The practical application of geophysical surveys to prehistoric sites in eastern North America

This study provides a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of geophysical techniques on prehistoric sites in eastern North America. The application of geophysical techniques to prehistoric sites is several decades old, but has been relatively ineffectual when applied to sites in the eastern United States. The present study combines fine sample intervals and cross referenced geophysical surveys to provide a better understanding of subsurface archaeological remains. The focus of this study was the detection of modest archaeological features such as subsurface pits, small trenches and house floors. I wished to avoid the pitfall associated with most applications of geophysical surveys, the focus on large, exceptional features and sites. The successful subsurface mapping of these ephemeral features (the vast majority of which were less than a meter in diameter) was a necessary step in the integration of geophysical surveys into standard archaeological practice in eastern North America.;The sites selected for geophysical investigations span different time periods and encompass a variety of cultures and physical dimensions. The flexibility of geophysical techniques in detecting different types of features and their ability to discern different aspects of a subsurface feature's morphology is presented. Combining geophysical data with more traditionally accepted archaeological techniques (controlled surface collections and excavation) allowed me to demonstrate that the integration of geophysical data with conventional archaeological data can lead to more informed judgements regarding site evaluations.;The final demonstration of the usefulness of geophysical surveys to archaeologists focuses on several fine-scale geophysical surveys performed at the Angel site (12 Vg1), a large late prehistoric village located in Evansville, IN. These geophysical surveys were cross referenced and used, independent of any ground-truthing, to derive useful information on subsurface features at the site. The Angel site is a protected state historic park and is the perfect setting to demonstrate the effectiveness of geophysical surveys as interpretive tools rather than as simple prospecting devices. I hope that this demonstration will illustrate the ability of geophysical surveys to augment the archaeological record by themselves.