Sample Size Matters: Advances in Archaeological Method on Large Data Recovery Projects During the 2000s and Beyond

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Digging through the Decades: A 90-year Retrospective on American Archaeology; Biennial Gordon Willey Session in the History of Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

During the 1980s and 1990s, California archaeologists tried to increase the volume of soil being excavated with the goals of increasing the sample size from sparse middens and understanding internal site structure. Digging more required a way to process more dirt and to keep track of thousands of proveniences. During the 2000s, SRI conducted a number of very large data recovery projects that allowed for the refinement of mechanized archaeology. Gradalls, mechanical screens, 3D scanners, relational data bases, and even optical sorting machines were employed to help us gain a better understanding of sparse middens by allowing us to excavate, screen, and sort entire sites. These tools not only increased our sample size and ensured nothing was missed, but also improved the recovery of rare and fragile items. Mechanical screens reduced processing time, caused less damage to artifacts, and shifted personnel from shaking screens to sorting materials. This had the added benefit of reducing crew fatigue and accidents. This paper presents several of these methods across a variety of project conducted during the 2000s and discusses which methods continue to be employed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Digging through the Decades: A 90-year Retrospective on American Archaeology; Biennial Gordon Willey Session in the History of Archaeology

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51065