Using Wyoming Ground Squirrel Burrows to Investigate if Surface Artifact Density Accurately Represents Subsurface Artifact Density.

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Machine-Learning Approaches to Studying Ancient Human-Environmental Interactions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Subsurface artifact density is an important part of the archeological record for a site but is more difficult data to obtain than artifact density found on the surface. This is because examining subsurface artifact records requires excavation, auguring, and/or the use of ground-penetrating radar. These methods are destructive, require large amounts of money, personnel, and time, and are not always feasible, particularly in more remote or difficult-to-access areas. Using innovative machine learning analyses, our project determines whether surface artifact density accurately represents subsurface artifact density using backfill produced from ground squirrel burrows. Ground squirrel burrows produce piles of dirt at their burrow openings containing subsurface artifacts. These artifact-filled dirt piles provide a non-invasive case study to test our research question. If surface artifact density represents subsurface artifact density, then artifact density in backfill dirt from rodent burrow openings should be highest in areas with high surface artifact density. Alternatively, if surface artifact density does not represent subsurface artifact density, then there will be no significant relationship between artifact density in backfill piles at rodent burrow openings with high-surface artifact density. Our results have implications for archaeological fieldwork, particularly when subsurface archaeological records are not feasible to obtain.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Machine-Learning Approaches to Studying Ancient Human-Environmental Interactions

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52851