argilliturbation

noun

A mixing process in clay rich soils subjected to cycles of wet and dry, whereby the soil expands when wet and contracts as it dries, causing soil, stones and artefacts to move up and down.

OriginLatin argilla →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounargilliturbation (uncountable)
  1. uncountablearchaeologyA mixing process in clay rich soils subjected to cycles of wet and dry, whereby the soil expands when wet and contracts as it dries, causing soil, stones and artefacts to move up and down.

    In extreme situations, argilliturbation can result in a surface stone pavement (Johnson and Hester 1972, Muhs 1982).

    2005, Randall J. Schaetzl, Sharon Anderson, Soils: Genesis and Geomorphology, page 291
    2 more examples

    At SBA-1807 and SBA-2061, these processes include bioturbation, argilliturbation, chemical weathering, downslope movement, natural addition of faunal remains to the midden, wildfires, trampling, grading, plowing, and discing.

    1994, Jon Erlandson, Early Hunter-Gatherers of the California Coast, page 165

    A site′s stratigraphy can become thoroughly churned if this argilliturbation process takes place over and over for hundreds or thousands of years.

    2012, Robert L. Kelly, David Hurst Thomas, Archaeology, page 112

Origin

  1. Latinargilla“clay”
  2. Englishargilliturbation

From Latin argilla (“clay”) + turbation.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

argilliturbation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/argilliturbation

MLA

“argilliturbation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/argilliturbation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “argilliturbation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/argilliturbation.

Source: argilliturbation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.