Guide to the Mississippi Archaeological Site Card

Guide to the Mississippi Archaeological Site Card As state trinomials are required for final reports, site cards should be submitted for review and trinomial assignation prior to report submission. The final site card should be submitted with the report with the assigned trinomial inserted into the correct fields on the final card. We require detailed National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility justifications for every individual site in order to fulfill our responsibilities as the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 7966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470). MDAH requires use of the NAD27 datum for the UTM coordinates. Make sure that your plotted location and the UTM’s match; failure to do will result in non-acceptance. [SITE NAME]: Fill in with the official site name. This includes previously assigned site names or historic names of the property (not the name of the landowner). If this is a new site you decide on the site name. [Please note MDAH has the right to censor or edit inappropriate site names] [SITE NO.]: This field is left blank on the initial submittal for review. After assigned, it should be filled with the number supplied by MDAH for FINAL submission. The state trinomial consists of three things: 1. The state number (22) 2. County abbreviation for the county where the site was found (see below list of counties and abbreviations). 3. The number assigned to that specific site within that county. This is left blank on the initial card (before the number is assigned by MDAH). This field should be filled in when you turn in the FINAL site card. County Abbreviation Adams Ad Alcorn Al Amite Am Attala At Benton Be Bolivar Bo County Abbreviation Calhoun Ca Carroll Cr Chickasaw Cs Choctaw Ch Claiborne Cb Clarke Ck Clay Cl Coahoma Co Covington Cv Desoto Ds Forrest Fo Franklin Fr George Ge Greene Gn Grenada Gr Hancock Ha Harrison Hr Hinds Hi Holmes Ho Humphreys Hu Issaquena Is Itawamba It Jackson Ja County Abbreviation Jasper Js Jefferson Je Jefferson Davis Jd Jones Jo Kemper Ke Lafayette La Lamar Lm Lauderdale Ld Lawrence Lw Leake Lk Lee Le Leflore Lf Lincoln Li Lowndes Lo Madison Md Marion Ma Marshall Mr Monroe Mo Montgomery Mt Neshoba Ne Newton Nw Noxubee No Oktibbeha Ok County Abbreviation Panola Pa Pearl River Pr Perry Pe Pike Pi Pontotoc Po Prentiss Ps Quitman Qu Rankin Ra Scott Sc Sharkey Sh Simpson Si Smith Sm Stone St Sunflower Su Tallahatchie Tl Tate Ta Tippah Ti Tishomingo Ts Tunica Tu Union Un Walthall Wl Warren Wr Washington Ws County Abbreviation Wayne Wa Webster We Wilkinson Wk Wintson Wi Yalobusha Ya Yazoo Yz [OTHER NOS.]: Put field or temporary site numbers you may use BEFORE receiving state trinomials here. [MAP REF. OR 7.5’ QUAD]: The name(s) of the USGS 7.5 minute quad map(s) on which the site appears. [COUNTY]: Put the county that the site appears in here. If the site is located in multiple counties, it receives a separate trinomial for each county (A site card for EVERY trinomial needs to be turned in, meaning if a site traverse counties, separate site cards should be turned in for each county the site falls within). [SEC.]: The section(s) in which the site is located on the topographic map. A section is approximately one-square-mile block of land located within a specific township and range. There are 36 sections within a Township and Range. [TWN]: The township in which the site is located. A township is defined as a measure of the distance north or south from a referenced baseline, in units of six miles. Townships run vertically along the topographic map. [RNG]: The Range in which the site is located. A range is defined as a measure of the distance east or west from a referenced principal meridian, in units of six miles. Ranges run horizontally along the topographic map. [ZONE]: Locate the site’s position within the Universal Transverse Mercator Grid System (UTM) using NAD27 as the datum. Mississippi has two zones (15 and 16). Sites west of the 90° parallel fall within zone 15, while sites east of the 90° parallel fall within zone 16. If a site falls on the line, pick a side to place the UTM point. For small sites indicate a center point only, for sites over 40 acres or linear sites (railroads, trails, etc.), enter multiple UTMs. For sites over 40 acres please include at least four UTMs- two on each end of the longest axis and two on the ends of the shortest axis. For linear sites please include an approximate center point and UTM coordinates for each end of the segment recorded (latter coordinates on back of card). [EASTING]: This is the UTM coordinate for horizontal location or “x” on a Cartesian grid represented by a six digit number. [NORTHING]: This is the UTM coordinate for vertical location or “y” on a Cartesian grid represented by a seven digit number. You may also enter the street and address for historic sites (where applicable) in the comment field. [OWNERSHIP]: Which agency owns the land on which the site is located? “Unknown” is strongly discouraged as this information should be a part of your background research. If this is a federal project the land owner should be known, “unknown” will not be accepted for federal projects. [NAME OF OWNER]: This is for the name of the land owner(s) [RECORDER]: The name of the person who is requesting the site number OR who did the field work. [DATE]: When was the site identified? (Please state Month/Day/Year). If this is a revisit card, when was your field visit? [NATIONAL REGISTER POTENTIAL]: This is for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) status as based upon the most current assessment/visit. The provided choices are: []Eligible []Ineligible []Unevaluated 3. This status should be determined by the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project. Justify the eligibility determination. This justification should address all criteria (A- D) of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Keep in mind that while most archaeological sites are eligible under criterion D, sites can be eligible under all criteria (A-D). Sites can also be eligible under multiple criteria. 4. “Potentially Eligible” is strongly discouraged. 5. “Unknown” is a preferable option if the site’s eligibility is not known. [NATURAL SETTING]: In what sort of topographic setting does the site occur? [VEGETATION COVER]: What is the ground cover at the time of your visit? If you check “other” please specify. [ESTIMATION OF GROUND COVER]: How much of the ground is covered (from 0 to 100%)? [DEGREE OF DISTURBANCE]: How much disturbance is evident from shovel testing and/or surface exposure observations (from 0 to 100%) [TYPE OF DISTURBANCE]: What activities led to the disturbance of the site’s deposits? You may list more than one type of disturbance. If you check “other” please specify. [SOIL TYPE]: This is for the soil name as listed by the NRCS (formerly the SCS). This is usually found in the NRCS County Soil Survey-now usually available online (https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm). If no data is available, please list “not available.” [SOIL CODE]: This blank is to be filled in with the NRCS soil code. [ARTIFACT DENSITY]: How would you rate the amount of artifacts recovered at the site? 1. Categories include: heavy; medium; light; and single artifact. 2. What constitutes each is admittedly highly variable and subjective contingent upon the recorder’s understanding; therefore, these range categories must be defined in associated reports or if not associated with a report, in the comment section. [INSTITUTION WHERE ARTIFACTS CURATED]: Where will the artifacts be housed upon completion of survey? 1. Preference is for artifacts to be housed in Mississippi. 2. Federal projects require a federally-approved curation facility that meets or exceeds requirements set up by 36CFR79 (curation of federally owned and administered archaeological collections). 3. Leaving collections with the landowner is not preferable but is acceptable only when the lead agency requires it. [SURFACE AREA]: What is the total surface area of the site in square meters? 1. This is most often calculated by multiplying the values of the two perpendicular axes. [MAX LENGTH]: What is the N-S or longest axis (if it lies on the diagonal) of the site in meters? [MAX WIDTH]: What is the E-W or longest axis (if it lies on the diagonal) of the site in meters? [ELEVATION]: What is the site’s height above mean sea level in feet? [DEPOSIT DEPTH]: What is the greatest depth (in meters) at which artifacts were recovered or observed at the site? [CHRONOLOGY]: Based upon the artifacts recovered (meaning diagnostics), what cultural periods/occupations or time periods are represented? [REPORT REFERENCE]: This can be used for the report title and/or to list other reports that were referenced when filling out the site card. [MDAH REPORT NO.]: This is an internally-generated number assigned to the survey report and will be listed for cross-referencing. [TOPOGRAPHIC MAP EXCERPT]: Attach a copy of the 7.5 minute quad with the site location depicted. 1. Make sure the location shown on the card is the same shape/orientation as the site 2. Make sure they match the dimensions provided 3. 1:24,000 scale is required 4. If multiple sites are shown on the inset site card map, be sure to clearly indicate which particular site the card is referencing 5. If using pre-printed blank cards to manually fill-out, please attach map with acid free rubber cement or acid free - tape is not acceptable 6. If your UTM point falls outside the area shown on the attached map, then the site card will be returned for correction before a number will be assigned. 7. Section lines can be used as a guide for the area to paste onto the card provided the area fits neatly into the area provided on the card AND clearly indicates the site boundaries. {REVERSE SIDE OF CARD} [MOUNDS-CONICAL-PYRIMIDAL-INDETERMINATE-EARTHWORKS]: Are there any earthworks present? 1. Which type best describes the earthworks that are present? 2. If the type is unknown, choose “indeterminate” and use the Comments section to further describe the earthworks. [MATERIAL IDENTIFIED]: What types/kinds of artifacts were recovered from/documented at the site? Include detailed descriptions and counts. a. “Lithic Debitage” is not descriptive enough. Please describe the material, type of debitage (primary, secondary, tertiary, shatter, etc.), retouching, and quantity of each type. For stone tools (ground-stone or worked/utilized), please utilize established type names (see McGahey’s Mississippi Point Guide for reference). b. Prehistoric ceramics lists should include counts by temper and type and variety, if discernable (presence/absence of surface treatment should be noted). c. Historic Ceramics should list (when known) paste, glaze/slip, decoration/pattern (transfer print, shell edge, molding, etc.), color of glaze/underglaze, vessel form, etc. d. Historic glass should list (when known) manufacture method, color, function, trademarks, decoration, etc. Example Prehistoric Assemblage: Material Identified reads as follows: 41 primary tan chert flakes; 10 tan chert flake fragments; 1 Gary, var. Gary point (distal end missing, hinge fracture, red chert); 4 Baytown Plain, var. Unspecified (grog tempered) sherds Example Historic Assemblage: 6 machine-made cut nails; 12 unidentified manufacture brick fragments (9 grams); 4 fragments (1 vessel) Aqua bottle glass, 2 piece mould-blown, glass label; 3 sherds (1 bowl) black transfer-printed whiteware, floral motif. For Linear Resources (placement of additional coordinate information): Historic road pathway and cut with; essentially dirt roadway that has been utilized as a logging/wellpad access road for most of the mid-to-late 20th and 21st centuries; essentially at grade across the crest of the ridge for its duration with no observable associated features. *Southern end of segment: 243564E 3439450N *Northern end of segment: 243884E 3441485N [COMPONENT-DIAGNOSTIC] Please list the cultural period on the left and the artifact(s) diagnostic of said periods on the right. These artifacts should also be listed in the material identified area as well. Example Card: Reads as follows: Gary, var. Gary Point – Late Archaic Baytown Plain – Woodland Machine-made Cut Nails – Late 1700’s-Early 1900’s Black Transfer-print Whiteware – 1785-1864 Aqua Bottle, 2 pc. Mould-blown, Glass Label -- 1750-1880 For Linear Resources: Component info: 20th Century. Historic road depicted on historic maps-Marion County Soil Survey Map from 1934; still present on late 20th-century USGS quads (1969) Diagnostic info: There are no other associated features (e.g. drainage ditches, culverts, bridges, etc.). [When associated features exist, such as a bridge, provide locational coordinates for the center of the associated feature in this location] [COMMENTS]: This can be used for a brief site description discussing method of identification and overall nature of the type and condition of the resource, means of discovery (surface subsurface, some combination of the two), shovel test counts and intervals, nature and scale of disturbance(s) if present, etc. 1. Please do NOT copy and paste the entire site description from your survey report in this area. 2. If you elect to use the fillable PDF version of the site card, there is an approximately 500-word count limit in this field. 3. Use this section to describe any extant landscape features (roadways, gardens, family cemeteries, etc.) structures/structural remnants, or building(s). Example of Typical Card: Comments read as follows: The mound is now approximately 5 meters high by 25 meters in diameter. It appears to have been affected by farming/plowing activities. The mound shows no evidence of sloughing but has been severely eroded. It is now in the middle of a field and covered in grass. There is no record of it having been excavated in the past. There does appear to be evidence of looting activities in the form of a large round depression in the northwest side of the mound. There were a total of 75 shovel tests dug across the site. 35 of them were positive. Example of Linear Resource (roads, trails, railroads, canals, telegraph lines, etc.): This linear resource begins at intersection with Clear Creek Road and proceeds roughly north for a distance of at least approximately 2.03 km (1.26 miles) before becoming too obscured to delineate/clearly demarcate. The route is a simple dirt roadway with no shoulders or drainage ditching throughout its entirety and measures approximately 2.74 m (9 ft.) wide. The earliest depiction of the road is on the 1934 Marion County Mississippi Soil Survey map, which shows nearly the same alignment as today. It is noted on the 1969 and 2012 7.5-minute USGS topos. This roadway has been utilized as local roadway since at least 1934 and has been subjected to maintenance multiple times and likely retains little of the original road-bed material. Example of Cemetery (needs to include Historic/Common Name if known, years of use, type [such as community, family, religious, etc.], number of graves/markers, orientation of graves, distinctive features [border such as fencing or about the markers themselves]): This cemetery consists of a total of 3 tombstones. Each reads as follows: Claireborne Huffman Co. B 38 Miss. Cav. C.S.A.; Daniel Sullivan Born Aug. 31, 1828 Died Jan. 6, 1898 Erected by his son A.B. Sullivan; and Dennis Sullivan born about Aug 1790 died after 1870 Married Mary Polly Hayes about 1810 in Georgia. There is an additional stone marker that mentions a nearby house site and the burial of the twelve children of Dennis Sullivan, including Daniel Sullivan. This suggests that there are possible eleven additional burials nearby. Also the cemetery was fenced in at one point due to a fence post being present. The entire cemetery measures 30 meters (98 feet) x 20 meters (65.6 feet).