Geophysical Survey as a Conservation Tool

Authors

Anne M. Kern

Date of this Version

1999

Document Type

Article

Comments

Published in Nebraska Anthropologist Vol. 15 (1999-2000). Copyright © AnneM. Kern; published by The University of Nebraska-Lincoln AnthroGroup.

Abstract

With the introduction of cultural resource management and the passage of federal preservation legislation more than thirty years ago, American archeology has recognized the need for noninvasive practices that produce significant, new data while preserving the non-renewable archeological record. In the early I 970s, Thomas Lyons and the National Park Service's Cultural Resource Management Program began to develop a non-invasive paradigm placing new emphasis on remote sensing techniques. Developments in geophysical methods over the past twenty to thirty years allow archeologists to preserve the archeological record, practice Lyons' non-invasive archeology, and collect high-quality data. A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of geophysical applications follmvs.