THE PROCESS OF

ARCHAEOLOGY

BYMRS. CATHY RYBA

THE SITE

• The site is located in southwestern Wisconsin.

• It is on the upper terrace of a farm.

• It was once farmed, but now it is a horse pasture.

• Many artifacts have been found on the farm including a mastodon ulna bone and many points.

Tool Kit

• These are the items that are needed when you do a field study.

• Can you tell why each item is needed?

Tool Kit Contents

• Can you identify each of the items in the tool kit?

Other Tools

• Here Connie brings out other tools needed at the dig site.

• You see buckets, scoops and shovels.

Making a grid at the site

• The site needs a grid map so that all the excavation can be mapped.

• Once the site has two starting points, the site gets flagged every 5 meters.

• Pythagorean's Theory gets used to make sure everything is square.

Previous Excavations

• This site was excavated for 3 weeks last year.

• They opened up two areas, and identified some pit features that date to the Oneota culture.

• These features were opened up for further excavation.

Getting Started

• Before you can begin excavating, you need to make sure your tools are ready.

• A sharp shovel makes the work easier.

• Here Le Vern is sharpening a shovel with a file.

Start Digging

• With a sharpened shovel, you start taking off the topsoil.

• You only go down the depth of the shovel blade so you don’t disturb the soil underneath.

Skim Shoveling

• Once the topsoil is off, you skim shovel until you get to the bottom of the plow zone.

• It is recognizable by the lighter color of the sterile soil.

What Are You Looking For?

• Once you get below the plow zone, you look for changes in color of the soil.

• Here you see a dark area in the soil. That is called a feature.

Soil Probe

• To check a feature, you could use a soil probe to check what is below the surface.

• You push it into the area, and look to see if the feature goes below the surface.

Mapping

• Once a feature has been identified, it has to be mapped on the site map.

Datum Line

• After a feature is identified, a datum line is strung.

• It is from this line that all measurements will be taken.

• The line is made level with a miniature level and then a measurement would be taken.

Zones in Feature

• Once the feature is defined, there may be different zones.

• Zone A could have the dark stain or color of the feature.

• Zone B would be around Zone A.

• Each zone would be mapped on the feature map using distances from the datum line.

Matrix Sample

• You start to excavate with a trowel.

• First you need to take a sample of the soil from each zone. It is placed in a large plastic bag with all the provenience written on the bag

• This matrix sample gets taken back to the lab for further processing.

Levels

• You excavate 5 cm. below the datum line for each level.

• With a trowel, you skim the surface and scoop the soil into a bucket until you get a level surface.

Sifting Screens

• The soil from the bucket gets screened for any artifacts.

• Those artifacts get bagged and the provenience written on them.

Artifacts

• Once an artifact is found, you need to be very careful.

• If possible, the artifact should be keep in place or left in situ.

• The entire level should be removed.

• This will tell if there are any other artifacts that could help tell the story of what happened there.

Paperwork

• Once the feature has a level complete, you need to fill out the paperwork for what was found at that level.

• A new plot map is made of the level indicating where all the artifacts are.

• The Munsell Color chart is used to describe the soil.

Picture

• A picture is taken at the bottom of each level.

• The sign board shows the provenience.

• The arrow shows where true north is located.

What Next?

• At the end of the day, everything gets covered in case of rain and to not let the soil dry out.

• The next day…..

Back to the Beginning

• The whole process starts over again, taking up where you left off.

ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMFIELD EXPERIENCE-2005

• Note: This PowerPoint presentation was created by a teacher participating in an ESEA Title II grant-funded project for use in the teachers' classrooms. It reflects the individual’s experience at a particular site and is not intended to accurately reflect what happens on all archaeological investigations around the country or world.

•The teacher participated in professional development activities provided by:

• Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center• University of Wisconsin - La Crosse• 1725 State Street• La Crosse, WI 54601• Web site: http://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/• All material Copyright © 2000-2005 Mississippi Valley

Archaeology Center at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse