Editing Archaeological site (section)

== Field survey ==
There are many ways to find sites, one example can be through surveys. Surveys involve walking around analyzing the land and looking for artifacts.  It can also involve digging, according to the Archaeological Institute of America,<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.archaeological.org/education/askexpertsfaq|title = Ask the Experts: AIA Archaeology FAQ - Archaeological Institute of America|website = www.archaeological.org|access-date = 10 March 2016|archive-date = 10 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310082934/https://www.archaeological.org/education/askexpertsfaq|url-status = live}}</ref> "archaeologists actively search areas that were likely to support human populations, or in places where old documents and records indicate people once lived." This helps archaeologists in the future. In case there is no time or money during the site's discovery, archaeologists can come back and visit the site for further digging to find out the extent of the site. Archaeologist can also sample randomly within a given area of land as another form of conducting surveys. Surveys are very useful, according to Jess Beck, "it can tell you where people were living at different points in the past." Geophysics is a branch of survey becoming more and more popular in archaeology, because it uses different types of instruments to investigate features below the ground surface. It is not as reliable because although they can see what is under the surface of the ground, it does not produce the best picture. Archaeologists still have to dig up the area in order to uncover the truth. There are also two most common types of geophysical survey, which is, [[magnetometer]] and ground penetrating radar. Magnetometry<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.pastperfect.org.uk/archaeology/magneto.html|title = Learning Archaeology: Pre-Ex: Geophysics: Magnetometry|website = www.pastperfect.org.uk|access-date = 10 March 2016|archive-date = 4 December 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171204113147/http://www.pastperfect.org.uk/archaeology/magneto.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> is the technique of measuring and mapping patterns of magnetism in the soil. It uses an instrument called a magnetometer, which is required to measure and map traces of soil magnetism. The ground penetrating radar<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.geophysical.com/whatisgpr.htm|title = What is GPR: A Brief Description by GSSI|website = www.geophysical.com|access-date = 10 March 2016|archive-date = 12 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160312120505/http://www.geophysical.com/whatisgpr.htm|url-status = live}}</ref> is a method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures.

There are many other tools that can be used to find artifacts, but along with finding artifacts, archaeologists have to make maps. They do so by taking data from surveys, or archival research and plugging it into a Geographical Information Systems (GIS)<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis|title = What is GIS|website = www.esri.com|access-date = 10 March 2016|archive-date = 10 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310080016/http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis|url-status = live}}</ref> and that will contain both locational information and a combination of various information. This tool is very helpful to archaeologists who want to explore in a different area and want to see if anyone else has done research. They can use this tool to see what has already been discovered. With this information available, archaeologists can expand their research and add more to what has already been found.

Traditionally, sites are distinguished by the presence of both [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifact]]s and [[Feature (archaeology)|feature]]s. Common features include the remains of hearths and houses. [[Ecofact]]s, biological materials (such as bones, scales, and even feces) that are the result of human activity but are not deliberately modified, are also common at many archaeological sites. In the cases of the [[Palaeolithic]] and [[Mesolithic]] eras, a mere scatter of flint [[Lithic flake|flake]]s will also constitute a site worthy of study. Different archaeologists may see an ancient town, and its nearby cemetery as being two different sites, or as being part of the same wider site. The precepts of [[landscape archaeology]] attempt to see each discrete unit of human activity in the context of the wider environment, further distorting the concept of the site as a demarcated area. Furthermore, [[geoarchaeology|geoarchaeologists]] or [[environmental archaeology|environmental archaeologists]] would also consider a sequence of natural geological or organic deposition, in the absence of human activity, to constitute a site worthy of study.

Archaeological sites usually form through human-related processes but can be subject to natural, post-depositional factors. Cultural remnants which have been buried by sediments are, in many environments, more likely to be preserved than exposed cultural remnants.  Natural actions resulting in sediment being deposited include [[alluvial]] (water-related) or [[Aeolian processes|aeolian]] (wind-related) natural processes.  In [[jungle]]s and other areas of lush plant growth, decomposed vegetative sediment can result in layers of soil deposited over remains. [[Colluviation]], the burial of a site by sediments moved by gravity (called [[hillwash]]) can also happen at sites on slopes. Human activities (both deliberate and incidental) also often bury sites.  It is common in many cultures for newer structures to be built atop the remains of older ones. [[Urban archaeology]] has developed especially to deal with these sorts of site.

Many sites are the subject of ongoing excavation or investigation. Note the difference between archaeological sites and archaeological discoveries.