Archaeological Investigations in Greenville, Georgia

Cultural Resource Assessments vary in nature and intent. This variance is generated by the different needs of sponsoring agencies as well as the differences in the areas to be assessed. When there is a large area or long right-of-way under investigation, an explicitly scientific approach can be used and anthropological problems can be tested. However, when the property area to be assessed is small or the transect is short, a less rigorous approach is usually called for. This assessment is an example of such a linited assessment.

When assessments become exercises in site finding instead of rigorous sampling or inspection of areas to test specifically stated hypotheses, they become something less than archaeology as it is currently practiced. This, however, does not detract from their ability to produce data pertinent to the study of cultural processes. Indeed, with the multitude of small assessments that are currently being conducted across the state and in adjacent areas, we are gaining a knowledge of the distribution and nature of sites.

The restricted area covered and the nature of most of the assessment area (i.e. directly adjacent to small creeks, in developed areas, etc.) mitigated against using a complex sampling design. Instead, a complete inspection of the surface of the project area was made. The pattern of site placement and nature does not conflict with the patterns known from other areas. Indeed, they re-inforce previous conclusions concerning the placement of aboriginal settlements and areas of exploitation.