The layer of soil which contains the byproducts of human activity as the result of the accumulation of these materials on their living surface For prehistoric sites, a layer of soil that was stained to a dark color by the decomposition of organic refuse which also contained food bones, fragments of stone tools, charcoal, pieces of pottery, or other discarded materials For historic sites, a similar layer of soil but with appropriate historic material remains often in a much thinner deposit
A deposit of occupation debris, rubbish, or other byproducts of human activities
The band or layer of soil which contains the byproducts of human activity as the result of the accumulation of these materials on their living surface For prehistoric sites, a layer of soil that was stained to a dark color by the decomposition of organic refuse which also contained food bones, fragments of stone tools, charcoal, pieces of pottery, or other discarded materials For historic sites, a similar layer of soil but with appropriate historic material remains often in a much thinner deposit These deposits can be seen as strata and oftentimes when more than one strata of midden is present in a site, and clearly define, each strata can be called a Lens
An accumulation of refuse about a dwelling place; especially, an accumulation of shells or of cinders, bones, and other refuse on the supposed site of the dwelling places of prehistoric tribes, as on the shores of the Baltic Sea and in many other places
A deposit marking a former habitation site and containing such materials as discarded artifacts, bone and shell, food refuse, charcoal, ash, rock, human remains, structural remnants, and other cultural leavings (Moratto 1984: 592)
The layer of soil in an excavation which was the "trash" area for human activity, where items such as pottery sherds, food, bones and broken tools might be found
A refuse heap A privy midden is a heap of human waste, a dunghill, deposited either directly or by the emptying of privies or chamberpots