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Assessing the Utility of Plowed Field Surface Deposits in Pilot Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Scott Palumbo
Scott Palumbo*
Affiliation:
College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL 60030 (spalumbo@clcillinois.edu)
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Abstract

The paper outlines a pilot project that archaeologists may use to explore the utility of analyzing surface and subsurface archaeological deposits from cultivated field sites. Surface and subsurface assemblage data are compared from the Aguas Buenas period (cal. A.D. 300–900) site of Pitti-González in western Panama. The analyses presented here illustrate a means by which researchers can assess the validity of surface deposits and choose appropriate sampling designs. In the example considered here, the analysis of surface deposits points toward the same general interpretations as excavation data. It is argued that surface deposits retain significant utility and offer important advantages to researchers.

Este artículo describe un proyecto piloto que puede ser utilizado por los arqueólogos para explorar la utilidad que tiene el analizar depósitos arqueológicos de superficie y bajo la superficie de sitios ubicados en campos cultivados. Los datos de las colecciones de superficie y del subsuelo del período d Aguas Buenas (d.C. 300–900) del sitio Pitti-González ubicado en el oeste de Panamá se comparan entre sí. Los análisis que se presentan en este estudio ilustran la forma en la que los investigadores pueden evaluar la validez de los depósitos de superficie y seleccionar los modelos apropiados de muestreo. En este ejemplo, el análisis de los depósitos de superficie parecen correlacionarse con las mismas interpretaciones extraídas de los datos de la excavación. Por lo que se sostiene que, los depósitos de superficie son de gran utilidad y ofrecen ventajas de suma importancia para los investigadores.

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 78 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2015

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