North American Database of Archaeological Geophysics
North American Database of Archaeological Geophysics
Abstract/Summary:
Project Name: Sieber Flats, 5ME6489, CO;
Reference: Kvamme, K.L. (1998). Final Report: Magnetic Gradiometry Survey at 5ME6489, Mesa County, Colorado, 1997. Boston University, Department of Archaeology, Boston, Massachusetts. Submitted to the Bureau of Land Management, Grand Junction District, Colorado.
On August 13, 1997, a magnetic gradiometry survey was conducted at 5ME6489, located near Sieber Canyon, in Mesa County, Colorado. This work was conducted as part of a continuing effort by the Principal Investigator to research lithic scatters in the vicinity of Sieber Canyon. Earlier work in this area has documented numerous lithic scatters and focused principally on mapping the many surface-visible artifacts. The purpose of this project was entirely experimental. It was designed to ascertain whether a magnetic gradiometer might be able to detect subsurface prehistoric hearth features by their typically high magnetic response. Site 5ME6489 was selected for the work because it represents a site of unusually intense prehistoric activity, as indicated by the presence of numerous surface artifacts. Much of the surface archaeology at this site and a surrounding region had been mapped. It was hoped that a map of possible hearth features would provide additional information pertaining to the spatial structure and organization of these hunter-gatherer camps, when considered in concert with the artifactual data. Knowledge of hearth locations would also be useful for future radiocarbon dating purposes.
The landscape consists of pockets of sagebrush, rabbitbrush, grasses, and a few isolated juniper and pinon trees. The size and density of the vegetation was sufficient to make the magnetic survey difficult to conduct as it impeded efficient movement of the instrument. Two large magnetic dipole features were located at the site that quite possibly indicate the locus of hearth features. If they are hearths, then magnetic prospecting may show promise for the many hunter-gatherer sites that occur in the desert West. The verdict about the identity of these features must wait until actual archaeological testing of these features can be undertaken, although pieces of charcoal were observed on the surface near one of the suspected hearths, possibly brought to the surface by rodent activity. In this activity a simple coring could suffice by revealing the presence of charcoal, and yet preserve the features for future dating purposes. However, it may require actual excavation, in the form of a section and profile, to confirm the existence of these features as prehistoric hearths, rather than natural burned areas.