Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
The excavation of sites and their constituent artifacts are the main way in which primary archaeological data is produced. Despite the development of new analytical tools in the last two decades, excavation procedures, routines, and techniques remain comparatively unchanged. This is partly because new excavation methods are often regionally segregated and isolated by subdiscipline. It is therefore necessary to periodically appraise and synthesize methodological improvements across the discipline. This symposium aims to disseminate and foster new excavation developments by bringing together field archaeologists to share methodological advances and reflect on current excavation practices. Touching on topics ranging from sampling, plotting, visualization, photogrammetry, taphonomy, and preservation, our objective is to evaluate the progress in excavation practices over the past 20 years. In doing so, we hope to create a forum for field archaeologists across subdisciplines to share how to record excavation data more accurately and efficiently.
Other Keywords
Paleolithic •
Geoarchaeology •
Excavation •
Caves and Rockshelters •
Ethics •
Fieldwork •
Pleistocene •
digital archaeology •
Excavation Methods •
Quantitative and Spatial Analysis
Geographic Keywords
Republic of Botswana (Country) •
Republic of Namibia (Country) •
Republic of South Africa (Country) •
Republic of Kenya (Country) •
United Republic of Tanzania (Country) •
Republic of Uganda (Country) •
Gabonese Republic (Country) •
Republic of the Congo (Country) •
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Country) •
Africa (Continent)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)
- Documents (6)
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Developing Methods of Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology in Western North America: 1983–2022 (or, from Map-O-Matics to Total Stations) (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Although not the Paleolithic in the classic sense of the word, prehistory of North American western Plains and Rocky Mountains is a study of stone tool–using hunter-gatherers. Excavation techniques changed radically over the past 70 years perhaps stimulated by theoretical concerns and questions. In this presentation...
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Equity, Access, and the Privilege of “Best Practice” in Archaeological Fieldwork (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Technological advances in digital imagery, field recording, and mapping have transformed the ability of archaeologists to rapidly collect, store, and analyze large quantities of high-resolution field data. In spite of steadily lowering prices and broader consumer accessibility over the years, the costs associated...
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From Zhoukoudian to Shuidonggou: The 100-Year Improvement of Paleolithic Excavation in China (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. For field excavation, it is most important to record and collect as much information as possible due to its non-repeatability. In China, the first formal Paleolithic excavation was in Shuidonggou site on 1923. But the excavation in Zhoukoudian in 1932 attracted more attention not only because the site was located in...
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How to Deal with Homogeneous Stratigraphies: Excavation, Sampling, and Analysis Strategies at Umhlatuzana Rockshelter, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. To ensure proper context control for archaeological samples, it is crucial that excavations determine and, where possible, follow the natural stratigraphic subdivisions in a sedimentary sequence. In cases with a single, unchanging source of sedimentary input, this may pose challenges. We present our strategies to...
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Profiling the Past: About the Importance of Excavating Side View and Sieving with a Small Mesh for Retrieving Blade/Bladelet Production in Middle Paleolithic and Early Upper Paleolithic Contexts (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Excavation involves working both in side-view (i.e., with profiles), to recognize the stratigraphy, and in plan-view to excavate features and layers. Here we want to elaborate on the advantages of working mainly in side-view at Paleolithic sites with long, complex stratigraphies with high find densities. Sieving is...
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A Simulation Approach to Developing Field Standards in Spatial Data Acquisition (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Developing Paleolithic Excavation Methods for the Twenty-First Century" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Piece-plotting, or point proveniencing, is a common practice in field archaeology. These data are important for intrasite spatial analysis and evaluating site formation processes. More detailed data collection requires more time and effort, leading to different decisions about size cutoffs between projects. Factors...