End-Pleistocene Soil Constituents from Selected Sites on the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain: First Results

Stratigraphic analyses of soil samples taken from dated and undated sites located along the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain have yielded evidence of increased contemporary biomass burning, compared to under and overlying strata. Host strata ages are known or projected to bracket the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling episode at 12.9 cal ka. This ongoing investigation includes samples from: 1) a late-Pleistocene aged periglacial feature located within the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey; 2) an artifact dated stratum (~ 12.9 ka) in an embankment on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland; and 3) an as yet undated (C14 test results pending) embankment of the Perquimans River in northeastern North Carolina projected to be age-appropriate. Sample analysis of scanning electron (SEM) micrographs from the Chesapeake Bay site revealed charred fragments of late-Wisconsinan Krummholz birch (Betula) and species of spruce (Picea) and fir (Abies), which are not extant on the modern-day, temperate Coastal Plain. In addition, organic faunal material is found in association with ancient charred boreal wood, including hollow hair and skin fragments that are as yet unidentified, perhaps from cold climate adapted animals as inferred from host sediment age. Charred wood fragments are found to be attracted to a neodymium magnet. Some aggregates of organic matter appear to contain magnetic spherule-like grains whose composition is awaiting geochemical analysis. Photomicrographs of all specimens and a stratigraphic breakdown in the relative amount of burned carbon associated with each site and strata will be presented, along with the results of various analyses that are currently underway.