Previous approaches to earthquakes in archaeology, characterizing the geoarchaeological subfield archaeoseismology, have focused on types of seismic destructions and anti-seismic constructions in architectural remains. A challenge often raised in archaeoseismology relates to issues of equifinality since other human or environmental factors can also cause the archaeoseismc types in question. Furthermore, geological markers of earthquakes are rarely identified directly, i.e., stratigraphically, with archaeoseismic evidence. To address these challenges, this paper offers a methodological innovation through the geoarchaeological subfield of soil micromorphology to investigate earthquakes in the form of seismically triggered soft sediment deformation structures (SSDS) in direct stratigraphic association with architecture. Applications to the case of Helike in Greece — infamous victim of a major earthquake in 373 BCE — reveal not only key evidence for three earthquake events in the form of seismically triggered SSDS but also other geological hazards, including flooding and rapid coastal change, in association with Hellenistic period (late fourth to second century BCE) architecture. The results offer advancements for archaeology and suggest that geoarchaeology and soil micromorphology applications become standard in archaeology, particularly archaeoseismology, for the identification and interpretation of earthquakes. These advancements offer new avenues for exploring geological aspects of the human past.

中文翻译：

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地震引发的软沉积物变形结构（SSDS）的地质考古学

以前考古学中地震的研究方法，描述了地质考古子领域考古地震学的特征，重点关注地震破坏的类型和建筑遗迹中的抗震结构。考古地震学中经常提出的挑战与平等问题有关，因为其他人类或环境因素也可能导致所讨论的考古地震类型。此外，地震的地质标志很少通过考古证据直接（即地层学）来识别。为了应对这些挑战，本文通过土壤微形态学的地质考古学子领域提供了方法创新，以与建筑直接地层相关的地震触发的软沉积物变形结构（SSDS）的形式研究地震。应用到希腊赫里克（公元前 373 年一场大地震的臭名昭著的受害者）的案例中，不仅揭示了以地震引发的 SSDS 形式出现的三起地震事件的关键证据，而且还揭示了与之相关的其他地质灾害，包括洪水和快速的海岸变化。希腊化时期（公元前四世纪末至二世纪）的建筑。这些结果为考古学带来了进步，并表明地质考古学和土壤微形态学应用已成为考古学（尤其是考古地震学）识别和解释地震的标准。这些进步为探索人类过去的地质方面提供了新的途径。