Submerged Archaeological Resources: Sound, Software and Three Inch Pipes - A Recipe for Finding Submerged Prehistoric Archaeological Sites?

Short term occupation surfaces in the lower Ohio River Valley: Exposing more of the late Holocene hidden record

The impact of changing climate on terrestrial and underwater archaeological sites, historic buildings, and cultural landscapes can be examined through quantitatively-based analyses encompassing large data samples and broad geographic and temporal scales. The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) is a multi-institutional collaboration that allows researchers online access to linked heritage data from multiple sources and data sets. The effects of sea-level rise and concomitant human population relocation is examined using a sample from nine states encompassing much of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States. A 1 m rise in sea-level will result in the loss of over >13,000 recorded historic and prehistoric archaeological sites, as well as over 1000 locations currently eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), encompassing archaeological sites, standing structures, and other cultural properties. These numbers increase substantially with each additional 1 m rise in sea level, with >32,000 archaeological sites and >2400 NRHP properties lost should a 5 m rise occur. Many more unrecorded archaeological and historic sites will also be lost as large areas of the landscape are flooded. The displacement of millions of people due to rising seas will cause additional impacts where these populations resettle. Sea level rise will thus result in the loss of much of the record of human habitation of the coastal margin in the Southeast within the next one to two centuries, and the numbers indicate the magnitude of the impact on the archaeological record globally. Construction of large linked data sets is essential to developing procedures for sampling, triage, and mitigation of these impacts.

This research examines the sedimentological evidence of human occupation on different cultural layers at the prehistoric archaeological sites in northeast Thailand. This study focuses on the sedimentological characters of stratigraphic layers identified at the prehistoric occupation sites of Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet, to demonstrate the capacity of such analyses to elucidate the modification of sediments by past anthropogenic activity, and eventually to contribute to an enhanced understanding of the behaviour of ancient people. The primary intention of this paper is, therefore, to point out potential uses of particle analysis in identifying human–landscape interventions, testing whether meaningful differentiation is possible, and if not, whether this may nevertheless be used to understand the sedimentological relationships between different features. The study finds that although there is relatively little differentiation between sediments across the archaeological site, some insight is possible in identifying relationships between the natural sediments of the floodplain, the channels associated with the archaeological sites, and the archaeological sediments themselves. It is, for example, now possible to raise new questions regarding the construction history of the sites, the history of human behaviour at these sites, socio-spatial relationships between paleo-social activity and natural resources, and fine-scale landscape associations between sites.

In 1916, the United States Congress created the National Park system and formed the National Park Service (NPS) to be the only federal agency with a “primary preservation mandate” (United States Congress, 1916). This act set the parameters, defined the objectives and purpose, shaped the philosophies, and guided the operation of the NPS for more than 80 years. Within the 1916 law is the category “historic objects,” which includes the thousands of historic and prehistoric archaeological sites and their contents located within the boundaries of the more than 375 parks that now comprise the national park system. The category also includes all the submerged cultural resources and underwater archaeological sites and remains located in all national park areas.

Phase III data recovery investigations at one historic and three prehistoric sites, augmented by additional survey and off-site geological investigations, were conducted at Lake Alan Henry (formerly Justiceburg Reservoir) on the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River in Garza and Kent counties, Texas, during the fall and winter of 1990-1991. Descriptive data from this first of three field seasons of data recovery are presented here in anticipation of a final synthetic report that will relate all the investigations to a series of research design hypotheses. Analysis of surface distributions at 41KT42, a late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century ranch line camp known locally as the Ed Scott Cabin, groups the artifacts into material and functional categories that demonstrate primary and secondary refuse accumulations adjacent to the cabin. The distribution of primary refuse shows kitchen artifacts are spatially distinct from other types that include architectural, firearm, ranching, clothing, and personal items. The primary discard pattern is obfuscated by redistribution attributed to secondary refuse discard. The uppermost of two superimposed hearths at 41GR484, the Grape Creek Bench Site, is radiocarbon dated to 260 B.P. and yielded charcoal identified as Carya sp. Excavations were halt~d at this Late Prehistoric II site because of extremely low artifact recovery. Geoarcheological investigations demonstrate that most of the site has been destroyed by cut bank erosion associated with the meanderings of Grape Creek. At 41KT33, the Late Prehistoric I South Sage Creek Site, stone-lined hearth features dated to 1005 B.P. are surrounded by clusters of artifacts. Petrographic analysis of brownware ceramics suggests affiliations with the local Palo Duro Complex and nonlocally with the Pecos River valley. The Gobbler Creek Bridge Site, 4IGR383, spans the late Archaic and Late Prehistoric I periods. Intact· and dispersed stone-lined hearths radiocarbon dated to 1865-1215 B.P. are surrounded by artifact clusters. Both of the sites appear to have been multifunctional campsites, and repeated occupations are likely. Dense concentrations of fire-cracked rocks at these sites may represent secondary refuse disposal. Lithic analysis indicates extensive use of nonlocal materials derived from Cretaceous formations that occur in the Callahan Divide and Edwards Plateau to the south. Freshwater mussels are the only faunal remains recovered from either of these sites. The meat is presumed to have been consumed as food, while the shells sometimes were made into ornaments. An additional 440 acres of land were surveyed for cultural resources; 360 of these acres were subsequently acquired by the City of Lubbock for use as wildlife mitigation lands. Nine prehistoric archeological sites and one isolated find were documented and evaluated for their eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Five of these sites are considered to be ineligible for listing on the National Register, and five are potentially eligible for listing. Avoidance is recommended at these five sites, with testing recommended to determine their National Register eligibility if avoidance is not possible. Geological investigations provide information about depositional environments in and near the archeological sites. Two soils buried in the Double Mountain Fork floodplain are radiocarbon dated to 8~00 B.P. and 1700-1300 B.P.; fluvial sediments extend as much as 15 m below these soils in portions of the floodplain. An older terrace previously was identified 18 m above the modem river channel. Current work obtained a terminal date of 8690 B.P. from a buried soil that caps this older terrace. Another radiocarbon date of 3320 B.P. was obtained from fill in a gully that is eroded into the older terrace. These dates bracket an erosional episode when the older terrace was heavily dissected. The erosion coincides with the Altithermal, a period believed to have been characterized by a hot and dry climatic regime.

The Cuthand Creek and Little Mustang Creek drainage basins in the mid–Sulphur River basin are in the Post Oak Savannah of East Texas. Prehistoric archaeological sites are abundant in both basins and along the Sulphur River, dating from as early as Paleoindian times to the Late Caddo periods. Nevertheless, this area remains poorly known and there have been few professional archaeological investigations conducted here. In this article, we present information on a range of prehistoric sites and associated artifact assemblages known along Cuthand Creek and the Sulphur River in the mid–Sulphur River Basin, in Red River County, Texas. The artifacts that are discussed herein are in the collections of the junior author.

Palaeoenvironmental research is playing an important role in recent archaeological investigations. We present preliminary results of geoarchaeological analyses conducted at a palaeochannel located between two prehistoric archaeological sites in eastern Hungary. The study area lies within the Körös River Basin in Békés County, a region of intensive human occupation beginning in the Neolithic, ca. 7550 BP, and represents only the second palynological analysis done in conjunction with archaeological investigations and adjacent to an archaeological site in the Körös region. Pollen from an environmental monolith was used to reconstruct the local vegetation composition and the human impact on arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation near the archaeological sites. Sediment analyses helped to reconstruct hydrological activity and human impact on the local palaeochannel. Results indicate that activity from the Neolithic onwards played an important role in local environmental change, including increasing sedimentation and deposition of organic matter in the local waterway, some forest clearance and a shift from primarily arboreal vegetation to more grasses on elevated surfaces. The trophic status of the local channel changed several times during the Holocene. In addition, indications that groundwater levels may have been fluctuating during the period of human occupation, when combined with the other changes in the area, provide a possible partial explanation for changing settlement patterns.

BackgroundWildfires of uncharacteristic severity, a consequence of climate changes and accumulated fuels, can cause amplified or novel impacts to archaeological resources. The archaeological record includes physical features associated with human activity; these exist within ecological landscapes and provide a unique long-term perspective on human–environment interactions. The potential for fire-caused damage to archaeological materials is of major concern because these resources are irreplaceable and non-renewable, have social or religious significance for living peoples, and are protected by an extensive body of legislation. Although previous studies have modeled ecological burn severity as a function of environmental setting and climate, the fidelity of these variables as predictors of archaeological fire effects has not been evaluated. This study, focused on prehistoric archaeological sites in a fire-prone and archaeologically rich landscape in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, USA, identified the environmental and climate variables that best predict observed fire severity and fire effects to archaeological features and artifacts.ResultsMachine learning models (Random Forest) indicate that topography and variables related to pre-fire weather and fuel condition are important predictors of fire effects and severity at archaeological sites. Fire effects were more likely to be present when fire-season weather was warmer and drier than average and within sites located in sloped, treed settings. Topographic predictors were highly important for distinguishing unburned, moderate, and high site burn severity as classified in post-fire archaeological assessments. High-severity impacts were more likely at archaeological sites with southern orientation or on warmer, steeper, slopes with less accumulated surface moisture, likely associated with lower fuel moistures and high potential for spreading fire.ConclusionsModels for predicting where and when fires may negatively affect the archaeological record can be used to prioritize fuel treatments, inform fire management plans, and guide post-fire rehabilitation efforts, thus aiding in cultural resource preservation.

Prehistoric archaeological sites consist significant part of the discovered archaeological objects in Israel. Among different geophysical methods applied at the Prehistoric sites in Israel, detailed magnetic investigations play the most important role. The rapid and reliable investigations allow consistently estimate the possible archaeological significance of the area under study. Interpretation of magnetic surveys in Israel is complicated by several factors, the most significant from which is a strong oblique magnetization of the Earth’s magnetic field (about 45). The variable structure of the upper part of the geological section often does not allow to determine the level of the normal magnetic field within the studied sites. Noise caused by iron objects and electric power lines sometimes reaches high values. Uneven topography also disturbs the effect from the archaeological targets. The complicated conditions of the survey require advanced methods for delineation of buried objects, their quantitative interpretation and 3-D modeling. We present here results of detailed magnetic investigations at four most typical objects: Eynan site of Natufian period (northern Israel), Nahal Zehora site of Pottery Neolithic period (northern Israel), Kissufim Road of Chalcolitic period (southern Israel) and multilevel Proto-Historic site Tel Megiddo (northern Israel). Introduction Prehistoric archaeological sites consist about 12-15% of the total number of discovered archaeological objects in Israel (Kenyon, 1979; Reich, 1992; personal communications with Israeli archaeologists). We can suggest that the total number of Prehistoric sites in Israel (known and expected objects) may reach 2,500-3,000 units. Geophysical examination of ancient sites is now recognized as obligatory element of archaeological investigations (Dalan and Banerjee, 1996; Bates and Bates, 2000; Eppelbaum et al., 2001a, Von der Osten-Woldenburg et al., 2002, etc.). Geophysical surveys provide a ground plan of cultural remains before excavations or may be even used instead of excavations. Such investigations should help estimate the possible archaeological significance of the area under study. Detailed magnetic investigations are widely used for studying of Prehistoric sites in the world (Gibson, 1986; Frederick and Abbott, 1992; Kozhevnikov et al., 2001; Crew, 2002; Von der Osten-Woldenburg et al., 2002; Sarris et al., 2004, Krivanek, 2005, etc.) and in Israel (Itkis and Eppelbaum, 1998; Eppelbaum and Itkis, 2000; Eppelbaum et al., 2000b; Itkis et al., 2003; Eppelbaum and Itkis, 2005). Rapid (first results may be obtained during a few hours − several days) and reliable interpretation of magnetic data could provide protection of archaeological remains from unpremeditated destruction. Cost of these investigations usually in many tens of times less that the total worth of archaeological investigations. At the same time, highprecision magnetic investigations at archaeological sites in Israel are affected by a lot of different factors (Eppelbaum and Khesin, 2001). The most significant disturbing feature is a strong oblique magnetization of the Earth’s magnetic field (43-46). The multi-layered and variable structure of the upper part of the geological section often does not allow to calculate the level of the normal magnetic field within the studied sites. Noise caused by industrial iron and iron-containing objects (sometimes –electromagnetic objects) may reach high values. Rugged relief also disturbs the effect from the buried archaeological objects. The complicated conditions of the survey require modern

There are 39 recorded prehistoric archeological sites located on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. These prehistoric sites are settlements of the indigenous inhabitants of the island, the Lucayans. Data exist for both the archaeological sites and their surrounding resources, including site location, vegetation, geology, and proximity to fresh water, coastline, wetlands, and reefs, etc. Specific application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Lucayan settlements on San Salvador had not been performed in a major way prior to the present research, although it was proposed by other researchers. GIS data analysis required the application of a computer program, ArcGIS 9.2. In ArcGIS, the prehistoric settlement pattern of San Salvador was investigated via rapid extraction of data critical to perform analyses of resources surrounding the archaeological sites. Resulting information, displayed in various forms, primarily maps and data tables, helped to identify past cultural patterns, trends in prehistoric resource use, and will enable the prediction of locations of sites yet to be discovered. This study answered various anthropological and archaeological questions pertaining to San Salvador, its pre-Columbian inhabitants, and the spatial distribution of Lucayan habitation sites across the island landscape.

Test excavations at two prehistoric archeological sites in eastern Willacy County, Texas, were conducted by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. during Ma y and July of 1981. The purpose of the investigations at sites 41WY71 and 41WY72 was to assess the potential eligibility of the sites for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. It is concluded that site 41WY71 does not warrant nomination to the Register, but that site 41WY72 is of sufficient importance that it should be considered to be eligible for nomination to the Register. Current work at these two sites has been accomplished under terms of an agreement with Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 and Willacy County Drainage District No. 1. Both sites will be affected by construction of the proposed North Ditch across the H.P. El Sauz Ranch. Based on the testing results, the alignment of the North Ditch was shifted southward to avoid conflicts with site 41WY72. As a result, no significant impact should occur at that site. The materials recovered indicate that site 41WY71 probably represents a temporary camp while site 41WY72 appears to represent a semi-permanent site. Significant findings include two small ceramic sherds, seven pieces of obsidian or green glass, and a probable chert chipping station at site 41WY72. All the materials recovered are presumed to be Late Prehistoric in age.

Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Terracon) was contracted by PNM Resources to conduct a Phase I archeological survey on lands owned by The University of Texas System in Ward County, Texas, the location of a proposed 12,000-foot-long power transmission line. Since the proposed undertaking will occur on land owned by a public institution of higher education, this project required compliance under the jurisdiction of the Antiquities Code of Texas (Natural Resources Code, Chapter 191) and its implementing rules (Texas Administrative Code, Title 13, Chapter 26). The proposed project area comprises an easement approximately 12,000 feet (2.27 miles) long and approximately 30 feet wide. The total area covered is approximately 8.26 acres. Terracon archeologists excavated a total of forty (40) shovel tests to a depth of 80 centimeters (cm) below surface (bs), or to sediments predating human occupation in the area. The removed sediment was passed through ¼” hardware mesh to recover artifacts. One prehistoric archeological site, 41WR139, was recorded during the survey. The portion of the site that is within the project area is not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). Jenni Hatchett Kimbell served as Principal Investigator under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8996. Fieldwork was conducted between July 16 and July 17, 2019 by Michael Hogan (Staff Archeologist) and Edgar Vazquez (Staff Archeologist). The report was authored by Michael Hogan and Jenni Hatchett Kimbell. Project records will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) at the University of Texas at Austin. Given the absence of NRHP-eligible archeological sites within the proposed project area, Terracon recommends that the installation of the power transmission line proceed as planned. In the event that human remains, historic properties, or buried cultural materials are encountered during construction or disturbance activities, work should cease in the immediate area but can continue where no cultural materials are present. TNMP Environmental Services Department should be contacted.

This report documents the research conducted in conjunction with the excavation of four prehistoric archaeological sites (38BR259, 38BR495, 38BR527 and 38BR528) on the Upper Coastal Plain of the South Atlantic Slope in South Carolina. These predominantly Woodland period sites are located on the United States Department of Energy's Savannah River Plant (SRP) in the L-Lake area of the Steel Creek watershed. The L-Lake area was surveyed during four different phases of research conducted by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. The second survey of the area was part of a 40% sample of the SRP, stratified by watersheds. This on-going, multi-year survey, completed in 1986, was implemented in order to inventory and assess the cultural resources contained in the SRP and to provide the SRP with a culture resource synthesis and management plan. The intensive survey of Steel Creek was conducted during 1981 and 1982. However, because portions of the L-Lake area were not included in the sample, no sites pertinent to this report were located. The third survey, which culminated in the present research effort, resulted from a project that began in 1980 when the Department of Energy initiated the reactivation of the L Reactor. The reactivationmore » plan prescribed an increased discharge of thermal water. Consequently, in 1980 the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program (SRARP) was contracted to conduct an intensive archaeological survey of the Steel Creek terrace edge and bottomland as an initial step geared toward the mitigation of the effects of thermal water discharge on archaeological sites that would result from the restart of the L-Area Reactor. 204 refs.« less

This demo presents a fully immersive and interactive virtual environment (VE) — the ArcheoVR, which represents Itapeva Rocky Shelter, a prehistoric archeological site in Brazil. W workflow started with a real world data capture — laser scanners, drones and photogrammetry. Captured information was transformed into a carefully designed realistic 3D scene and interactive features that allows users to experience the virtual archeological site in real-time. The main objective of this VR model is to allow the general public to feel and explore an otherwise restricted and ephemeral site and to assess prototype tools intended for future digital archaeological exploration.

Olivella shells found in prehistoric archaeological sites in the Great Plains can be indicators of social contact and exchange. However, because different species of Olivella shells occur in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and because both were transported great distances by prehistoric people, precise species identification is necessary. Eighteen Olivella shells from Kansas archaeological sites are identified as being a Pacific Ocean species, Olivella dama, and reaffirms postulated trade ties between the Plains and Southwestern pueblos. The identification of an Atlantic species—olivella nivea—from the Early Ceramic Woodruff ossuary raises questions regarding either its identification or the nature of social contacts during that time period.