Page 10 - RAGBRAI2010

WATERLOO TO MANCHESTER

TECHNOLOGY IN ARCHAEOLOGY

While the primary tools in archaeology will always be the old fashioned

trowel, shaker screen and shovel, new technology allows archaeologists to be

more accurate when locating and recording possible sites, and less invasive

when working on them. Here are just a few tools that help us accomplish

this:

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) uses radar pulses to image and study

the sub-surface. Under the right conditions GPR is able to detect objects, and

changes in material at various depths below ground.

Global Positioning System (GPS) uses space based satellites to give very

accurate locational data for recording a site.

Total Station is an

Total Station electronic optical in-
strument used for

surveying. Archae-

ologists use a Total

Station to create an

accurate topographi-

cal map of a site and for placing

excavation units.

LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is

a remote sensing technology used to collect topographic data over a large

area. Collected with aircraft mounted lasers, it enables archaeologists to lo-

cate earthworks such as mounds, fortifications, and earthlodge depressions

Handheld GPS in remote areas and beneath tree canopies, where they might have otherwise
gone undetected.

Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer program used to capture and display geographic data.

Once in a GIS, archaeologists are able use data to identify and analyze spatial patterns.

BLANDING CHERT collection of over 500 samples,
with many types available for view-
Between the overnight ing online. On our website curious
towns of Waterloo and Man- users can find: maps highlighting
chester, be on the lookout for
outcrops of Blanding chert, a the locations of chert outcrops
local chert that has been uti- across the state, a program
lized by Native Americans for to aid in the identification of
thousands of years. Matching chert types, and interactive
the type of stone an artifact is graphics depicting the in-
made from to naturally occur- house samples. Log on and
ring outcrops of that stone, is a process called “geologic check it out at www.uiowa.
sourcing.” This practice provides archaeologists with edu/~osa/lithics/.
information on trade relations and social interactions.
The OSA is home to an extensive chert comparative Point from blanding chert