DOing Archaeology: Cultural resource survey report
At the conclusion of all archaeological work, the knowledge and information created must be submitted to the sponsoring organization and other repositories, including the Forest Service and the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. This project will be completed in teams of two students. Collaboration is an essential archaeological skill!
Learning Objective: As a result of completing this report, you will be able to document an archaeological site for future protection or interpretation. You will also improve your technical writing skills and knowledge of the history and environment of the region (enhancing your "sense of place."). Most importantly, you will understand how knowledge of the past is reconstructed using archaeological practices.
Report Audience: The report should be written at a level understandable to an undergraduate-educated scientist outside their field of specialty.
Key Resources: OAHP, Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Manual, pp. 52-56. The OST CC01 Class II Survey report will be a helpful example and guide for completing your Final Report.
Citation Requirements: Please follow the Society for American Archaeology Style Guide for citing references. For a quick guide to properly citing sources, click here . I strongly recommend you take the free citation quiz available on our Canvas course site to solidify your understanding of the proper citations.
How to Start: Starting a project can be difficult; I recommend you lightly read the two Survey Reports (in Dropbox) that cover the Pulpit Rock area we documented. These reports are similar to what we will be producing and will provide references you will also find helpful for writing sections 6 and 7.
Important: As soon as someone determines from the Pulpit Rock reports in Canvas which site we documented, please email me the Smithsonian number and I will send you the site file from OAHP. This will have lots of information that will help you interpret the site, but you should also use your own observations and data because the site has changed since it was originally recorded.
REPORT SECTIONS: (see page 52 of the OAHP, Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Manual for the specific content of each section):
1. Title Page (add photo)
2. Abstract. There is a basic formula for writing abstracts. You can use this in any disciplines.
3. Table of Contents (an easy way to do this is create a Table in Word and remove the borders)
4. Management Information
a. Management Information Form (all forms and instructions are available in Canvas, Files, 3_Site Forms, OAHP)
*** Note that this form is different than the Management Data Form we used in the field.
b. Project Location Map (see Mapping information)
5. Introduction
6. Environment
a. Present Environment - create a subsection for Topography, Climate, Geology, Soils, Hydrology, Flora and Fauna. Take
pictures while you are at the site for later identification. Use climate data from this site: Western Regional Climate Data
Center [Climate and Weather Information, Western U.S. Historical Summaries (individual stations)] and the previous archaeological
site report for sources.
b. Environmental Constraints
c. Paleoenvironment - Ignore this section for this report.
Note: There are a number of credible online sources on soils, geology, flora/fauna, etc. to help you with this report.
7. Culture History (see note 1 below) - We will simplify this section and only focus on the period from 1850 to about 1950 because we are working on a historic period site. Create two sections and limit the length of these sections to between 2-3 pages:
a. History of Colorado Springs area. A primary resource to help you with this is the "Colorado Plains Historic Context" document in
Canvas, Files. This is a big document but focus on the types of human activity you'd expect to find in the Pulpit Rock area, based on
who was here and what they were doing in the ~1850 to 1950 time period.
b. Previous archaeology work in the Project Area - Summarize the types of sites found in the Pulpit Rock area. Use my Compass
account in the lab and the survey reports in Canvas to do this research. See Scott to get you logged in. A screen shot of a Compass
map would help clarify where the sites are located relative to our survey area.
Note: If you have documentary research results about the place we worked, those go in the Results section, not in Culture History.
***Do not copy text from your sources (that's plagiarism; paraphrase or summarize and use the correct citation strategy).
8. Statement of Objectives/Research Design (use the Research Design worksheet we completed in class)
9. Field/Lab Methods
10. Results
a. Place your Sketch Map in this section (but not before you have written some text in this section). Use a snipping tool or screen
shot to insert the Sketch map.
b. Insert photos of a few diagnostic artifacts that informed your interpretation of the site. There are many historic artifact guides
online, such as this one on historic bottles.
c. There are many online sources for historic research. Consider using the Pikes Peak News Finder and the
BLM General Land Office
11. Evaluation and Recommendations (NRHP). We will discuss during the Week 3 Tuesday afternoon lab. Here is the link to the NPS NRHP Bulletin; the link is broken on the MDF Instructions. See also the Powerpoint in Canvas Files on the NRHP criteria.
12. Evaluation of Research
13. Summary and Conclusions
14. References Cited - Use American Antiquity style - more citation information at the links above.
Additional Required Forms:(blank and completed sample forms in Canvas). Type responses into blank forms. Attach to end of report or submit as separate files. [citations are also necessary in forms if your are using information from others!!]
1) Management Data Form
2) Historic Component Form
3) Photo Log (record of all photos taken)
4) Photo Record (document with the most descriptive photos of the site). There is a template in Canvas, Files.
Notes:
1. Culture History and Previous Work section. The challenge is simplifying a great deal of historical information into 2-3 pages max for this section, which includes previous archaeological work in the area. The point of knowing the Culture History of the general/larger area we will be surveying is that it helps set our expectations on what we expect to find. It will also help us interpret what we find. For example, if there was gold mining in the area we are working in, then that might help us understand artifacts and features we find. You can use the prior survey reports to find some references and give you ideas for what is relevant to go in this section. I've also put a document in Canvas File called "Colorado Plains Historic Context" which is a more robust historic source. Use this as a primary source for this section! The problem with paraphrasing a previous CRM survey report is we can't be sure the authors got the history right if we don't have access to their sources. That said, limited use of previous reports is okay. There's a lot to learn about the history of the area while you're trying to figure out how to summarize this history for your report. Don't stress on this, I'm looking for strong efforts, not perfection.
SUBMITTING THE ASSIGNMENT:
1. Single-space the document, please.
2. Add primary author's name to each section.
3. Submit as a Microsoft Word document so I can use Track Changes to provide comments.
Learning Objective: As a result of completing this report, you will be able to document an archaeological site for future protection or interpretation. You will also improve your technical writing skills and knowledge of the history and environment of the region (enhancing your "sense of place."). Most importantly, you will understand how knowledge of the past is reconstructed using archaeological practices.
Report Audience: The report should be written at a level understandable to an undergraduate-educated scientist outside their field of specialty.
Key Resources: OAHP, Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Manual, pp. 52-56. The OST CC01 Class II Survey report will be a helpful example and guide for completing your Final Report.
Citation Requirements: Please follow the Society for American Archaeology Style Guide for citing references. For a quick guide to properly citing sources, click here . I strongly recommend you take the free citation quiz available on our Canvas course site to solidify your understanding of the proper citations.
How to Start: Starting a project can be difficult; I recommend you lightly read the two Survey Reports (in Dropbox) that cover the Pulpit Rock area we documented. These reports are similar to what we will be producing and will provide references you will also find helpful for writing sections 6 and 7.
Important: As soon as someone determines from the Pulpit Rock reports in Canvas which site we documented, please email me the Smithsonian number and I will send you the site file from OAHP. This will have lots of information that will help you interpret the site, but you should also use your own observations and data because the site has changed since it was originally recorded.
REPORT SECTIONS: (see page 52 of the OAHP, Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Manual for the specific content of each section):
1. Title Page (add photo)
2. Abstract. There is a basic formula for writing abstracts. You can use this in any disciplines.
3. Table of Contents (an easy way to do this is create a Table in Word and remove the borders)
4. Management Information
a. Management Information Form (all forms and instructions are available in Canvas, Files, 3_Site Forms, OAHP)
*** Note that this form is different than the Management Data Form we used in the field.
b. Project Location Map (see Mapping information)
5. Introduction
6. Environment
a. Present Environment - create a subsection for Topography, Climate, Geology, Soils, Hydrology, Flora and Fauna. Take
pictures while you are at the site for later identification. Use climate data from this site: Western Regional Climate Data
Center [Climate and Weather Information, Western U.S. Historical Summaries (individual stations)] and the previous archaeological
site report for sources.
b. Environmental Constraints
c. Paleoenvironment - Ignore this section for this report.
Note: There are a number of credible online sources on soils, geology, flora/fauna, etc. to help you with this report.
7. Culture History (see note 1 below) - We will simplify this section and only focus on the period from 1850 to about 1950 because we are working on a historic period site. Create two sections and limit the length of these sections to between 2-3 pages:
a. History of Colorado Springs area. A primary resource to help you with this is the "Colorado Plains Historic Context" document in
Canvas, Files. This is a big document but focus on the types of human activity you'd expect to find in the Pulpit Rock area, based on
who was here and what they were doing in the ~1850 to 1950 time period.
b. Previous archaeology work in the Project Area - Summarize the types of sites found in the Pulpit Rock area. Use my Compass
account in the lab and the survey reports in Canvas to do this research. See Scott to get you logged in. A screen shot of a Compass
map would help clarify where the sites are located relative to our survey area.
Note: If you have documentary research results about the place we worked, those go in the Results section, not in Culture History.
***Do not copy text from your sources (that's plagiarism; paraphrase or summarize and use the correct citation strategy).
8. Statement of Objectives/Research Design (use the Research Design worksheet we completed in class)
9. Field/Lab Methods
10. Results
a. Place your Sketch Map in this section (but not before you have written some text in this section). Use a snipping tool or screen
shot to insert the Sketch map.
b. Insert photos of a few diagnostic artifacts that informed your interpretation of the site. There are many historic artifact guides
online, such as this one on historic bottles.
c. There are many online sources for historic research. Consider using the Pikes Peak News Finder and the
BLM General Land Office
11. Evaluation and Recommendations (NRHP). We will discuss during the Week 3 Tuesday afternoon lab. Here is the link to the NPS NRHP Bulletin; the link is broken on the MDF Instructions. See also the Powerpoint in Canvas Files on the NRHP criteria.
12. Evaluation of Research
13. Summary and Conclusions
14. References Cited - Use American Antiquity style - more citation information at the links above.
Additional Required Forms:(blank and completed sample forms in Canvas). Type responses into blank forms. Attach to end of report or submit as separate files. [citations are also necessary in forms if your are using information from others!!]
1) Management Data Form
2) Historic Component Form
3) Photo Log (record of all photos taken)
4) Photo Record (document with the most descriptive photos of the site). There is a template in Canvas, Files.
Notes:
1. Culture History and Previous Work section. The challenge is simplifying a great deal of historical information into 2-3 pages max for this section, which includes previous archaeological work in the area. The point of knowing the Culture History of the general/larger area we will be surveying is that it helps set our expectations on what we expect to find. It will also help us interpret what we find. For example, if there was gold mining in the area we are working in, then that might help us understand artifacts and features we find. You can use the prior survey reports to find some references and give you ideas for what is relevant to go in this section. I've also put a document in Canvas File called "Colorado Plains Historic Context" which is a more robust historic source. Use this as a primary source for this section! The problem with paraphrasing a previous CRM survey report is we can't be sure the authors got the history right if we don't have access to their sources. That said, limited use of previous reports is okay. There's a lot to learn about the history of the area while you're trying to figure out how to summarize this history for your report. Don't stress on this, I'm looking for strong efforts, not perfection.
SUBMITTING THE ASSIGNMENT:
1. Single-space the document, please.
2. Add primary author's name to each section.
3. Submit as a Microsoft Word document so I can use Track Changes to provide comments.
RUBRIC
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LEARNING OUTCOME
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OUTSTANDING
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SATISFACTORY
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UNSATISFACTORY
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You will be able to document an archaeological site for future protection or interpretation; you will improve your technical writing skills; and, improve your understanding of how the material record of the past is documented and used to interpret an archaeological site.
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The specified format in the Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Manual (above) was precisely followed and complete. The report is accurate (including citations), clearly written, and understandable by an audience with a general archaeological background. Significant progress was made answering the research questions. The report extends existing knowledge of the site.
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The specified format was generally followed and the report is mostly complete. The report is mostly accurate (including citations), clearly written, and understandable by an audience with a general archaeological background. Some progress was made answering the research questions. The report does not extend existing knowledge of the site.
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Attempts to follow the specific format are evident but the report is uneven in accuracy (including citations) and clarity and some parts will be confusing to an audience with a general archaeological background. Little progress was made answering the research questions and the site data obtained was incompletely utilized.
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