Mason, JoelLin, ElaineGrono, ElleDenham, Tim2022-03-242352-409Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/262419Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscope (QEMSCAN®) provides a diagnostic analytical tool to investigate clay-rich stratigraphy in early agricultural contexts at Kuk Swamp, Papua New Guinea. Previous in situ microstratigraphic analyses at Kuk, comprising thin section description and X-radiography, have been unable to differentiate and characterise clay mineralogy in the archaeological stratigraphy. Although prior X-ray diffraction provided compositional information on clay mineralogy for bulk samples, QEMSCAN® elemental and mineral analyses enable in situ identification and mapping of clay mineral occurrences and relationships. The results of the QEMSCAN® analyses permit reconstruction of the origin and post-depositional transformation of geogenic and biogenic sediments in clay-rich feature fills associated with former plant exploitation and cultivation. QEMSCAN® mineral analyses identify a positive association between smectite-rich contexts and biogenic silica (diatoms and phytoliths) and a negative association between kaolinite-rich contexts and biogenic silica. QEMSCAN® elemental analyses provide valuable information on neoformed minerals, which can be difficult to characterise optically within stratigraphy. These results show the value of QEMSCAN®, especially in combination with thin section micromorphology, to understand the origin and post-depositional formation of clay minerals at archaeological sites in the wet tropics, as well as in other environmental contexts.The research was undertaken by the GRG Collective and funded by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship to Denham (FT150100420)application/pdfen-AU© 2022 Elsevier Ltdhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Microstratigraphic analysisQEM-EDSMineral mappingElemental distributionsPedogenesisCultivation practices2022-02-0110.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103356CC BY-NC-ND