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The Pocket Penetrometer

An Onsite Method for Discerning the Presence of Earthen House Floors and Other Trampled Surfaces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Anthony P. Graesch ,
Sarah E. Shankel  and
David M. Schaepe
Anthony P. Graesch
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320
Sarah E. Shankel
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320
David M. Schaepe
Affiliation:
Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre, Building 10, 7201 Vedder Road, Chilliwack, BC, Canada V2R 4G5
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Abstract

The identification of earthen house floors or living surfaces during archaeological field investigations can be hampered by the scale of excavation, variable fieldworker experiences, and any number of site formation processes. Furthermore, although time- and context-sensitive sampling protocols (e.g., those required of macrobotanical and microartifact data collection) rely on in-the-moment identifications of floors, strong empirical evidence for the presence of house floors often comes well after the field season has concluded. Pocket penetrometers—inexpensive instruments that measure the compaction strength of soil—can lend empirical support to decisions about sampling procedures during onsite investigations. In this study, we present findings from the analysis of 4,463 penetrometer readings recorded during the excavation of residential and non-residential architecture at Welqámex, a Stó:lō-Coast Salish settlement in southwestern British Columbia. We show how pocket penetrometer data reveal quantifiable differences in the compaction of floors and other cultural deposits. We argue that compaction measurements can provide an additional line of data (ratio scale) to affirm or challenge onsite interpretations of stratigraphy based on other tactile and observational data, particularly as such interpretations pertain to surfaces expected to have been exposed to recurrent foot traffic

La identificación de pisos apisonados en casas o de suelos puede obstaculizarse durante las investigaciones arqueológicas por la escala de la excavación, por el grado de experiencia del trabajador en el campo y por cualesquiera de los procesos de formación del sitio. Además, aunque los protocolos de muestreo sensibles al tiempo y al contexto (por ejemplo, aquellos que se requieren en la colección de datos macro-botánicos y de micro-artefactos) dependen del momento en el que se identifiquen los pisos, mas la evidencia empírica contundente para determinar la presencia de pisos en casas, a menudo se presenta mucho tiempo después de haber concluido la temporada de campo. Los penetrómetros de bolsillo—instrumentos económicos que miden la fuerza de compactación del suelo—pueden proporcionar el soporte empírico para sustentar los procedimientos de muestreo durtante las investigaciones en el campo. En este estudio, presentamos los resultados del análisis de 4.463 lecturas realizadas con el penetrómetro y registradas durante la excavación de arquitectura residencial y no-residencial en Welqámex, un asentamiento Stó:lō-Coast Salish en el suroeste de Columbia Británica. Nosostros mostramos como los datos del penetrómetro de bolsillo revelan diferencias cuantificables en la compactación de los pisos y de otros depósitos culturales. Nosotros argumentamos que las medidas de compactación pueden proveer una serie adicional de datos (escala de rango) para afirmar u objetar las interpretaciones de la estratigrafía realizadas en el sitio basadas en otros datos tangibles o en datos observados, particularmente, cuando las interpretaciones correspondan a superficies en las que se asume estuvieron expuestas constantemente al tráfico peatonal.

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , May 2015 , pp. 93 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2015

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