Paleoenvironmental and Geosciences Department
Geoarchaeology
The interpretation of the formation, alteration, and preservation of archaeological deposits, as well as stratigraphic correlations within sites—is becoming increasingly important in cultural resource management for survey, testing and evaluation, and data recovery projects. SRI employs widely accepted practices in soil-geomorphological research. As part of our geoarchaeology program, we conduct background research for each project, including compiling and reviewing aerial photographs and topographic maps, as well as pertinent maps and literature on the geology, geomorphology, and soils. Literature on previous soil and geological studies for the project area are also reviewed, especially those studies focused on modeling landscape evolution, soil catenas, chronosequences, and toposequences. Landforms that may be associated with buried sites are delineated using a variety of data sets (e.g., existing geologic maps and reports, aerial photographs, digital elevation models [DEMs], soil maps and reports).
