An Archaeological Overview and Assessment of the Main Unit Petersburg National Battlefield, Virginia
An Archaeological Overview and Assessment of the Main Unit Petersburg National Battlefield, Virginia
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Date
2001
Authors
Orr, David G.
Shackel, Paul A.
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Abstract
The overview and assessment will examine historical evidence, the extensive
archaeological database from the immediate vicinity, and regional cultural context to
evaluate the archaeological potential within the Main Unit. It will be argued that an
an important element of the archaeological/historical/cultural record is the surviving
landscape. The anthropological perspective promoted herein argues that "landscape"
is reflected in natural and cultural remnants that may be exposed and recorded by
researchers was shaped by activities such as agricultural practices that formed the
the economic basis of existence but left no obvious physical remains, and is interpreted
by conceptions of the past that are often conditioned by concerns in the present. This
overview and assessment will, as a consequence, seek a broader cultural context for
the prehistoric and particularly the historic occupations in the Petersburg vicinity.
Notes
The survey methodology employed by MAAR at Fort Lee emphasized surface
examination when possible and subsurface excavation of shovel test pits 1 foot square,
generally to a depth of 1 foot. The interval between, shovel tests was 100 feet, which
was reduced to 50 feet upon discovery of prehistoric or historic artifacts in a given
shovel test. The base was subdivided into survey units, each measuring 500 feet
square or 5.74 acres. Units comprising a total of 3609 acres were examined, which
constituted a 66.7 % sample of the base (Opperman and Hanson 1985:5-2, 5-3).