“Scouring for Prehistory”—An Opportunistic Methodology for Sea Floor Archaeology

“Scouring for Prehistory”—An Opportunistic Methodology for Sea Floor Archaeology

Finding prehistoric sites, on the sea floor off the United States, has proven to be a difficult task. Over four decades of innovative attempts have produced few discoveries. This discussion outlines the difficulties in finding submerged prehistory on the sea floor, examines current methodology(ies),...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Heritage Vol. 7; no. 7; pp. 3417 - 3428
Main Authors: Garrison, Ervan G., Jones, Emily Carter, Robinson, Michael, Rivera, Yasmine I., Williams, Kelsey A., Prueitt, Benjamin, Carter, Anderson L., Newton, Matthew A., Hemmings, C. Andrew
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-07-2024
Subjects:
Archaeology
Artificial reefs
Atlantic
Coastal plains
continental shelves
Discovery and exploration
Historic buildings & sites
Human remains
Ocean bottom
Prehistoric era
prehistory
scour nuclei
Sea level
Sediments
turbulence
United States
Gulf of Mexico
Georgia
Florida
Alabama
United States > US
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Summary:Finding prehistoric sites, on the sea floor off the United States, has proven to be a difficult task. Over four decades of innovative attempts have produced few discoveries. This discussion outlines the difficulties in finding submerged prehistory on the sea floor, examines current methodology(ies), and presents a new methodology that demonstrates promise based on research conducted over the past decade. The purpose of this discussion is to outline the problems facing archaeologists searching the sea floor for archaeological sites. It is less of a critique of past efforts and methodologies used in those attempts. Without those efforts, a reason for developing a different methodological approach would be unnecessary. Any “one size fits all” methodology is limiting, and the scant number of marine archaeological sites located off the shores of the United States can attest to the need for practitioners to continue refining their methods. This is especially the case on the continental shelf of the eastern United States, where sediment cover is often meters, or several meters, thick. This opportunistic methodology developed on the continental shelf of the Georgia Bight, western Atlantic Ocean, has located intact paleo-landforms with in situ, palaeoecological remains thereby offering promise for future archaeological discoveries.
ISSN:2571-9408
2571-9408
DOI:10.3390/heritage7070161