Finding Archaeological Sites Many
archaeological sites come to light by accident: during highway or dam construction, through industrial activity and mining, or as a result of natural phenomena such as wind erosion. For example, the famous early human sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, East Africa, were exposed in the walls of the gorge as a result of an ancient earthquake that cut a giant fissure through the surrounding plains. Well-designed archaeological field surveys provide vital information on ancient settlement patterns and site distributions.
Increasingly,
archaeologists are relying on remote sensing techniques, such as aerial photography, satellite imagery (digital images of the earth recorded by satellites), or side-scan radar (airplane-based radar used to penetrate ground cover). These allow them to identify likely areas, even to spot sites without ever going into the field. The latest approach involves the use of
Geographic Information Systems (mapping systems based on satellite imagery that inventory environmental data). The combination of satellite imagery with myriad environmental, climatic, and other data provides a backdrop for interpreting distributions of
archaeological sites. For instance, in Arkansas, archaeologists have been able to study the locations of river valley farming villages and establish that they were founded close to easy routes to the uplands, where deer could be hunted in winter.
source: The Encyclopedia of World History
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Topic: Finding Archaeological Sites (Read 785 times)