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Chapter 4: Mapping and Site Taphonomy
Mapping an archaeological site, such as Pech IV, can be done on a number of levels in order to answer several different research questions. The type of mapping that is probably most familiar to people is when an archaeological site is positioned within the landscape by constructing a topographic map of the site and its relationship to natural features such as cliffs, hillside slopes, streams, and so forth.
Rather than simply marking our site on an existing, commercially available topographic map, at Pech IV, we created our own very detailed topographic map using the total station. This topographic map allows us to examine Pech IV in its natural context (as a cave rather than a rockshelter in a cliff) and to assess its position relative to known, nearby Paleolithic sites such as Pech I and Pech II. We also have mapped the topographic contours of Pech IV itself.
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• 1. Overview
• 2. Determining Age: ESR, Radiocarbon and TL
• 3. The Total Station
• 4. Mapping and Site Taphonomy
• 5. Computers in Archaeology
• 6. Finding Cultural Materials
• 7. Life of an Artifact
Total Station
A theodolite with an EDM (electronic distance meter) that can automatically measure and compute the three-dimensional, Cartesian coordinates of a measured point (X, Y, and Z points or Easting, Northing, and Elevation).