Salvaging the Survey: a Case Study in Georgia
1978; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 3; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2327-4271
Autores Tópico(s)Archaeology and Natural History
ResumoThe small contract survey is discussed as an opportunity to conduct significant ar chaeological research. A study in Georgia for the Soil Conservation Service is used as an illustration of this approach. Although logistical, field, and analytical problems con nected with this type of survey are considered, an emphasis is placed on the interpretive potential of small-scale projects. surveys to assess the impact of environmental manipulations. Contract surveys are frequently required by law and may be the source of the archaeologist's wages or of meaningful income to his institution. These surveys are often not directly related to the research interests or particular regional expertise of the individual conducting them. Many must take place in previ ously unstudied areas, with a minimum of time for advance preparation. This paper will attempt to show by means of an illustration from southeastern Georgia that the small-scale contract survey can also be regarded as an opportu nity for worthwhile archaeological research. In the course of a contract survey in the Ebenezer Creek Watershed, several approaches were devised to deal with less than ideal conditions of data collection. The impetus for the Ebenezer Creek investigation came in the form of a request from the state office of the Soil Conservation Service for a survey of the rights-of-way of proposed drainage channels in two southeastern Georgia counties. As with many surveys of this type, the study area was specified by the contracting agency. It consisted of 90 noncontiguous miles (144 km) of rights of-way partially following natural drainages and associated lateral areas bene fited by drainage construction. The study area was delimited both by contract
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