The Archaeologist's Field Handbook: The Essential Guide for Beginners and Professionals in Australia

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		Using historical documents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