Any evidence of previous human activity is an archeological site. This can include the foundation of a log cabin, a scatter of stone tools or debris, broken pieces of pottery, or a dark stain in the soil. Sites are easily seen when there are above-ground features, such as building foundations or pre-Contact mounds. They may also be seen in disturbed ground, such as plowed fields or eroded places.
If you find a site, PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB IT. There are State and Federal Laws that protect archeological sites. You can record information about the site, following the appropriate guidelines, to add to the knowledge about Arkansas’s past.
Please do not dig in archeological sites. In order to recover all the information a site has to offer, which is not just the artifacts, an excavator must have years of training, a research plan, and the proper permits. Excavating an archeological site is not what you find, but what you find out !
To learn more about Recording Sites, check the Arkansas Archeological Survey’s information.
In order to record the location of an archeological site, you should know how to read a county highway map, or a U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle map. These maps show township, range, and section, so that you can record exactly where the site is located.
You then need to record your site on a Site Survey Form. After the site is recorded, a unique site number will be assigned. If you collect a sample of artifacts from the surface of the site, you should write the numbers on the artifacts so they will always be identified with their site.
For assistance in Recording a Site, you can contact an archeologist at the nearest Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Station.