The resulting profile, or log, displays the soil layers and any included disturbances or anomalies that may indicate the presence of a site. An IMAC technician running ground-penetrating radar. Two IMAC technicians reading results on the GPR computer. This size is about average for the excavations performed along the pipeline corridor. Mike and his team take great care not to disturb the resources at any site, and 48NA2526 is no exception.
Every effort is made to locate and map artifacts in place, or, to use the technical term, in situ.
Often, this is not possible because the artifacts are too small or too deeply embedded in the soil matrix. In those cases, box sifters suspended from long-legged tripods are used to gently sort excavated materials, and all finds are painstakingly identified, catalogued, and mapped within the site. An archaeologist at work in a housepit during excavation of Site 48NA2526. His dig bag is visible to his right, and a rock-lined hearth is visible on the left side of the pit. The Natrona site dates from the same period, based on radiocarbon dating of one of its wood samples.