ABSTRACT The rapid pace of economic, political, and social change over the past 150 years has framed and reframed archaeological practice in Ontario. Indigenous groups have become increasingly involved in and critical of archaeological research. Indigenous peoples who value archaeological investigation of ancestral sites, but also desire to protect their buried ancestors, have restricted archaeological excavation and the analysis of remains. Over the last decade, research and consulting archaeologists in Ontario, Canada, have worked collaboratively with Indigenous peoples with an eye to developing sustainable archaeology practices. In the spirit of sustainable archaeology, a comprehensive research project and field school run by Wilfrid Laurier University is training the next generation of archaeologists to adopt investigative techniques that minimize disturbance of ancestral sites. Here we present the results of our surface, magnetic susceptibility, and metal detecting surveys of a Huron-Wendat village site, which pose minimally invasive solutions for investigating village sites in wooded areas. The water-sieving of midden soils in an attempt to recover 100 percent of cultural materials, and the analysis of archived collections also honor the values of Indigenous descendant communities by limiting additional invasive excavation.
Abstract Evaluating the archaeological potential of wooded areas is often difficult because many of the techniques archaeologists commonly use to locate and map archaeological sites elsewhere are less effective in the trees. Ground cover hinders the visual identification of surface artifacts during pedestrian survey, and the tree canopy impedes many of the techniques used to map areas of interest, such as optical theodolites and DGPS. Shovel test pitting, which disturbs the integrity of sites and provides limited contextual information, is the most common method used to evaluate woodlots today. In light of increasing interest from Indigenous peoples in limiting the impact of archaeological work on their cultural heritage, we are testing less invasive methods to locate and map archaeological sites within wooded areas. Here, we present the results of a magnetic susceptibility survey on a wooded precontact site in southern Quebec, where the technique rapidly determined site limits and pinpointed the location of several longhouses and other features. Where geological conditions are suitable, this method could considerably reduce the cost and impact of archaeological assessment and investigation of wooded sites by both cultural resource management (CRM) and academic archaeologists.
AbstractResearch on the Early Intermediate period (100 B.C.–A.D. 700), which witnessed the emergence of states and urban life along the coast of northern Peru, has been hampered by a lack of information regarding settlement size and population estimates. This paper presents the results of an integrated program of excavation, sub-soil probing, and magnetometer survey at the Gallinazo Group in the Viru Valley that shed light on the size of the ancient settlement. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of this integrated approach in assessing the extent of ancient settlements in the region and indicate that the Group was possibly the largest city of its kind on the Peruvian north coast during the centuries that preceded the rise of Huacas de Moche.
ABSTRACT Climate change is impacting archaeological sites around the globe, and Arctic sites are among the most vulnerable because the region is experiencing particularly rapid change. In the face of this threat, archaeologists, heritage managers, and northern communities need to develop strategies for documenting and monitoring Arctic sites and prioritizing them for further investigation. Using three case studies from Banks Island in the western Canadian Arctic, we demonstrate how magnetometer survey could assist in this process, despite the region's poorly developed soils, widespread glacial tills, and periglacial geomorphology, which pose challenges for the technique. The case studies illustrate the utility of magnetometry in mapping both archaeological and permafrost features in the Arctic, allowing it to rapidly investigate site structure and assess the level of threat due to climate change.
THIS PAPER PRESENTS the results of geophysical survey (geoprospection) conducted during the summer of 2001 at the Dorset Palaeoeskimo site (EeBi-20) at Point Riche, Newfoundland (Figure 1). This work illustrates the capabilities of two of the most common geophysical techniques used in archaeology: magnetometry and resistivity, as applied to the characterization of semi-subterranean dwellings. Geophysical survey encompasses a range of scientific techniques developed in the earth sciences for subsurface prospection and mapping. Geophysical techniques measure a variety of physical properties of the earth and can be divided into two distinct types: passive and active (Reynolds 1997). Passive methods measure variations in the natural fields of the earth, for example its gravitational or magnetic fields. Active methods transmit energy into the ground in the form of a signal or current. As this energy encounters different subsurface materials it is modified depending upon the physical characteristics of the material encountered, and the variation recorded. Over the last 40 years, many of these geophysical techniques have been adapted by archaeologists for the exploration and investigation of archaeological sites. These techniques provide a rapid and non-invasive method for the identification of cultural features, as opposed to more traditional archaeological survey methods, such as test pitting. Archaeological sites can therefore, in appropriate circumstances, be identified and mapped without the need for costly excavation, thus saving both time and money whilst leaving the archaeological resource intact. Geophysical techniques can also provide information on the preservation potential of
Recent geophysical survey at the early urban center of the Gallinazo Group in the Virú Valley highlights the potential for a multifaceted approach to remote sensing on the desert coast of South America and underscores the value of these well-established techniques for the rapid and detailed mapping of complex urban architecture. The Gallinazo Group (100 B.C.-A.D. 700) was an early city home to a population of between 10,000 and 14,400 people living in a network of agglutinated houses, plazas, public buildings, and alleyways. In 2008, detailed analysis of the site was undertaken, integrating traditional excavation techniques, soil coring, magnetometry, and ground-penetrating radar to gain a better understanding of the urban morphology of the site. The results of this fieldwork were extremely successful, with large areas of the urban layout being mapped in great detail. This article presents results from our survey, highlighting the potentials and limitations of each technique.
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