An Archaeological and Geomorphological Survey in the Central Des Moines River Valley, Iowa

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Abstract
An approach to combined geomorphological and archaeological survey is presented and applied in the floodplain of the central Des Moines River Valley, Iowa. The products of the survey are: (1) a generalized model. of site distributions and potentials for site preservation in the floodplain area, and (2) a proposed alluvial fill sequence that correlates with others in the upper Midwest. It is concluded that a combined archaeological and geomorphological survey is as efficient as traditional surface survey and is more effective in predicting relative ages and potential preservation of cultural deposits. Two problems for future research are outlined: (1) many Holocene deposits have been scoured from present-day river valleys, thereby removing some archaeological evidence, and (2) alluvial terraces are so voluminous that they present sampling problems for archaeologica investigations.

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