A Multi-instrument Geophysical Survey Comparing the Effects of Plowing on the Geophysical Signatures of a Precontact Earthwork in Perry County, Ohio

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ohio is home to a significant number of precontact period earthworks—mounds and enclosures—many of which have been affected by plowing to various degrees. While magnetometer surveys have produced remarkable images of earthwork ditches and embankments in the Middle Ohio Valley, few other instrument types have been employed. For this study, magnetometry, ground penetrating radar (GPR), and electromagnetic induction (EM) were used to survey a small ditch-and-embankment enclosure bisected by a fenceline. Plowing has flattened the ditch and filled the embankment to one side of the fence, while on the other the earthwork is readily visible. The earthwork ditch was most notable in the radar data from the plowed area, but the conductivity component of the EM results produced the most consistent indications of the earthwork in both plowed and minimally plowed contexts. Most surprisingly, the earthwork was near invisible in the magnetic data. These results highlight the importance of using multi-instrument surveys for detecting the remains of large earthen constructions, even in a region known for its excellent magnetic survey results. The results also show the importance of geology and soils in determining the outcome of magnetometer surveys.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38693.0