Paleolimnology in support of archeology: a review of past investigations and a proposed framework for future study design

We conducted a systematic review of 89 paleolimnological studies applied to archeological questions. Where we discuss the physical, chemical and biological sediment variables used in these studies in terms of their advantages and disadvantages as paleolimnological proxies for archeological studies. We make four key observations: (1) This field is rapidly growing, (2) More research is needed, (3) More standardization is required for future integrative analyses, and (4) More robust studies with multiple proxies are needed as the field grows. To address these challenges, we developed a framework to help researchers design paleolimnological studies in support of archeology. The framework includes standardized terminology of proxy characteristics and definition of a new term: orthogonality. This framework was then integrated with decision matrix analysis to build study scores that can be used to help researchers optimize their study design. This approach will help future researchers build more robust paleolimnology studies to more effectively complement independent archeological work. We also summarized new areas of archeology and chemistry that could be integrated with paleolimnology in the future.