GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS DO NOT HAVE TO BE LARGE TO BE VERY, VERY USEFUL

The archaeological literature and conference presentations are filled with geophysical surveys that cover very large areas, often revealing the plans of communities covering many tens of hectares. However, small surveys covering just a few hundred square meters, and in some cases just a single grid (typically 20 or 30 m square) can also be very effective, especially for projects that have a small crew, a small amount of time, or even a small site. Small surveys can be coupled with ground truthing excavations for extremely efficient investigations of prehistoric and historic sites. Examples from several small surveys at prehistoric and historic sites in the midwestern United States demonstrate how small surveys can be effective, even on difficult sites such ones as those containing both prehistoric and historic components or with poor feature contrast.