Katrina Cantu is a Ph.D. student at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her research focus is how coastal environments evolve over time due to changing sea levels, climate, and human activity. Her work involves the collection of sediment cores and sediment analysis including identification of micro and macro fossils, geochronology, geochemistry, and stratigraphy. Katrina has conducted field work in Israel and Puerto Rico where she collected sediment cores and assisted in both terrestrial and underwater excavations. She has a BS and MS in Earth Sciences, both completed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography/ UC San Diego.
It is common practice to apply and adapt characteristics from the present to the interpretation o... more It is common practice to apply and adapt characteristics from the present to the interpretation of the ecological setting of archaeological landscapes, but this approach can generate misleading conclusions and introduce erroneous assumptions. Landscape reconstruction is central for environmental archaeologists and for the study of past human dynamics. In the same manner, the study of geomorphological features and physical hazards in the present requires understanding of past human activity given the intensity of anthropogenic impact over landforms. It has been argued that archaeological perspectives have the potential to contribute to the study coastal hazards and risks in the present. In this article we examine and test this hypothesis. The study focuses the site of Punta Candelero (Puerto Rico, ca. 480 to 1100 calAD) as case study. The analysis revealed that the surface geomorphological interpretation of the study location is not supported by the stratigraphic and sedimentological...
Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of ... more Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91-9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Submerged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby "Dor-complex" as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70-9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas younger , late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25-8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25-7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast.
Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of ... more Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91–9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least ~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Sub-merged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby “Dor-complex” as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70–9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas youn-ger, late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25–8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25–7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast.
It is common practice to apply and adapt characteristics from the present to the interpretation o... more It is common practice to apply and adapt characteristics from the present to the interpretation of the ecological setting of archaeological landscapes, but this approach can generate misleading conclusions and introduce erroneous assumptions. Landscape reconstruction is central for environmental archaeologists and for the study of past human dynamics. In the same manner, the study of geomorphological features and physical hazards in the present requires understanding of past human activity given the intensity of anthropogenic impact over landforms. It has been argued that archaeological perspectives have the potential to contribute to the study coastal hazards and risks in the present. In this article we examine and test this hypothesis. The study focuses the site of Punta Candelero (Puerto Rico, ca. 480 to 1100 calAD) as case study. The analysis revealed that the surface geomorphological interpretation of the study location is not supported by the stratigraphic and sedimentological...
Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of ... more Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91-9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Submerged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby "Dor-complex" as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70-9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas younger , late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25-8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25-7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast.
Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of ... more Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91–9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least ~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Sub-merged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby “Dor-complex” as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70–9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas youn-ger, late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25–8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25–7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast.
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