GEOLOGY AND SURFACE ARCHAEOLOGICAL REALITY IN SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Wyoming has recently begun construction of a Geographic Information System (GIS) of the Moxa Arch area in southwestern Wyoming. The goal of the project is to determine the viability of GIS as an analytical tool for archaeological surface deposits. One of the many research questions within the study is whether or not the recorded surface archaeology is an accurate reflection of past land-use patterns. Geological processes that cause the burial and/or exposure of sites need to be examined to assist understanding the nature of the archaeological surface deposits within the Moxa Arch area. The relationship between geological phenomena and site distributions is examined using GIS. Examining bedrock geology, surface landforms, and archaeological data provides suggestions regarding the reality of current surface deposits. But conclusions are tempered by data resolution and archaeological record reliability issues. The Moxa GIS study has only begun and the question of what is geology's role in surface archaeology will continue to be researched.