DEEP BENEATH THE SURFACE: A GEOPHYSICAL AND GEOMORPHIC ASSESSMENT OF THE MARY RINN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

The Mary Rinn archaeological site is a Late Woodland village site, radiocarbon dated 850 – 1550 AD in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. However, there is nearly continuous evidence of human habitation within the Cowanshannck-Crooked Creeks watershed between 16,500 and 500 years ago, corresponding with the Paleoindian through Woodland periods in Pennsylvania. The site has shown evidence of stratification through previous studies and excavations. This study is aimed to confirm the evidence of the stratification and potential paleochannels as well as explore minimally invasive techniques to yield maximum data recovery. This is done by utilizing ground penetrating radar (GPR) to identify potential buried landscapes to be subsequently verified (i.e., ground truthed). The ground truthing is conducted by hand using a hand operated soil auger. This study is entirely based within geoarchaeological methodologies. Within the Mary Rinn archaeological site, there has been no recorded testing similar to what this study has done. This study will expand on the current geoarchaeological interpretations of the Mary Rinn site which will provide valuable information for future testing by significantly increasing testing precision and limiting site disturbance.