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Multi-scale and nested-intensity sampling techniques for archaeological survey

Burger, Oskar F., Todd, Lawrence C., Burnett, Paul, Stohlgren, Tomas J., Stephens, Doug (2004) Multi-scale and nested-intensity sampling techniques for archaeological survey. Journal of Field Archaeology, 29 (3-4). pp. 409-423. ISSN 0093-4690. E-ISSN 2042-4582. (doi:10.1179/jfa.2004.29.3-4.409) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:53665)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/jfa.2004.29.3-4.409

Abstract

This paper discusses sampling techniques for archaeological survey that are directed toward evaluating the properties of surface artifact distributions. The sampling techniques we experimented with consist of a multi-scale sampling plot developed in plant ecology and the use of a nested-intensity survey design. We present results from the initial application of these methods. The sampling technique we borrowed from plant ecology is the Modified-Whittaker multiscale sampling plot, which gathers observations at the spatial scales of 1 sq m, 10 sq m, 100 sq m, and 1000 sq m. Nested-intensity surveys gather observations on the same sample units at multiple resolutions. We compare the results of a closely-spaced walking survey, a crawling survey, and a test excavation to a depth of 10 cm. These techniques were applied to ten 20 × 50 m survey plots distributed over an area of 418 ha near the Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed in NW Nebraska. These approaches can significantly improve the accuracy of survey data. Our results show that high-resolution coverage techniques overlook more material than archaeologists have suspected. The combined approaches of multi-scale and nested-intensity sampling provide new tools to improve our ability to investigate the properties of surface records.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1179/jfa.2004.29.3-4.409
Additional information: Unmapped bibliographic data: DA - 2004/// [EPrints field already has value set]
Subjects: Q Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Oskar Burger
Date Deposited: 11 Jan 2016 12:28 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:22 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/53665 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Burger, Oskar F..

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