For example they noted walls, wells, graves, etc. For each 100m . traverse the surveyors also picked up and bagged diagnostic artifacts, such as pottery, chipped stone, etc. Thus the most discrete unit of information would be a 100 m. traverse of one surveyor. However, the information gathered by a team working within a tract was normally summed for each tract. This information was then plotted by the survey directors, who were able to determine if the tract was of potential interest.
Maps plotting distributions of tracts visually display the information gathered.
These maps can be generated according to many criteria. For example plots could be made of the distribution of different periods of pottery, of the distribution of lithic material, of the total pottery in the tract, of the visibility of the tract. The last instance is important since it permits analysis taking into account missing data. Significant clusters of material in a single tract or among contiguous ones alerted the surveyors to the potential significance of an area. When a tract report was suspected to be meaningful in terms of human occupation or use, a team would revisit it.