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Survey, Shovel Probes, and Population Estimates: Studying Regional Demography in the Intermediate Area Using Subsurface Sherd Deposits

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Abstract

Shovel probes are a common form of archaeological data collection in densely vegetated landscapes. They were once the subject of critical analyses that evaluated their utility for archaeological survey, specifically the discovery of archaeological sites. In the decades that have passed since these classic studies were published, the objectives of regional survey have continued to evolve. Many archaeologists now recognize regional survey as a fundamentally demographic endeavor, one whose aim is to understand how many people lived where in a landscape during different periods of time. This recognition has placed greater demands on methods of regional data collection than those envisioned in the classic shovel probe literature. In addition to discovering prehistoric settlements, surveys must also reliably collect the full range of data that is needed for making the population estimates (be they relative or absolute) that lie at the heart of settlement demography. This paper evaluates the utility of shovel probes for studying regional settlement demography using the area and density of ceramic sherd scatters, a commonly used population proxy in numerous parts of the world. This evaluation is empirically grounded in analyses of data from the Intermediate Area (southern Central America and northern South America), the results of which are used to assess, and in some instances modify, regional survey results from the Middle Térraba Basin in southern Costa Rica.

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Notes

  1. Many scholars working in this part of the world object to the term “Intermediate Area,” opting instead for “Isthmo-Colombian Area,” the latter of which is defined largely on linguistic, genetic, and stylistic grounds (see Hoopes and Fonseca 2003). We do not argue the merit of such objections or of the Isthmo-Colombian Area as a meaningful zone of study. We have, however, opted to use the Intermediate Area as our geographic focus, given that our concerns in this paper are largely methodological, and that the Intermediate Area is geographically more inclusive. Shovel probes are commonly used in regions that technically fall outside the limits of the Isthmo-Colombian Area but within those of the Intermediate Area.

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Acknowledgements

Many (though not all) of the datasets used in this analysis were made available via the Comparative Archaeology Database at the University of Pittsburgh (http://cadb.pitt.edu/), and we are grateful to the researchers on whose data we have relied for making it accessible (either via the database or in print). We would also like to thank Dick Drennan for providing useful comments on previous drafts of this article. Any omissions, errors, or oversights are, of course, our own.

Funding

Fieldwork in the Middle Térraba Basin was funded by a National Science Foundation Senior Archaeology Award (No. 1534599), on which Palumbo was the Principal Investigator.

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  1. Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 #18A-10 – Piso 6, Bloque G-GB, Bogotá, Colombia

    C. Adam Berrey

  2. Department of Anthropology, College of Lake County, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake, IL, 60030, USA

    Scott D. Palumbo

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Correspondence to C. Adam Berrey.

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Berrey, C.A., Palumbo, S.D. Survey, Shovel Probes, and Population Estimates: Studying Regional Demography in the Intermediate Area Using Subsurface Sherd Deposits. J Archaeol Method Theory 29, 83–137 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-021-09509-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-021-09509-7

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