In one volume here is everything you need to conduct fieldwork in archaeology. The Archaeologist's Field Handbook is designed for every kind of archaeological practice, from simple site recordings to professional consultancies and anyone who wants to record heritage sites responsibly.
This hands-on manual provides step-by-step instructions on how to undertake and successfully complete fieldwork in all fields of archaeology, from Indigenous to historical to landscape work. Charts, checklists, graphs, maps and diagrams clearly illustrate how to design, fund, research, map, record, interpret, photograph and write up your fieldwork.
This second edition is updated throughout and incorporates strategies for digital data capture, improved methods, recent legislation and more affordable technologies for surveying and photography. The Archaeologist's Field Handbook remains the ultimate resource for consultants, teachers, students, community groups and anyone involved in heritage fieldwork.
'An essential aid for beginners and professionals.' - Emeritus Professor John Mulvaney
'This volume has become the standard for archaeological field training ... A must for students, professionals and community groups.' - Martin Gibbs, Professor of Archaeology, University of New England
'It is absolutely the 'go to' field manual for archaeologists whatever their level within the profession.' - Jane Balme, Associate Professor of Archaeology, University of Western Australia
Author(s): Heather Burke, Michael Morrison, Claire Smith
Edition: 2
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 536
City: London
Cover
Title Page
Dedication Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Figures and Tables
About the authors
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter One: The Context of Archaeological Fieldwork
What you will learn from this chapter
Archaeologists and ethics
Archaeologists and stakeholders
Working with Indigenous communities
Working with non-Indigenouscommunities
Working with the legislation
Planning and achieving effective community engagement and consultation
Don’t interfere with heritage sites
State legislation
Local government
Other statutory and non-statutoryheritage bodies
National legislation
World heritage
Archaeologists and their profession
Archaeological data and intellectual property
Work health and safety
Neale Draper’s advice on intellectual property
Insurance and liability
Useful resources
Chapter Two: Designing Your Project
What you will learn from this chapter
What are projects?
Research designs
What’s your problem? (and we mean that in a nice way)
Defining your aims
The literature review
Methods
Final comments
'Desktop'
research
Using historical documents
Finding historical sources online
Ethnohistorical research
Existing archaeological datasets
Predictive models: Reviewing the landscape context
Project management
Data in archaeology
Creating field data: Making observations in the field
Field journals and notebooks
Important things to note in your field journal
Data collection
Backing up field data
Data curation
Using FilemakerTM Pro and FilemakerTM Go
Data management plans
Write it down and put your name on it—Aedeen Cremin’s tips for creating field records and archives
Tips for making your physical archive last
Useful resources
Chapter Three: Maps and Navigation
What you will learn from this chapter
The basics
Coordinates and datums
Coordinates
Geodetic datums
Latitude and longitude
Projected coordinate systems
Maps
Map scale
North
Reading contour lines
Obtaining coordinates
Obtaining a grid coordinate from a topographic map
Compasses
Compass tips
Converting between different norths
Satellite navigation
Obtaining GNSS coordinates
Positional errors with GNSS handsets
Site cards, older coordinates and the problems with relocating sites
Differential and Real Time Kinematic GPS
Mud maps
Useful resources
Chapter Four: Recording Landscapes
What you will learn from this chapter
Landscapes in archaeology
Finding sites
Survey design
Survey intensity
Sampling
Selecting a suitable sampling strategy
Judgement or non-probabilisticsurvey strategies
Random samples
Systematic samples
Site identification and numbering systems
Determining effective survey coverage: What reveals, what conceals
Potential archaeological deposits (PADs)
Identifying a potential archaeological deposit (PAD)
Describing landscapes
Geology
Geomorphology
Vegetation
Slope
Water sources
Recording taphonomic processes
Geomatics in landscape archaeology
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Types of GIS data
Creating your own GIS data
Georectifying imagery
Choosing a GIS platform
Aerial imagery
Do it yourself aerial imagery
Photogrammetry
Satellite imagery
Light and Radar (LiDAR)
Digital elevation models (DEMs)
Geophysics
Ian Moffat’s tips for getting the most fizz out of ‘geofizz’
Useful resources
Chapter Five: Recording Sites
What you will learn from this chapter
What is a site?
Defining a site boundary
What to record
What not to do
Recording Indigenous sites
Stone artefact deposits
Recording stone artefact deposits
Isolated stone artefacts
Quarries
Checklist for recording quarries
Culturally modified trees (CMTs)
Recording CMTs
Shell middens
Recording shell midden sites
Checklist for recording shell middens
Stone arrangements
Recording stone arrangements
Checklist for recording stone arrangements
Rockshelters
Recording rockshelters
Checklist for recording rockshelters
Rock art
Photographing rock art
Checklist for recording rock art
Drawing rock art
June Ross’s tips for recording the colour of rock art motifs
Inés Domingo-Sanz’s tips for digitally drawing rock art
Burials
What to do if human remains are encountered
Identifying Indigenous burials
Hearths
Checklist for recording hearths
Indigenous historical sites
Recording Indigenous historical sites
Recording industrial sites
How safe is your soil? Wayne Johnson’s occupational health and safety tips for working on historical archaeological sites
Recording standing structures
Denis Gojak'
s tips for recording standing structures
Describing structural components
Dating structures from their components
Carlotta Kellaway’s tips for researching the history of a building
Photographing standing structures
Useful resources
Chapter Six: Archaeological Surveying
What you will learn from this chapter
The basics
Surveying fundamentals
Mapping scale
Spatial precision
Creating a survey framework
Minimising errors when surveying
Surveying in 2D
Tape and compass surveys
The baseline/offset technique
Pacing it out
Methods for measuring right-angled offsets
Surveying in 3D
Surveying in geodetic coordinates
The automatic dumpy
How to set up an automatic or ‘dumpy’ level
Recording levels
Traversing
Checking for errors
How to fill in a level booking sheet
Tips for successful levelling
The total station
Parts of a total station
Surveying with a total station
Setting up a total station
Setting up a total station over an existing survey point
Traversing with a total station
Resections
Recording the detail
Minimising errors with a total station
Drawing horizontal surfaces (plans) by hand
Rob Koch’s tips for total station surveys
Useful resources
Chapter Seven: Principles of Archaeological Photography
What you will learn from this chapter
How a camera works
How a digital camera works
Taking good shots
The importance of depth of field
Tips for taking good archaeological photographs
Holding the camera
When to use a tripod
Camera pole photography
File formats
Image distortion
Scales and information boards
Chapter Eight: Surface Collection and Excavation
What you will learn from this chapter
The basics
Working at the surface
In situ recording
Surface collections
Considerations for surface recording and sampling
Sampling surface deposits
Managing spatial context
Working below the surface
The principles of excavation
The single context system of excavation
Approaches to excavation
Where?
Subsurface sampling
Soil cores
Augers
Test pits
Hand excavated test pits
Shovel test pits
Mechanical test pits
How much?
Laying out a site grid
Labelling trenches
Recording an excavation in 3D
Recording the excavation process
Describing deposits
Describing cultural features
Jane Balme’s tips for excavating bone
Recording the excavation process
Recording sections
Drawing vertical surfaces (sections) by hand
Tips for drawing a trench profile (section)
Interpreting stratigraphy—the Harris Matrix
Using a trowel and brush
Excavation etiquette
Val Attenbrow’s tips for excavating shell middens
Martha Joukowsky'
s tips for excellent excavating
Sieving and sorting
Sorting
Mike Morwood’s tips for protecting rock art when excavating
Labelling and bagging finds and samples
Photographing excavations
Photogrammetry and excavations
Tips for photographing excavations
Collecting samples in the field
Collecting to avoid contamination
Sediment and other samples
Luminescence dating
Radiocarbon dating
Alice Gorman’s tips for collecting samples for radiocarbon dating
Recovering artefacts with residues and use-wear
Managing excavated materials
Richard Robins’ tips on the proper care and management of excavated collections
Useful resources
Chapter Nine: Recording Artefacts
What you will learn from this chapter
The basics
Diagnostic features and minimum numbers
Stone artefacts
Recording flaked stone artefacts
How to identify stone artefacts
Recording other classes of stone artefact
Denis Byrne’s tips for recording stone artefact raw materials
Calculating minimum numbers: Minimum number of flakes
Molluscs
Glass
Bottles and bottle glass
Recording shape
Recording mould marks
Recording closures
Recording trademarks, decoration and colour
Calculating minimum numbers: Minimum number of vessels
Cut and pressed glass
Calculating minimum numbers: Minimum number of vessels
Window glass
Calculating minimum number
Ceramics
Recording technological ware type
Recording decorative technique
Calculating minimum numbers: Minimum number of vessels
Calculating a minimum number of vessels (MNV) from rim diameters
Calculating a sherd count
Nails
Buttons
Photographing artefacts
Nicolas Grguric’s tips for recording firearms-related artefacts
Tips for artefact photography
Drawing artefacts
Drawing the outline
Drawing the details
Drawing a side view and cross-section
Reduction
Golden rules for drawing artefacts by hand
For artefacts
For stippling
For cross-hatching
Drawing stone artefacts
Drawing ceramics
Useful resources
Chapter Ten: Cultural Heritage Values and Significance
What you will learn from this chapter
The basics
Development versus non-development CHM
Cultural heritage significance and people
Tangible and intangible cultural heritage
Landscapes and intangible values
Defining cultural landscapes
Cultural mapping
The Burra Charter and cultural significance assessment
Assessing the nature of significance: The Burra Charter'
s categories of cultural significance
Aesthetic significance
Historical significance
Scientific (archaeological) or research significance
Social significance
Spiritual significance
Community values and oral histories
Recording oral histories
Recording Indigenous oral histories
Assessing the degree of significance
Assessing the scale or level of significance
Setting boundaries for significance
Writing a statement of significance
A summary of the significance assessment process
Developing conservation policies
Managing the impacts of development
Assessing impact/harm
Assessing visual impact
Developing management strategies
Strategies for managing work at cultural heritage sites
Buffer zones
Drafting management strategies
Useful resources
References
Appendix 1: The relationship between scale, measurement and the size of a feature on a drawn plan
Appendix 2: Archaeological toolkits
Preparing for your first (or next) field trip
The basic fieldwork toolkit
The basic surveying toolkit
Optional
The basic excavation toolkit
Optional
The basic photography toolkit
The basic illustration toolkit
Optional
Appendix 3: Sample recording forms
Appendix 4: Rim diameter chart for historic ceramics
How to use the rim diameter chart on page 427
Appendix 5: Guides to dating common historical artefacts
Dating common historical artefacts
Dating bottle glass
Dating ceramics
Dating tins and tin cans
Dating nails
Dating clay tobacco pipes
Dating metal match boxes
Dating buttons
References
Appendix 6: Nic Grguric’s guide to dating firearms-related artefacts
Identifying British rifling impressions on projectiles
British percussion cap crown markings
References
Appendix 7: Guidelines for producing technical reports
Checklist for consultancy reports
Title page
Summary
Introduction
Background information
Previous research
Methods
Results
Discussion
Assessment of significance
Statement of impacts
Recommendations
Appendices
Reference
Appendix 8: Guidelines for producing interpretive materials
Tips for making your text work
Tips for making your layout work
Posters
Tips for preparing a poster
Lyn Leader-Elliot’s tips for presenting the perfect poster
References
Index
