| Abstract: | Archaeological sites containing significant information not available from terrestrial sites occur along former land surfaces now submerged and buried on the continental shelf. Although sites may occur anywhere along these former land surfaces, factors essential to man's survival, such as fresh water and food resources, make site locations somewhat predictable. Landforms such as rivers, lakes, and bays represent locations where one or more of the basic subsistence factors are provided. These relict landforms on the continental shelf can be detected easily using high-resolution seismic profilers. Physical sampling of landforms targeted as potential site areas is usually the only method for confirming the presence of an archaeological site. Sediment samples from a potential site are subjected to a series of sedimentary analyses which discriminate between archaeological deposits and natural sedimentary deposits. These methods for locating inundated and buried archaeological sites on the continental shelf were tested in a Gulf of Mexico study funded by the United States Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. The study suggests that at least two locations sampled along the ancient Sabine River Valley represent archaeological deposits dating from the Late Wisconsinan period of lower sea stand. |
