The Calculation of Volumes of Middens, Mounds, and Strata Having Irregular Shapes

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Abstract
A critical aspect in the estimation of human effort embodied in mound construction or in midden deposition is the volume of the deposit. When these deposits are of irregular contour, the use of standard geometric formulae for the determination of volumes of solids is inadequate. Given a basic contour map of a given deposit, a rather precise determination of volume can be calculated by the application of the formula derived from that for the volume of a truncated cone. The use of the formula involves the determination of the volumes between contour intervals, and then adding the successive contour interval volumes. This is done by measuring the areas of adjacent contours and inserting those data into the formula. The procedure can be accomplished by hand, using grid paper or a compensating polar plenimeter, or by computer–either mainframe or micro–by the incorporation of the formula into an existing contour mapping program.