ANTH005 Exercise 1 Sampling PDF

Habte Ketsela Names __________________________ Exercise 1 ANTH005 Sampling Campus has been covered by a volcanic eruption from the ‘big one’ and 1000 years from now you are part of an archaeological...

Habte Ketsela Names __________________________ Exercise 1 ANTH005 Sampling Campus has been covered by a volcanic eruption from the ‘big one’ and 1000 years from now you are part of an archaeological team that knows nothing of this society. Your task is to excavate the site and report on the findings. Your budget, however, only allows for five grid square to be completely excavated. Divide into groups of three to four (you will work on your own during the week). Fill in, or darken, five of the blocks in the grid using one of the five types of sampling discussed in class/section (non- probabilistic, simple random, stratified random, systematic, adaptive). Type up your interpretations of the site in one page of single-spaced text. Please note, preservation of organic macro-artifacts will not be good as volcanic ash decomposes organics rapidly. You also will not be able to read the texts. However, pollen, residues, and other small organics may preserve well. Using the available data in these areas of campus, would you understand the site for what it is, or would your interpretations not necessarily reflect today’s reality? Group Number ______ Type of Sampling _______________ As an archaeologist excavating a former college campus, I’ve carefully considered which areas my team and I will focus on. Despite a limited budget, I’ve mapped out the zones we’ll excavate, including the entire baseball field, Boyden Laboratories, University Laboratory Building, Humanities and Social Sciences Building, and the center of the campus near the bell tower, which used to be known as the HUB. While I evaluated various sampling methods, I ultimately chose to use stratified random sampling. This method allowed me to select different random zones across the campus, ensuring a diverse range of locations for excavation and providing more comprehensive coverage of the site. In reflecting on this approach, I realize that working under these specific circumstances may not fully allow me to understand the site in its entirety. As a result, I believe my interpretations might differ from what archaeologists typically experience in their day-to-day work.