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Remote Sensing, Target Identification and Testing for Submerged Prehistoric Sites in Florida: Process and Protocol in Underwater CRM Projects

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Prehistoric Archaeology on the Continental Shelf

Abstract

In the USA, a large percentage of archaeological research is done by surveys required by state and federal laws for development projects. The goal of these projects is to identify any and all potentially significant archaeological resources that could be impacted prior to the actual development project. As a cultural resource management archaeologist, the author has developed principles, methods, and protocols specific to submerged prehistoric sites and their geoarchaeological principles for projects in Florida. These principles include remote sensing and identifying “targets” as well as testing and analyzing sediments for evidence of human activities. These protocols and methods are presented with specific examples.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The states with coastal margins include thirteen states and Florida along the eastern seaboard, four and Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, and four with Pacific Ocean coastlines. Pacific states rarely require any submerged resource evaluations, shipwreck or prehistoric, itself a cause for concern, but coastal states along the Atlantic seaboard and around the Gulf of Mexico do require remote sensing surveys for historic shipwrecks with some regularity.

  2. 2.

    See Pearson et al. this volume for more on this project.

  3. 3.

    One caveat of remote sensing with subbottom profilers is that lower frequency devices are needed in sandy/shelly environments, whereas higher frequency devices can be used with finer grained and higher organic content deposits.

  4. 4.

    Industry diving is regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) diving is particularly stringent. For the Academic or agency diver, AAUS is adequate standard. Appropriate regulations must be followed in each case.

  5. 5.

    “Point counting” is the sorting of sediment matrices into particles of constituent groups, and recording and graphing frequency distributions of them for comparison and description.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Panamerican Consultants, Inc., 703 Truett Dr., 32303, Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    Michael K. Faught

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  1. Michael K. Faught
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Correspondence to Michael K. Faught .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tesla Offshore, Inc, Prairieville, Louisiana, USA

    Amanda M. Evans

  2. Inst. Archaeology, University College London Fac. Arts, London, United Kingdom

    Joseph C. Flatman

  3. National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

    Nicholas C. Flemming

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Faught, M. (2014). Remote Sensing, Target Identification and Testing for Submerged Prehistoric Sites in Florida: Process and Protocol in Underwater CRM Projects. In: Evans, A., Flatman, J., Flemming, N. (eds) Prehistoric Archaeology on the Continental Shelf. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9635-9_3

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