This article is about archaeological remains, known in Spanish as "conchales". For the municipality in São Paulo, Brazil, see Conchal. For other uses, see Midden (disambiguation).
A closeup of a shell midden in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste[1] which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation.
These features provide a useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diets and habits of past societies. Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains in deposits as the debris of daily life are tossed on the pile. Each individual toss will contribute a different mix of materials depending upon the activity associated with that particular toss. During the course of deposition sedimentary material is deposited as well. Different mechanisms, from wind and water to animal digs, create a matrix which can also be analysed to provide seasonal and climatic information. In some middens individual dumps of material can be discerned and analysed.[2]
^Brinton, DG (1866). "Artificial Shell-deposits of the United States". Reports. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
^Stein, Julie (2000). Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory: The Archaeology of San Juan Island.
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material,...
than 5%) live beyond 3 years of age. A pack rat midden is a debris pile constructed by a woodrat. A midden may preserve the materials incorporated into it...
The privy midden (also midden closet) was a toilet system that consisted of a privy (outhouse) associated with a midden (or middenstead, ie a dump for...
Dung middens, also known as dung hills, are piles of dung that mammals periodically return to and build up. They are used as a form of territorial marker...
A rock hyrax midden is a stratified accumulation of fecal pellets and a brown amber-like a urinary product known as hyraceum excreted by the rock hyrax...
The Marpole Midden, also known by archaeologists as the Great Fraser Midden or Eburne site, is a 4000-year-old midden at the mouth of the Fraser River...
includes eleven middens in all, including the well-known Whaleback Shell Midden and the Glidden Midden, which is the largest shell midden in the northeastern...
Whaleback Shell Midden is a shell midden, or dump, consisting primarily of oyster shells located on the east side of the Damariscotta River in Maine, United...
Dansker Garderobe Gong farmer Groom of the Stool Night soil Pail closet Privy midden Reredorter See also Ecological sanitation History of water supply and sanitation...
The Bubba Midden is a historic site near Green Cove Springs, Florida. It is located on Fleming Island, northwest of Green Cove Springs. On March 2, 1990...
Paternoster Midden is a megamidden on the west coast of South Africa. This megamidden has particular value, as it is one of the few megamiddens in existence...
The High Point Shell Midden (Smithsonian trinomial: 35CU215) is a prehistoric archeological site located in Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor near...
The Black Middens is a reef at the mouth of the River Tyne in North East England, noted for the danger it poses to shipping. The Black Middens is particularly...
of a large sand burial mound and a midden. Based on the ceramics taken from the midden, the burial mound and midden date from 800 BC - 500 BC, the Glades...
Coprinus sterquilinus, the midden ink cap, is a species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It grows on animal dung and occurs in Europe, Asia and America...
indigenous habitation – more than 800 rock engravings, cave drawings and middens. The area now known as The Domain was set aside by Governor Arthur Phillip...
simply left in piles or thrown into pits; in archeology this is known as a midden. Some landfill sites are used for waste management purposes, such as temporary...
(13 December 1991). "Eighth Millennium Pottery from a Prehistoric Shell Midden [sic] in the Brazilian Amazon". Science. 254 (5038): 1621–1624. doi:10.1126/science...
The Smuggler Cove Shell Midden (Smithsonian trinomial: 35TI46) is an archeological site located in Oswald West State Park near Neahkahnie Beach, Oregon...
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