Decision Making in Modern Surveys

Microprospección arqueológica en Giribaile (Vilches, Jaén). Protocolo de trabajo

“…En este sentido sería bueno recordar que, si bien el registro de atributos de un sitio es una decisión de carácter individual, la naturaleza del proceso de registro no debería serlo. Estandarizar la información a partir de un conjunto de datos paralelos y precisos, basados en la documentación de la cultura material presente en superficie en cada sitio, resulta crítico para establecer comparaciones estadísticas significativas y hacer comprensibles las interpretaciones a otros arqueólogos que no han tenido la oportunidad de visitar o conocer, de primera mano, dichos lugares (Plog et al 1978). El conjunto de datos, procedente de las zonas superficiales expuestas en las áreas arqueológicas, puede ser útil para abordar una amplia gama de trabajos de investigación sobre los Paisajes Culturales, sin recurrir a la excavación extensiva o a modelos predictivos que traten el tópico del isomorfismo entre las colecciones de superficie y los depósitos que aún permanecen enterrados.…”

A ‘Reflexive’ Multi-Stage Survey Methodology for Historical Landscape Research in Central India:Field-Walking, Local Knowledge, and Satellite Imagery as Archaeological Site Prospection and Mapping Tools in the Sanchi Survey Project

“…First, the development from extensive to intensive or unsystematic to systematic methods, and the introduction of statistical sampling and geophysical techniques is typically presented as a unilinear progression towards an ideal standard to which all projects should strive. Some commentaries 14,15 are particularly disparaging towards low-budget, small-scale projects, with others 10 questioning whether the low resolution they provide justifies the effort at all. Although many such problems have been remediated by the use of cheap handheld GPS technology, remote sensing and freely available satellite imagery such as Google Earth 4,5 , and while the detection of 'non-site' data is generally attributed to the development of systematic survey techniques 13,14,16 , it should be stressed, however, that developments in archaeological ethics and public archaeology have led to greater recognition of the veracity of the local voice 9 .…”

“…Some commentaries 14,15 are particularly disparaging towards low-budget, small-scale projects, with others 10 questioning whether the low resolution they provide justifies the effort at all. Although many such problems have been remediated by the use of cheap handheld GPS technology, remote sensing and freely available satellite imagery such as Google Earth 4,5 , and while the detection of 'non-site' data is generally attributed to the development of systematic survey techniques 13,14,16 , it should be stressed, however, that developments in archaeological ethics and public archaeology have led to greater recognition of the veracity of the local voice 9 . For many parts of the Indian subcontinent, the detectability of broader 'non-site' categories such as 'associated landscape' data 17,18 , cult-spots or unpainted rock-shelters, is less dependent on 'advanced' reconnaissance technologies than on engagement with local traditions of ancestral memory, attachment to place and intergenerational identity.…”

The Historiography of Landscape Research on Crete

“…A natural consequence of intensive surveys was the discovery of a very complex surface record and an overwhelming number of pottery concentrations not easily definable and understood (Bevan and Conolly 2003) However, our interpretations and reconstructions of past societies depend on how we define sites, a process that requires a good understanding of the role of cultural processes in the formation of the surface record (Pettegrew 2001;osborne 2001;Foxhall 2001). Discussions over the 'right' set of criteria for defining sites have been extensive, supporting factors that vary from quantitative to spatial and qualitative (Plog 1978;gallant 1986;Schofield 1991b;gaffney et al 1991;Gaffney 2000). experiments (Reynolds 1982;Ammerman 1985;Shennan 1985;Odell and Cowan 1987) aimed at a better understanding of the ploughzone and the archaeological material recoverable through intensive survey, so as to achieve a more reliable level of inference.…”

“…Regarding the methodology of surface survey, the project follows the main works of the 'New Wave' surveys, e.g. Plog, Plog and Wait 1978, Shennan 1985, Keller and Rupp 1983, Gallant 1986, Bintliff and Snodgrass1988a.…”