Archaeological site a place where material remains of prehistoric or historic human activity exist Refers to a concentration of these materials Doing Fieldwork Surveying for Archaeological Sites 1 Why do archaeologists survey for sites 2 How do archaeologists survey 3 What are remote sensing techniques and their benefits 4 Landscape archaeology Material remains include artifacts ecofacts features For practical reasons sites are often defined arbitrarily Ex more than 5 artifacts in 50 miles Smithsonian number unique catalog number given to sites Ex 26CH798 the first number is the state s positions alphabetically next is the country s abbreviation then the site s sequential number within the country 26 Nevada the 26th state listed alphabetically CH churchill county 798 the 798th site recorded in the country Examples of artifacts and features typically encountered at prehistoric archaeological sites Lithics formal tools Lithics debitage ground stone tools ground stone fragments pottery pot sherds features examples habitation hunting food processing quarries ritual How are archaeological sites found Archaeological sites are found in different ways prior knowledge systematic surveys archaeological prospecting Different types of sites and different types of activities How to recognize the boundary of a site density of artifacts decreases change in soil color texture absence of features picture may change during excavation with remote sensing data Includes movements activities and locations necessary to make a living Settlement system sedentary agricultural societies cid 127 mobile pastoralists hunter gatherers The Fallacy of the Typical Site no single site is typical of the entire settlement system goal of archaeological survey to document the range of archaeological remains across a landscape surface archaeology Systematic regional survey to gain accurate descriptions of the range of archaeological sites in an area Sampling is a tool researchers use to study population Sampling is the selection of sample elements from a large population called the sample universe cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 determining the sample fraction Sample Fraction the percentage of the sample universe that is surveyed Size and shape are determined by research questions and practical considerations Areas with lots of variability in archaeological remains require larger sample fractions than do areas of low variability Surface Archaeology in the Carson Desert Topographic map of Quadrat 36 in the Stillwater Mountain Survey UTM Universal Transverse Mercator A grid system in which north and east coordinates provide a location anywhere in the world precise to one meter Used to define location and boundary of sample units Stay in survey area using map and compass GPS device GPS technology and modern surveys GPS stand for Global Positioning System Operates by picking up signals from at least 4 of 27 satellites 24 active and 3 spares GPS receiver triangulates a position fix within a 5 meter accuracy Different sampling strategies Non probabilistic Probabilistic simple random sample stratified random systematic Stratified random sample recognizable as a site Site visibility Looking Below the Ground 1 survey universe divided into large natural zones 2 each zone is designated an amount of sample unites proportional to its area 3 sample to units within each area are then selected by random sampling Advantages site visibility surface archaeology in the Carson Desert Desert easy to see many sites due to little ground cover Deflation a geological process where fine sediment is blown away and larger items including artifacts are lowered onto a common surface and thus become in areas with lots of vegetation and ground cover may have to use shovel testing or other techniques like plow zone archaeology Shovel Testing digging shallow systematic pits across the survey unit a sample survey method used in regions where rapid soil buildup obscures buried archaeological remains Plow Zone the upper portion of a soil profile that has been disturbed by repeated plowing or other agricultural activity Plow Zone Archaeology walking through fields after tilling and especially after a rain because the plow turns up shallow buried remains Non Invasive Techniques aerial photography remote sensing geophysical techniques proton magnetometer soil resistivity ground penetrating radar GPR geophysical techniques used to detect subsurface features using some form of electromagnetic energy Proton magnetometer measures the strength of magnetism between the earth s magnetic core and a sensor controlled by the archaeologist cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 Soil resistivity monitors the electrical resistance of soils near the surface of an archaeological site changes in the amount of resistance can indicate buried walls of features Ground penetrating radar GPR radar pulses are directed into the ground and reflect back when they strike features within the ground showing the presence and depth of possible buried features Benefits of noninvasive archaeology Can reduce a project s overall cost Can see linkages between features walls structures roads without disturbing the site Noninvasive conservation oriented approach Geophysical techniques will work in many places but not all Not useful in areas with high background noise high groundwater table considerable background rock natural subsurface features information information is layered and georeferenced Georeferenced to locate data in physical space such as on the UTM grid Geographic information system GIS computer program for storing retrieving analyzing and visually displaying cartographic geographically related Landscape Archaeology studies ancient human interaction with and modification of the environment studies people s physical and symbolic relationships with their environment Landscapes are created by humans Landscape Archaeology Chacoan Roads Read in text Roads may have facilitated movement of food and other goods Roads may have served ceremonial function with symbolic meanings possible as religious paths Thermal infrared multispectral scanning TIMS Equipment mounted on aircraft or satellites