Conducting Survey on Campus

An archaeological survey is the method by which archaeologists search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organization of human activity in the past. On MSU, this means that we survey in order to find the historic campus sites as well as any prehistoric cultural material. Since construction has the potential to destroy archaeological material, we conduct an archaeological investigation any time that there is construction on campus.We cannot do a full archaeological excavation for every single construction project, and many areas are just too big. By conducting a survey, we can get a representative sample of the site to see whether there is anything that would warrant a fuller excavation or whether there isn’t any material, in which case the construction can continue.

The first step before we survey is to determine whether the area has the potential for archaeological material. Areas with a high probability will have a more detailed survey, whereas large areas without a high probably of finding something are going to have a less detailed survey. The difference is that we will dig more holes closer together if we think we might recover something. To determine if there might be something in the area, we look to the archives for information on campus history. The MSU archives and historical records has maps, diaries and photographs starting from the beginning of MSU in 1855. We use this information to determine whether there may be any historic material in the area we are surveying. The next step is to look at previous construction work or archaeological survey to see whether anything has been found in that area before. If we know the area has a lot of material we may survey it again in order to collect more, or do a full excavation. Finally, we look at the GIS to see whether the area has the potential for prehistoric materials. Prehistoric sites are usually recovered on flat, dry ground that is close to water. There are a number of areas on campus which are more likely to have prehistoric materials and need to be carefully surveyed.

After we have done our background research we can begin the actual survey. We survey an area in large squares known as sweeps. Each sweep is divided into evenly spaced rows which are 5 meters apart (10 meters for low probability areas). Within each row we will excavate a small shovel test pit (about 1 foot wide and 3 feet deep) to look for archaeological material. Along the row, the shovel test pits are 5 meters apart. By covering the entire area with test pits that are evenly spaced, we are able to take a representative sample. If a pit has a lot of material we may do more pits in the near vicinity or open the pit into an excavation unit.

Based on the survey we can determine whether the area has a lot of information and needs to be protected from construction or fully excavated. If there isn’t any historic or prehistoric material we will allow construction to move forward. All artifacts found during a survey are taken back to the lab for a full analysis.

Here at CAP we are currently preparing for a number of surveys to begin this Spring. We are in the research and planning phase at the moment. This will help us design a survey plan for the work that needs to be completed prior to summer construction.

Author: Katy Meyers Emery