Regional Surveys in the Eastern United States
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Implementing Subsurface Testing Programs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2575920 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kent G Lightfoot (Stony Brook University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1986 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 484-504 |
| Publication date | 1986-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Antiquity (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7316 • E-ISSN: 2325-5064 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/281748 |
| OpenAlex | W2322117526 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 36 |
| References cited | 22 |
The probability of detecting sites using subsurface testing programs is a serious concern for archaeologists working in the eastern United States. Some have suggested that current test-probe programs provide a poor method for estimating the frequency and distribution of sites. In this article I examine the usefulness of subsurface testing programs by comparing the results of an Eastern subsurface survey with a pedestrian surface survey conducted in the Southwest. The subsurface survey at Shelter Island, New York, was designed so that probability limits could be calculated for detecting sites of varying sizes. These probabilities were then employed to estimate the number and kinds of sites contained in sample units. When these results were compared with those from a pedestrian surface survey in northeastern Arizona, the results suggested that carefully designed subsurface surveys, although extremely labor-intensive, can provide settlement-pattern information as detailed as that collected in surface surveys
Archaeology · Geography · Geological survey · Sample (material) · Settlement (finance) · Strengths and weaknesses · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Computer Science · Geology · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction
Protrusion, Bioturbation, and Settlement Detection during Surface Survey
“My problems aren't severe enough to seek help”
Bewitched by Mechanical Site-Testing Devices
Dig It, Design It
Geoarchaeological perspectives on paleolandscapes and regional subsurface archaeology
Survey, Shovel Probes, and Population Estimates
Sampling Design and Inferential Bias in Archaeological Soil Chemistry
A question of inference
Seqüência Cronológica de Ocupação na Área do Salobo (Pará)
Maritime Hunter-Gatherers in the Chonos Archipelago (43°50’–46°50’ S), Western Patagonian Channels
Evaluating outcomes of survey methodology dissimilarity
The Archaeology of Social Transformation in Rural Zanzibar, Tanzania, from the Eleventh Through Nineteenth Centuries CE
Native Californians at the Presidio of San Francisco
Finding Their Place in the Swahili World
Test-pitting and the detection of sub-surface sites
An Archaeological Test of the Effects of the White River Ash Eruptions
Highlands and Lowlands
Shovel-Test Sampling in Archaeological Survey
A Defense of Shovel-Test Sampling
Capturing People on the Move
Archaeological Site Survey in Wooded Environments
The problem of undersampling for models of archaeological occupations derived from shovel testing and its consequences for significance determinations
A Simple Mathematical Procedure for Estimating the Adequacy of Site Survey Strategies
The Firebreak Plow and Subsurface Site Discovery
Defining Buried Features Before Excavation
A Multi-Method Approach to Reconstructing Occupational History and Activity Areas
The Design, Application and Evaluation of an Effective Subsurface Sampling Strategy
Close-interval Core Sampling
Evaluating the Utility of Auger Testing as a Predictor of Subsurface Artifact Density
Elusive wattle-and-daub
The "Invisible" Maya
Ploughzone sampling in Denmark
Excavation Sample Size
The Effectiveness of Subsurface Testing
Coring and the Identity of Cultural-Resource Environments
Beyond the buildings
Decision Making in Modern Surveys
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory
Archaeological Hammers and Theories
Appendix A
Physics and archaeology
Method and Theory in Coastal New York Archaeology
The Limitations of Traditional Surveying Techniques in a Forested Environment
Design and Evaluation of Shovel-Test Sampling in Regional Archaeological Survey
Foundations of Northeast Archaeology
Methods of Physical Examination in Archaeology
The design of archaeological surveys
Adaptive Diversity and Southwestern Abandonment
No Surprises? The Reliability and Validity of Test Pit Sampling
Transect Interval Sampling in Forests
Quarter Sections and Forests
A Rapid Chemical Field Test for Archaeological Site Surveying
Regional Subsampling and Statistical Inference in Forested Habitats
On Artifact Density and Shovel Probes
Site Artifact Density and the Effectiveness of Shovel Probes
| Unique citing works | 36 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,95 |
| Citation span | 1988 - 2026 (39) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 36 |