excavations at herrick hollow IIDuring the Phase 1 reconnaissance survey, archaeologists excavated shovel test pits (STPs) at 15 m (49 ft) intervals on all testable land within the boundaries of the project. Testable land included areas that were relatively dry, had limited or no slope, and were not disturbed by recent construction. This testing strategy is designed to determine whether archaeological sites are present or absent within a defined area. Using this methodology, PAF identified seven sites with prehistoric artifacts. Most were classified as light density lithic scatters. However, one site produced dense lithic debitage in one STP, and another site yielded pottery in one STP. Following the reconnaissance, crews completed additional STPs at 7.5 and 5 m (25 and s6 ft) intervals, as well as a sample of 1x1-meter (3.3x3.3-ft) units to collect information of site age, artifact variation, site layout, and site function. The units also helped identify and examine archaeological features. Features are non-portable artifacts such as hearths, storage pits, and the remains of prehistoric structures that can be identified and documented, but not removed without being destroyed.


excavations at herrick hollow IIIt has been a common belief that low density lithic scatters have low research potential. However, as archaeologists learn more about how different regional contexts were used in prehistory, these lithic scatters begin to take on more research importance. For Herrick Hollow, the environmental context (drainage divide separating two major rivers) suggested a unique archaeological situation and the potential for a National Register District. This was supported by subsequent work - these small site areas gradually expanded into larger, productive sites with diverse and significant artifact and feature assemblages. The identification of this series of sites within the same physiographic context provided an opportunity to intensively investigate prehistoric land use patterns during a 5,000 year span of time. The Herrick Hollow sites were grouped into a National Register District, a designation that allowed researchers the flexibility to examine initially nondescript lithic scatters in detail.


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