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Snails: Archaeology and Landscape Change

by Paul Davies

The remains of snails in ancient soils and sediments are one of the most important biological indicators of past landscapes, and have attracted study for well over a century. In spite of this, the only English-language textbook was published in 1972 and is long since out of print. Snails provides a comprehensive, up to date reference text on the use of snails as indicators of past environments in Quaternary landscape studies and archaeology. It considers the use of terrestrial and freshwater sub-fossil snail remains as indicators of Late Quaternary (c. last 15,000 years) environmental change and as indicators of past environments and human impacts on the landscape. The volume also demonstrates how an understanding of modern snail ecology can be used to enhance our interpretation of landscape archaeology, and provides a detailed contextual approach to the main types of deposits in which snail remains are found. Davies also puts forward an agenda for future research on the use of snails in archaeological and environmental reconstruction. 208p (Oxbow Books 2008)

Review Quotes

"Well-written and coherently presented... This book should be on the shelf of every archaeomalacologist... It brings the subject up to date and also presents a wider contextual approach to European non-marine molluscan assemblages."

The Archaeo & Malacology Group Newsletter (December 2008)

"At last we have a new book on snails in archaeology... undoubtedly a welcome addition, not only to the conchological shelf, but also to that of environmental archaeology."

Mike Allen
Environmental Archaeology 15.1 (2010)

"This is a very important volume which will provide a benchmark for years to come... deserves a wide readership, not only among those with a specialist interest in molluscs, but also much more widely in the Archaeological and Quaternary Research communities."

Chris O. Hunt
Journal of Archaeological Science, vol XXX, No, 1 (2009)

"Books dedicated to Quaternary malacology can be counted on the fingers of one hand, particularly in Europe. Paul Davies' work thus forms a welcome contribution to the field of environmental archaeology."

Nicole Limondin-Lozouet
The Holocene 19.6 (2009)

"A welcome addition to the literature on environmental archaeology."

Richard Preece
Journal of Quaternary Science Vol. 24.6 (2009)

"The book is clearly written and logically organized... I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in incorporating this type of paleoenvironmental information into their archaeological or non-archaeological research projects."

Heidi Luchsinger
Geoarchaeology 24.6 (2009)

"Davies does not claim to be replacing the out-of-print text by Evans, but he could easily lay claim to the best recent synthesis on the use of snails in palaeoecology and archaeology."

Frank Chambers
Landscape History 30.2 (2009)

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