Embedded Files
Excavation Process
Excavation Process
Cookie Excavation
Cookie Excavation
Consider our cookie to be the earth, the dough represents the soil, and the chips are artifacts. Our toothpick is our digging tool of choice for fine work. Archaeologist use trowels and even dental tools and scrapers for fine work.
We must slowly remove the soil around the artifact so it does not damage the artifact by breaking pieces off or prying it out.
Be sure to record the exact location of each artifact as it is discovered.
GridMap_Cookie.pdf
Survey:
Survey:
The first step in an archaeological excavation is surveying the area.
This can be done either with remote sensing or direct visual observation.
Archaeologists also use non-invasive techniques to survey sites known as remote sensing.
There are many methods including:
- aerial photography (taking pictures from an airplane, hot air balloon or even a remote controlled drone;
An Archaeologist using Ground Penetrating Radar
- ground penetrating radar which is used to locate artifacts hidden below ground,
- LIDAR, which uses lasers to scan the surface from the air through vegetation.
LIDAR image of a site
Excavation:
Excavation:
After archaeologists have thoroughly surveyed the site they begin excavation. They start by setting up a grid and connecting the grid to a datum.
A datum is a fixed reference point, often one placed by the U.S.G.S.
A USGS datum
Archaeologists dig a shovel test pit as part of a site survey
The next step is to dig several test pits.
Test pits are a small hole dug to determine the location, density and spread of artifacts.
Then archaeologists excavate the site using trowels, shovels, and various other tools.
They carefully remove dirt and note the precise location of any artifacts found.
The context of the artifact is just as important as the artifact itself, so the artifacts are always carefully mapped and documented.
Archaeologist using a trowel
The dirt removed from the site is screened to search for any small artifacts that may have been missed during the initial excavation.
Archaeologists with the National Park Service Screening.
Archaeologists also look for features while excavating a site.
A feature is evidence of a human activity that is not movable, and usually has a vertical component.
An aspect of a site that is only horizontal, such as a road, is not a feature.
An example is a frequently used fire ring will leave evidence behind in the soil, but it cannot be moved with the occupants.
Evidence of fires uncovered at an archaeological site-a feature
Analyze:
Analyze:
An artifact, pottery, that has been photographed for documentation-A scale is often included to show the size of the artifact.
After archaeologists have excavated the site completely, or to the extent the project planned, they fill the site back in and take the artifacts to be analyzed.
The artifacts are taken to a lab, either locally or at the archaeologist’s home institution. They are analyzed and classified based on the research questions of the archaeologist.
A group of artifacts that are all projectile point type.
The artifacts are grouped with other artifacts of the same type.
A type can be based on a variety of characteristics such as function or style.
Archaeologists also try to determine how old artifacts are. This can be done relative to other artifacts using stratigraphy-the idea that older artifacts are below newer ones.
Artifacts can also be dated absolutely, or with an age or year they are from. This can be done using artifacts found in the site with known dates.
These artifacts are known as diagnostic artifacts. They also can be used to determine the culture the artifacts are from.
Artifacts can also be dated using dendrochronology, which uses the annual growth rings in trees to establish an age for artifacts.
Artifacts can also be dated using radiocarbon dating. This uses the decay of carbon and the ratio of C-12 to C-14 to determine the age of the artifact. It is only effective up to 68,000 years. It is also not very accurate for more recent artifacts.
Using all of the information about the artifacts, including context, typology, dating and more, archaeologists can piece together the events and culture of past society.
https://msu.edu/~aarondan/methodsofarchaeology.htm
This video by University of South Carolina gives a brief (3:43) but informational clips of the process.
Advancements in Archaeology Surveying
Advancements in Archaeology Surveying
Published on Mar 1, 2017
"Archaeologist and National Geographic explorer Luis Jaime Castillo and archaeologist Carlos Wester are determined to protect the cultural heritage at the pyramid complex of Chotuna-Chornancap, which was built by the Sicán, or Lambayeque, over a thousand years ago on the north coast of Peru. They are using photography to produce 3-D models of the excavations and where water damage might occur, allowing them to help preserve the sites."
Review video (5min) to prep for quiz.
Review video (5min) to prep for quiz.
Additional Resources to Find Out Even More....
Additional Resources to Find Out Even More....
This video features discussion of the kinds of tools used to excavate at the Cooper's Ferry site. Also, the effect of animal burrowing on archaeological deposits and how they are handled during the excavation process is discussed. The infilled tunnels left behind by burrowing animals are called krotovina (sounds like crow-toe-vee-na).
Every spring since 2011, a group of archaeologists and craftsmen have gathered in a forest in southern Germany to bring back to life the tools and techniques of Stone Age carpenters. This video shows the team using the tools they made to fell trees and build a copy of a 7,000-year-old well.
A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America
-Structure-of-Archaeological-Inquiry.pdfStratification Example:
Archaeologists look for things people have used and then thrown away or lost. They look for buildings people lived and worked in before they fell into ruins or were knocked down to build new ones.
They find this evidence in layers which have built up over time. These pictures will help you to see how this happens.
PICTURE 1
In this bin, each layer represents one day’s rubbish. On which day was the last rubbish put in? On which day was the first rubbish put in? Which day has the oldest rubbish? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
PICTURE 2
Which layer is the most recent? Which layer is the oldest? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
PICTURE 3
Which layer is the most recent? Which layer is the oldest? Find the rubbish pit dug by somebody in medieval times. See how the pit has cut down through a Saxon floor and a Roman road beneath this. The pit is full of jumbled up bits of building and objects from medieval, Saxon and Roman times. © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
PICTURE 4
The stacks of square tiles (pila tiles) are part of the hypocaust of a bathhouse. Which period of the past have the archaeologists dug down to? What do you think has made the big hole in the middle of the stacks of tiles? PICTURE 3 will give you a clue. What equipment can you see that archaeologists use? What other ancient building material can you see? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
PICTURE 5
Identify as many items as you can. Does the rubbish represent a healthy diet? What different materials can you spot? Are any of the materials organic? Which materials would decompose fastest if this rubbish was buried in the ground for hundreds of years? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
An excavation site from 8,000 yrs ago inhabited by Paleo Indians
An excavation site from 8,000 yrs ago inhabited by Paleo Indians
Start at 1:57 for introduction to Archaeology 10 min for How Archaeologists date artifacts
5 min 22 sec College students experiencing the survey and excavation process.
Page updated
Report abuse