Paleo-vegetation reconstruction and characterization of n-alkanes from an archaeological site of Gangetic plain

Saha, Swarnadip (2018) Paleo-vegetation reconstruction and characterization of n-alkanes from an archaeological site of Gangetic plain. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

PDF (MS dissertation of Swarnadip Saha (13MS115)) 13MS115.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (3MB)

Abstract

Jhusi is one of the Mesolithic archaeological sites in Indo-Gangetic flood plain, India. The sedimentary sequence in Jhusi preserves the signature of early human activity such as pottery, food grains and microlithic tools. The human settlements of Jhusi lacked proxy based reconstruction of climatic and vegetation. Therefore, for the first time, sedimentary core of Jhusi has been analysed for carbon isotope ratio of soil organic matter (SOM) to reconstruct paleo-vegetation composition. Different n-alkane indices are used for the characterization of organic matter input to the soil. Thin sections of pedogenic carbonate (PC) are used for the characterization of carbonates and pedogenesis. The δ¹³C values of SOM are analysed range from -16.3% to -26.5%. The variation in carbon isotopic value shows the periodic change in the vegetation composition. The Average Chain Length (ACL) and Carbon Preference Index (CPI) are two n-alkane indices used for characterization of organic matter. The ACL and CPI values value ranges from 29.1 to 29.8 and 0.88 to 1.17 respectively which suggest the contribution of terrestrial plants leaf wax in the soil. The PC shows higher abundance of micrite over sparite. Hence, PC can be used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.

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