METHODOLOGY
The methods employed during the 1994 investigation consisted mostly of the excavation
of 2.0 by 2.0 m test units. A few units varied in size because of contingencies
encountered in the field, mostly related to the difficulties involved with working
in an extant forest. All of the excavation units were both mapped in profile and
plan view. In addition, photographs were taken of each excavation unit.
Most of the excavation units were placed in the village interior, as defined from
the 1993 excavations, in an area of the site that had been previously cultivated.
The plowzone from these units was sampled through the use of standard volumetric
samples (SVS) that measured 50 cm by 50 cm. The soil from the SVS units was passed
through one-quarter inch mesh screen and bagged separately from the remainder
of each unit. A separate standardized form was completed for each of these sample
blocks. These SVS units were the same size as those used for both the spring and
summer 1993 excavations (Redmond and McCullough 1993; Redmond 1994) and can be
used to supplement distributional data obtained during these previous studies.
The soil stratigraphy identified in the walls of the SVS block was also used to
guide the excavation levels of the test units, particularly in following the base
of the plowzone. The 50 cm by 50 cm standard volumetric sampling technique was
not used for units X, BB and QQ because they were placed in previously unplowed
areas of the site. All of the excavated soil from these units was passed through
one-quarter inch mesh screen.
As with the previous excavations, features were mapped in plan, photographed,
and then cross-sectioned with hand tools. All of the soil was passed through quarter-inch
screen, with at least 10 liters of the feature fill saved for flotation processing.
The cross-sectioned features were drawn in profile and rephotographed, and the
second half removed in the same manner.
Possible post molds were mapped in the unit plans and cross-sectioned. Notes and
profile drawings were made on the standardized form used by the Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology. The second half of the cross-sectioned post molds were
saved for flotation analysis if the soil volume was larger then one liter. Separate
radiometric samples were taken from both feature and post mold contexts.
Stephen Ball of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology continued the magnetic
survey initiated during the 1993 field season. Again, using a Fluxgate Gradiometer,
two 10 by 10m grids and two 20 by 20 m grids were surveyed at an interval of 0.25
m. Using a one-quarter meter interval means that 6400 readings were taken for
a 20 meter square and 1600 for a 10 meter square. These grids were placed in the
central and west-central portion of the site and were partially contiguous with
the 1993 survey.
Units GG, II, and two large block excavations near the center of the site were
placed over areas with high positive magnetic values in an attempt to recover
buried cultural deposits (see Ball 1993a and 1993b), and to test the accuracy
of the instrument in a wooded area.
An additional study was conducted by Timothy Wright of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory
of Archaeology during the course of the 1994 field school that attempted to predict
the areas on the site that would produce a higher incidence of bone preservation.
This research was funded by an under graduate Independent Research Grant through
the Indiana University Honors Division. The study involved the recording of soil
pH across the site to identify any correlations between pH level fluctuations
and the presence or absence of preserved bone. Soil acidity readings were taken
using an Ogawa Seiko Soil pH and Humidity Tester. All screened contexts from the
summer excavations were measured for pH levels. In addition, auger tests spaced
at 5 m intervals were placed along two axes oriented roughly southeast-northwest
and east-west that extended beyond the limits of the site. These tests were excavated
in 10 cm intervals to a depth of 40 cm. The soil was screened through one-quarter
inch mesh screen and pH readings were taken for each of the levels. Unfortunately,
no correlation between soil pH and bone preservation was detected with the methodology
employed in this study. The results of this study are presented in Appendix C
of this report.
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