Date of Award
12-2020
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Cultural Resources Management Archaeology: M.S.
Department
Anthropology
College
College of Liberal Arts
First Advisor
Rob Mann
Second Advisor
Mark Muñiz
Third Advisor
Karen Smith
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Metal Detecting Methodology Archaeology Historic
Abstract
This thesis focuses on testing metal detector methodology at the eighteenth-century colonial site of Hobcaw North on the coast of South Carolina. In recent decades metal detectors have become an accepted part of the archaeological toolkit, yet their use is generally limited to the role of site discovery and delineation. With the goal of broadening the role of metal detector use, several research questions were designed to test what other methodological approaches can be utilized. These questions build upon the foundation of an intensive, full-coverage metal detector survey previously conducted at Hobcaw North. The first question looks at the utility of screening soil to recover non-metallic artifacts when excavating the targeted metallic object. The next question compares the full-coverage metal detector survey to two versions of a less intensive metal detector survey and a shovel test survey in order to see what differences there are in any revealed artifact patterning between these methods. The final question looks at whether a metal detector survey can reveal information about artifact patterning, how the inclusion of non-metallic artifacts alters interpretations, and if the results can be used to effectively guide test unit placement. The results of this study show that there is room for innovation in metal detecting methodology.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Heathley A., "Testing Metal Detector Methodology in Archaeology" (2020). Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management. 38.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/crm_etds/38
