Addressing archaeology's most compelling substantive challenges requires synthetic research that exploits the large and rapidly expanding corpus of systematically collected archaeological data. That, in turn, requires a means of combining datasets that employ different systematics in their recording while at the same time preserving the semantics of the data. To that end, we have developed a general procedure that we call query-driven, on-the-fly data integration that is deployed within the Digital Archaeological Record digital repository. The integration procedure employs ontologies that are mapped to the original datasets. Integration of the ontology-based dataset representations is done at the time the query is executed, based on the specific content of the query. In this way, the original data are preserved, and data are aggregated only to the extent necessary to obtain semantic comparability. Our presentation draws examples from the largest application to date: an effort by a research community of Southwest US faunal analysts. Using 24 ontologies developed to cover a broad range of observed faunal variables, we integrate faunal data from 33 sites across the late prehistoric northern Southwest, including about 300,000 individually recorded faunal specimens.

The accurate and precise collection of three-dimensional (3D) context and provenience data is of critical importance for archaeologists. Traditional square-hole methods are being augmented by new digital techniques to increase the accuracy and precision with which 3D data are collected. Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry is an emerging digital technique that is becoming more widespread for collecting 3D data of archaeological sites and features. We are using handheld digital cameras and ground-based SfM to record accurate and precise 3D context and provenience data at the scale of the excavation unit and profile during rockshelter excavations in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas. By combining SfM with traditional excavation methods, we collect 3D data on excavation units, layers, features, and profiles without excavating in grid-bound square units. SfM provides a straightforward and flexible method to excavate based on the stratigraphy and logistical pragmatics, which further aids in assigning precise context and provenience to recovered artifacts and samples. This article describes how ground-based SfM serves as a basic recording tool during excavation and shows that, by applying ground-based SfM methods to excavation, archaeologists can collect more, and more accurate, data than with traditional square-hole methods.

Lidar has shown considerable utility for answering specific questions regarding anthropogenic landscape alteration in archaeological contexts. We document the extent and timing of these alterations in the construction of the public and political core architectural groups at Uxbenká, Belize, using combined data from Lidar and archaeological excavations. We detail how Lidar methods combined with archaeological excavations enhance the precision of our measurements of the broad range of impacts on the landscape from investment in the built environment. We conclude that the large social investment in landscape alteration to accommodate public architecture occurred early in the polity's history (prior to A.D. 400) and that later developments, including architectural reconfigurations, did not expand greatly on these initial investments.

This paper reports on the first and highly effective use of Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) technology to document Chaco roads, monumental linear surface constructions of the precolumbian culture that occupied the Four Corners region of the American Southwest between approximately AD 600 and 1300. Analysis of aerial photographs supplemented by ground survey has been the traditional methodology employed to identify Chaco roads, but their traces have become increasingly subtle and difficult to detect in recent years due to the impacts of natural weathering, erosion, and land development. Roads that were easily visible in aerial photography and on the ground in the 1980s are now virtually invisible, underscoring the need for new, cutting-edge techniques to detect and document them. Using three case studies of the Aztec Airport Mesa Road, the Great North Road, and the Pueblo Alto Landscape, we demonstrate lidar's unprecedented ability to document known Chaco roads, discover previously undetected road segments, and produce a precise quantitative record of these rapidly vanishing features.

Medium-scale archaeological phenomena (large settlements, landscape features and infrastructural systems, road networks, etc.) pose significant challenges to archaeological documentation. Traditionally, such features are mapped either schematically or via labor-intensive (or otherwise costly) high-resolution methods. The advent of inexpensive, packable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and lighter-than-air platforms, combined with increasingly sophisticated photogrammetric and mobile geographic information system (GIS) software systems, presents opportunities for improving on these compromises. Here, we present results from test flights and photogrammetric mapping using UAVs and a meteorological balloon, combined with mobile GIS-based attribute registry of architectonic features at a large, complex colonial planned settlement (Mawchu Llacta de Tuti) in highland colonial Peru. First, the operating parameters of UAVs are presented, as well as the imagery capture and photogrammetric processing work flows. Second, we provide an overview of the tablet-based mobile GIS system used to digitize a site plan (based on the imagery from the UAV) and register architectural attributes from each building. The results from initial testing suggest that in the near future, such combined close-range photogrammetry and mobile GIS-based systems will significantly enhance and expedite high-resolution data registry of a wide range of archaeological features, sites, and landscapes.

Archaeologists have struggled to combine remotely sensed datasets with preexisting information for landscape-level analyses. In the American Southeast, for example, analyses of lidar data using automated feature extraction algorithms have led to the identification of over 40 potential new pre-European-contact Native American shell ring deposits in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Such datasets are vital for understanding settlement distributions, yet a comprehensive assessment requires remotely sensed and previously surveyed archaeological data. Here, we use legacy data and airborne lidar-derived information to conduct a series of point pattern analyses using spatial models that we designed to assess the factors that best explain the location of shell rings. The results reveal that ring deposit locations are highly clustered and best explained through a combination of environmental conditions such as distance to water and elevation as well as social factors.

Archaeological researchers and compliance review officers need to know whether or not a research plan will yield sufficient information to meet research objectives. Despite the need, a key question is often not addressed in proposals or reports: how many flotation samples are sufficient to adequately characterize the food procurement practices at an archaeological site? This article reviews the relationship between ubiquity and statistical probability. By considering the relationship between theoretical ubiquity, measured ubiquity, population ubiquity, and statistical probability, archaeological researchers and compliance officers may assess how many samples must be analyzed in order to adequately characterize the paleoethnobotanical assemblage from a site. These considerations generally apply to any other archaeological data in which presence-absence measures are commonly used and are especially relevant to diet-breadth models in the interest arena of behavioral ecology.

This paper examines the potential of remote sensing–derived metrics of vegetation phenology and a Multi-Layer Perceptron neural network to model the most likely locations of large, agglomerated archaeological sites. Focusing on two different environments in central New Mexico, the Galisteo Basin and the Sandia-Manzano Mountain range, this pilot study distinguishes between archaeological sites and their surroundings based on differential growth in vegetation. Using data derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper, a time series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices were created to characterize vegetation phenology in the study areas. Distinguishing between archaeological sites and their surroundings, the neural network was trained on a series of known sites to develop an output activation layer indicating the possible locations of other, previously unknown sites. This output activation layer, treated as a site suitability model, was validated using the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve using known sites excluded from the training procedure. Results show promise in large, open areas such as basin environments. While differences in vegetation type have relatively little effect, differences in elevation, or more directly the changes in phenology that go along with them, negatively impact the ability to infer the presence of archaeological sites using this approach.

While our fascination with understanding the past is sufficient to warrant an increased focus on synthesis, solutions to important problems facing modern society require understandings based on data that only archaeology can provide. Yet, even as we use public monies to collect ever-greater amounts of data, modes of research that can stimulate emergent understandings of human behavior have lagged behind. Consequently, a substantial amount of archaeological inference remains at the level of the individual project. We can more effectively leverage these data and advance our understandings of the past in ways that contribute to solutions to contemporary problems if we adapt the model pioneered by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis to foster synthetic collaborative research in archaeology. We propose the creation of the Coalition for Archaeological Synthesis coordinated through a U.S.-based National Center for Archaeological Synthesis. The coalition will be composed of established public and private organizations that provide essential scholarly, cultural heritage, computational, educational, and public engagement infrastructure. The center would seek and administer funding to support collaborative analysis and synthesis projects executed through coalition partners. This innovative structure will enable the discipline to address key challenges facing society through evidentially based, collaborative synthetic research.

After acquiring 91 km2 of lidar data from the Zacapu region, West Mexico, we confronted a series of issues that most archaeologists using this technology face. These include the large volume of data available, the limited training of potential “analysts,” the difficult development of a collective mapping tool and protocol, and the reliability of desk-based interpretation of archaeological features. In this article, we present an initiative conducted in 2015 and 2017 as an attempt to answer these methodological and pedagogical issues. We developed a web mapping platform to collectively interpret archaeological features using lidar-derived imagery and to train volunteer students to participate in this desk-based web mapping within a crowdsourcing framework. After evaluating the results of this initiative, we discuss the potential and limitations of this method for both lidar-based research and future training.

The management of cultural resources by federal land-managing agencies in the United States is moving in the direction of programmatic approaches that consider archaeological resources on a regional or landscape level. In 2014, the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), in response to meetings with federal agencies, established three task forces on issues related to landscape-scale cultural resource management (CRM). The task forces focused on: (1) survey data quality, durability, and use; (2) incorporating archaeological resources in regional land-use plans; and (3) valuing archaeological resources. Revised reports of the task forces are being published in this issue of Advances in Archaeological Practice. This paper provides the context and history of the task forces, particularly the CRM challenges facing federal land-managing agencies leading to the selection of topics that are subjects of the published articles.

Object-based, experiential learning/evidence-based inquiry engages young minds and models how research is conducted. It is clear that this kind of authentic experience stays with students long afterward. Our research investigated 74 fifth-grade public school students’ conceptions of evidence, of the provisional nature of archaeological and historical interpretations, and of the purposes for using archaeology to study the past. Three and four years later, we conducted follow-up interviews with 29 of the students to investigate what they remembered about their archaeological experience, including classroom instruction, excavation/labwork, and concepts related to archaeological processes and historical information. Our study shows that in-depth archaeological study has considerable sticking power. It also provides important insights into how students think about archaeology, history, and the past, and how they relate “things” to the past and to past cultures. In particular, it shows that the materiality of archaeology offers students opportunities to create multiple, evidence-based interpretations when they are taught to understand culture in material ways. Our study also offers concrete suggestions for anyone considering using objects to teach about the past: use an inquiry-based approach, take students’ prior knowledge into account, use metaphors carefully with younger children, and make the human-object connection explicit for all.

The orientations of European prehistoric structures have been studied independently by landscape archaeologists and archaeoastronomers. Despite their similar interests, the two fields have failed to converge primarily because of their differing epistemologies. This paper argues that archaeology has much to gain by integrating the two fields to provide a fuller and more balanced exploration and understanding of the location and orientation of the European megaliths. It is suggested that prehistoric archaeoastronomy needs to become more grounded on the archaeological record and context of the prehistoric structures it studies. If it is to generate knowledge of value to archaeology it needs to become a “skyscape archaeology.” This paper looks at current archaeoastronomical approaches through the lens of archaeological practice. It identifies some limitations and discusses how landscape archaeology can inform archaeoastronomy on overcoming them. A methodology that attempts this necessary cross-fertilization, by shedding unfounded assumptions and developing a more phenomenological approach to pattern-recognition, is proposed. This methodology is applied to a case study in central Portugal. The emergent narrative, linking a cluster of dolmens to a local mountain range and the star Aldebaran, not only fits the archaeological record, but is mirrored by local folklore, lending further support to the validity of this methodology.

Archaeology as a field is experiencing a curation crisis—our professional paper trail is extensive, and we are not properly trained to adequately catalogue and curate these records. For decades, a handful of archaeologists have pushed for our discipline to confront this crisis—we need better methods for creating records and maintaining archives, as well as stronger training in how to effectively conduct archival research. This issue of Advances in Archaeological Practice echoes these earlier calls to action, adding new voices and perspectives. In addition to the theme of a curation crisis, our authors discuss access to archival records and the relationship between archives and power. The authors and guest editors of this issue hope the contributions presented here will inspire more sustained engagement with archival training, theory, and praxis.

Quadrotor-UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) systems are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in archaeological field research for the production of digital elevation models and orthophoto mosaics of sites, monuments, and landscapes. In order to make up for the lack of suitable imagery to use in a larger project on the landscapes surrounding Bronze Age tell sites in the Murghab delta of eastern Turkmenistan, we developed a protocol for the deployment of out-of-the-box UAV systems to document sites and their immediate environs. This article discusses the fundamentals of aerial survey based on our experience deploying a quadrotor UAV, using examples from our case study of the site of Togolok 1. We argue that the approach we developed is particularly useful for mesoscale survey, between 1 and 5 km2, and is particularly useful for producing technical quality outputs, even by relative newcomers to UAV-based aerial survey.

Regional planning is an essential element of comprehensive archaeological management programs. Most regional planning efforts in archaeology focus on predictive modeling to distinguish areas based on the likelihood of encountering archaeological resources. We discuss a complementary approach that uses known sites and expert opinion to identify spatially explicit cultural resource preservation priorities. Loosely analogous to biodiversity conservation planning, priority cultural resource assessments provide an evolving vision of an archaeological reserve network which, if managed appropriately, could protect a significant part of our cultural heritage. We outline an efficient approach to identifying spatially explicit Priority Areas within portions of Arizona and New Mexico. This information complements assessments of individual site eligibility for purposes of listing on the National Register of Historic Places by providing an added layer of regionally contextualized information at larger geographic scales. By establishing priorities, this information can also enhance cultural resource considerations in local, state, and federal land use planning. While our consideration of significance is based on the potential information content of the resource, we argue that this planning process can easily incorporate other cultural resource values and help to address preservation actions in support of this broader set of values.

Archaeologists are in a unique position to promote heritage and preservation through environmental education, the fundamentals of which have overlapping and parallel themes in archaeology education and outreach. Recently, successful community-based collaborative research and archaeology fieldwork initiatives between archaeologists and Native American/First Nations communities have prompted tribal leaders to pursue ways for youth in their communities to engage in contemporary cultural and natural resources work, thus inspiring future stewardship and introducing youth to professional pathways. With the guidance of archaeologists and tribal community educators, youth can participate in authentic, hands-on archaeological activities that place them into the roles of scientists and researchers and allow them to interpret their own archaeological heritage. A July 2015 partnership between archaeologists and the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin provided a place-based archaeological learning experience at a site area that was personally relevant to the student participants. A solid and collaborative planning process between archaeologists and tribal staff contributed to a successful workshop where all parties met their goals of strengthening partnerships and providing an enriching experience for the students. The integration of science-based archaeology with a traditional cultural learning environment provided a comfortable setting that resulted in noticeable engagement and enthusiasm.

The data from older archaeological surveys are incredibly important resources, often containing our only information about sites that have been destroyed or that are now inaccessible. These surveys occurred before the advent of GPS technology, however, so their spatial accuracy is often uncertain. Many types of locational errors accumulate in such “legacy” datasets, so using them in modern GIS-based spatial analyses is frequently problematic. Many of the sources of error can be identified and quantified, however, and systematic and random errors (derived mainly from Cartesian, rounding, and human error) can largely be mitigated by scanning the original field maps, georectifying the maps to trusted imagery, and then digitizing sites directly. The remaining “mislocation” errors derive from difficulty identifying locations in the field. The original survey notes may contain clues about mislocation error, but it is impossible to mitigate these errors without re-recording site locations with more accurate survey instruments. Instead, I advocate the use of GIS-based models to estimate the influence of specific surveying practices on site location accuracy. These models can provide a standardized, quantifiable measure of mislocation error in a legacy dataset, which can help guide its use in modern GIS analyses that require accurate site locations.

In the next 10 years, the US cultural resource management (CRM) industry will grow in terms of monies spent on CRM activities and the size of the CRM labor force. Between US fiscal years 2022 and 2031, annual spending on CRM will increase from about $1.46 to $1.85 billion, due in part to growth in the US economy but also to an added $1 billion of CRM activities conducted in response to the newly passed infrastructure bill. The increased spending will lead to the creation of about 11,000 new full-time positions in all CRM fields. Archaeologists will be required to fill more than 8,000 positions, and of these, about 70% will require advanced degrees. Based on current graduation rates, there will be a significant MA/PhD-level job deficit. Accordingly, there is a compelling need to (a) stop the trend to close or decrease the size of current graduate programs, (b) reorient academic programs to give a greater emphasis to the skills needed to be successful in CRM, and (c) better integrate academic and applied archaeology to leverage the vast amount of data that will be generated in the next decade to best benefit the public.

Due to the intellectual, physical, and emotional demands of field research, those doing this work need to strategies to monitor and maintain their own mental health before, during, and after a field season. Moreover, they should have a framework for supporting their colleagues. This review article will present a framework for assessing the mental health hazards and the reactions, both positive and negative, to fieldwork. First, it will use U.S. epidemiology to show that most field teams are at risk. Second, it will frame the field season both as a workplace and wilderness exposure event and discuss the elements of the field research environment that can be therapeutic for some but toxic for others. Third, it will discuss the psychological impacts of travel and reintegration as they are pertinent to the practice of archaeology. Research will be presented in order to guide evidence-informed policies for the field research team to improve the mental-health readiness and resiliency of the research team. Last, it will provide guidance on how to manage the anxiety caused by separating from social media platforms.