A midden, also known as kitchen middens, is a dump for domestic waste. The word is of Scandinavian via Middle English derivation, but is used by archaeologists worldwide to describe any kind of feature containing waste products relating to day-to-day human life. They may be convenient, single-use pits created by nomadic groups or long-term, designated dumps used by sedentary communities that accumulate over several generations. In the latter case, a midden's stratigraphy can become apparent. Mixed municipal waste, Hiriya, Tel Aviv Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a waste type that includes predominantly household waste (domestic waste) with sometimes the addition of commercial wastes collected by a municipality within a given area. ... Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. ... Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ... i am vegeta ... Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, is basically the study of rock layers and layering (stratification). ...

General middens

Midden deposits can contain a variety of archaeological material, including animal bone, feces, shell, botanical material, vermin, sherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation. These features, therefore, provide a useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diet and habits of past societies. Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains which can be analyzed to obtain information regarding climate and seasonal use. Grays Anatomy illustration of a human femur. ... Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is waste product from an animals digestive tract expelled through the anus (or cloaca) during defecation. ... Various seashells The hard, rigid outer covering of certain animals is called a shell. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... The bane of Australian farmers - the wild rabbit Mouse Vermin is a pejorative word given to animals which are considered by users of the word to be pests or nuisances, most associated with the carrying of disease. ... In archaeology, a sherd is a fragment of pottery or other ceramic. ... In archaeology, lithic analysis is the analysis of stone tools using basic scientific techniques. ... Small pieces of stone debris that break off during the manufacturing of stone tools. ... I archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ... In archaeology, a biofact or ecofact is an object, found at an archaeological site and carrying archaeological significance, but (unlike an artifact) not altered by human hands. ... In archaeology, the term feature is generally used to refer to any nonportable remnant of human activity, such as a hearth, road, or house remains, later found or recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Diet may mean: In nutrition: Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Hypoxia (medical). ... Organic may refer to: Look up organic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Examples

The East Chisenbury midden is a famous example of a large dump, dating to the 1st millennium BC. Situated on Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom, the midden mound contains numerous discrete layers of flint, charcoal, bones, pottery and excrement. It survives to a height of 2.5m and measures 140m in width despite 2,500 years of weathering. The accumulation is believed by some archaeologists to have a ritual basis, with organised deposition of waste suggested as an explanation for its size and longevity. Enford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ... (2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – 1st millennium – other millennia) // Events The Iron Age spread to Western Europe Egypt declined as a major power The Tanakh was written Buddhism was founded by Siddharta Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (6th century BC) Jainism was founded by Mahavira (6th century BC... This article is about the plateau in southern England; Salisbury Plain is also an area on South Georgia Island. ... A flint nodule from the Onondaga limestone layer, Buffalo, New York. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. ...

Shell middens

A shell midden or shell mound is midden comprised mainly of mollusk shells. Like all middens, shell middens also contain the debris of human activity and remains of their meals. Some shell middens are processing remains: areas where aquatic resources were processed directly after harvest and prior to use or storage in a distant location. Some shell middens are directly associated with villages, as a designated village dump site. In other middens the material is directly associated with houses in the village; each house would dump their garbage directly outside the house. In all cases, shell middens are extremely complex and very difficult to excavate fully and exactly. However, the fact that they contain a detailed record of what food was eaten or processed and many fragments of stone tools and household goods makes them invaluable objects of archaeological study. Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora Monoplacophora Bivalvia Scaphopoda Gastropoda Cephalopoda † Rostroconchia The mollusks or molluscs are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca, which includes a variety of familiar creatures well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. ... Ancient stone tools A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made of stone. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

Shell has a high calcium carbonate content, which tends to make the middens alkaline. This slows the rate of decay normally caused by soil acidity, leaving a relatively high proportion of organic evidence (food remnants, organic tools) available for the archaeologist to find.^[1] Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound, with chemical formula CaCO3. ... The common (Arrhenius) definition of a base is a chemical compound that either donates hydroxide ions or absorbs hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. ...

The archaeological study of shell middens began in Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The Danish word for shell mound or midden mound køkkenmødding or koekken-moedding is now used internationally. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Examples

Shell middens are found in coastal zones all over the world. Consisting mostly of mollusc shells they are interpreted as being the waste products of meals eaten by nomadic groups or hunting parties. Some are small examples relating to meals had by a handful of individuals, others are many metres in length and width and represent centuries of shell deposition. In Brazil they are known as sambaquis, having been created over a long period between the 6th millennium BC and the beginning of European colonisation. On Canada's west coast there are shell middens that run for more than a kilometer along the coast and are several meters deep. Shell middens created by indigenous Australians, many of which are nearly 40,000 years old, can be found in Australia's coastal regions. Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora - Chitons Monoplacophora Bivalvia - Bivalves Scaphopoda - Tusk shells Gastropoda - Snails and Slugs Cephalopoda - Squids, Octopuses, etc. ... During the 6th millennium BC, agriculture spreads from the Balkans to Italy and Eastern Europe and from Mesopotamia to Egypt. ... Indigenous Australians are the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ...

Other definitions

The word "midden" is still in everyday use in Scotland, and has come by extension, to refer to anything that is a mess, including people. In West Yorkshire a midden is an outdoor toilet, typically in the back yards of terraced houses. Often attached to this small building is an outhouse which houses dustbins. Motto: (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I 843  Area    - Total 78,772 km... West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. ...

See also

• Packrat midden
• Emeryville Shellmound
• Green Mound
• Tumulus

A large pack rat midden (center) from the Pleistocene period. ... The Emeryville Shellmound, in Emeryville, California, is a massive archaeological shell midden deposit (dark, highly organic soil containing a high concentration of human food waste remains, including shellfish). ... Green Mound is one of the largest Pre-Columbian shell mounds, or shell middens, in the United States. ... Burial of Oleg of Novgorod in a tumulus in 912. ...

References

1. ^ Whaleback Shell Midden. Whaleback Shell Midden. Retrieved on 2006-05-11.