Midden
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) (from early Scandinavian; Norwegian: mødding, Danish: mødding, Swedish regional: mödding) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation. 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 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries middens are referred to as 'Conchals': The term conchal derives from the Spanish word for mollusc shell, concha.
See also
- Animal latrine
- Packrat midden
- Emeryville Shellmound
- Green Mound
- Tumulus
- Urban archaeology
- Whaleback Shell Midden
- Yachats, Oregon
- Privy midden
