Evaluating Digital Workflows in Academic and CRM Settings

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeological field research can be expensive for a student or a small cultural resource management (CRM) firm. This poster proposes inexpensive and efficient methods for students conducting field research and CRM companies with limited startup resources. We discuss the results of field testing our digital workflow, which utilizes Avenza Maps Pro, a Bluetooth GPS receiver (Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor), and a smartphone/tablet. This method was evaluated in a CRM setting in the US Southwest and during academic research on Hawaiʻi Island. Our results suggest several benefits of this digital workflow. Using these tools cuts down on field equipment, paperwork, and post-field digitization by creating forms and maps that require minimal postprocessing. Because of the digital nature of this process, accessibility is built-in. For example, field data can be entered using voice-to-text and autocorrect. The few limitations of this workflow are also discussed, for instance, lower GPS resolution under a thick tree canopy. Nevertheless, for under $1,000, this workflow is well within reach for student projects and small CRM firms.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36332.0