ANT200H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Trowel
Document Summary
Test excavations: -test nature and size of deposits, sampling, can be an end in itself (not all archaeology involves excavation). Full-scale excavation: recovery of a significant sample, involves excavation units, dug by hand or by machine, destructive! Size matters: to say something about the arch site, or a portion thereof, we need to have a large sample of artifacts, faunal remains, etc. Test excavations, augur tests may be located in specific activity areas (hearth, mammal bone pit, burial area) and not representative of the site in general. Older excavations required more work and a larger scale of digging compared to more recently where only a small portion: auger, b. shovel test pit, c. small test unit. Large excavation units- d. block excavation e. trench. Excavation tools and techniques- trowel and screen, flotation and finer screen, heavy equipment. Fine-grained recovery- plant remains (floatation), small mammal remains, and small artifact remains.
