Avenida de Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010, Valencia, Spain; Corresponding author.
Ashna Mehra
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Kunal Rungta
Department of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India
Baskar Jaganathan
Department of Archaeology, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, India
Mirco Ramacciotti
Department of Prehistory, Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Valencia, Spain Avenida de Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010, Valencia, Spain
Agustín Pastor
Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Valencia, Edifici Jeroni Muñoz, Dr. Moliner 50, 46100, Burjassot, Spain
Simona Raneri
Institute of Chemistry and OrganoMetallic Compounds, National Research Council, ICCOM-CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy; Corresponding author.
A methodological approach based on rare earth elements analysis was developed to observe human activities in the stratigraphic sequence of Alagankulam. The site was one of the main ancient ports in south-eastern India and one of the transoceanic connecting points between East and West during the Classical Period. The sampled sediments where collected from vertical profiles, areas with traces of firing activities and filled deposits. Major, minor and trace element concentrations were measured by the means of spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. Data from multielemental analysis were then cross-referenced together with archaeological evidence to map the variability within the site and its association with the detected anthropic activities. The matching of the interpretation of the archaeological record and the analytical data has allowed a combined mapping of visible and invisible traces of human activities in the site, giving a deeper insight of the Alagankulam occupational history.
