While the chinese characters do certainly mean "shell mound", the technical term used by archaelogists in english for a prehistoric garbage dump is "midden", as the two sites below, among many others, will confirm.



London Museum of Archaeology Virtual Tour
... This tour through the Museum Gallery will take you on a journey into Ontario's
prehistoric past. ... Middens (garbage dumps) reveal animal bone, plant ...
http://www.uwo.ca/museum/virtual_tour/
More Results From: www.uwo.ca


Maine's Water Roots
... Archeological excavations along streams and estuaries have unearthed arrowheads and
kitchen middens, native American garbage dumps, that mark their prehistoric ...
http://octopus.gma.org/streams/roots.html