Heidi Luchsinger, MA, PhD, RPA’s Post

Imagine this- You're standing on this shore, North Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico? Incredible choice, right? Southeastern coast of Lake Erie, NY. Along with the other Great Lakes, these waters flow northeast through the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic on the eastern Canadian coast. Go ca. 8 miles southeast, those waters flow into glacial Lake Chautauqua (my origin- the town, not the lake) and eventually into the Gulf via the Ohio (there last week) and Mississippi Rivers. What an opportunity! Ready access to a demi-continent of resources. No wonder humans always thrived in these parts. For so many thousands of years. Rivers (and lakes) were critical. Let's not underestimate the river systems. Let's keep the humans in the landscape. Let's keep the geo in archaeology. Let's do this together. (And that's very tall coastal cutbank profile behind me. I can see the paleosols from here. It's awesome. Not fair.) #yearofgeoarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvial #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #radiocarbon #geotechnical #glacial #lacustrine #lakeerie #chautauqualake #erie #chautauqua #newyork #greatlakes #stlawrence

You going? You should. Why? You'll get to participate in the forum: "The Archaeological Power of Geoarchaeology: Where is Geoarchaeology Going in the US?" (Sunday, 10 am) What better question is that? None. You'll also get to attend the Business Meeting of SAA's Geoarchaeology Interest Group (Thursday, 5:30). Socializing to follow. Do that. #culturalheritage #STP #geoarchaeology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvialterraces #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #gsa #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #OSL #micromorphology #radiocarbon #geoprobe #geotechnical #geotechnicalinvestigation #drilling #drillingrig

I don’t understand the difference between art and science. Yes, her eyes pierce through her head. That’s sky you see through them. Artists and scientists trying to understand the world, trying to explain the world, using medium or data. Creativity, rigor, mastery, meaning. What’s the difference? North Carolina Museum of Art. Today. “Counterculture” (2022) Rose B. Simpson Indigenous American Five figures in a row like her, look across “…vast homelands from which Native communities were forcibly removed to make way for settler colonialism…implore us to go forward with respect and honor for all that came before.” Us archaeologists need to never forget that. Ever. There is beauty and depth in art as there is in science. #ncma #rosebsimpson #counterculture #raleigh #northcarolina #geoarchaeologyisarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvial #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #radiocarbon #geotechnical #glacial #lacustrine #GIS #hillshade

Don’t hold back. Don’t do it. Especially when radiocarbon dating a regional stratigraphic marker horizon for the archaeological record for a seriously large portion of a continent. Throw the dice. Yes! It worked! Nope. Didn’t hold back. Inside these little bags of dirt is data for confirming a regional stratigraphic marker horizon for Argentine Patagonia. For the archaeological record. Yes, the whole thing. I collected them along that coast in February. Remember the winds and flocks of wild parrots? Yes, that. Be you. That’s what you’re best at. Learning experiences eventually lead to clarity and success. The more, the better. Hang in there. It’ll happen. Sarah Sheehan you are a rockstar!! Go talk to Sarah. Tell her I sent you. #yearofgeoarchaeology #ermgeoarchaeology #ermculturalheritage #SAA2024 #archaeologicalpowerofgeoarchaeology #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geoarchaeology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvialterraces #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #gsa #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #OSL #micromorphology #radiocarbon #geoprobe #geotechnical #geotechnicalinvestigation #drilling #drillingrig #argentina #patagonia #rionegro #lithics #sanblas #yale

One year ago, I started chasing rivers. Here. Floodplain of the Hudson. No idea why. Curiosity probably. Followed upstream. Then the next one. Then worked down the coast. Best road trip ever. Rivers carry water from sky to ocean. Powerful, authentic. Carving complicated paths that constantly change. And they can be so difficult to figure out. Although some are easy. Protecting archaeological sites, deeply, for a very, very long time. Find your thing. Connect. Protect that. It’ll happen. This year, I’m studying rivers. Many rivers. Throughout the Americas. In my lab, my office, with awesome teams. To my LinkedIn Community: You so rock. You’ve supported me this year, like you have no idea. THANK YOU. Now let’s do this: Year of Geoarchaeology. 2025: The Geoarchaeological Renaissance? 😉 Can’t stop a river. #chasingrivers #hudson #newyork #yearofgeoarchaeology #ermgeoarchaeology #ermculturalheritage #SAA2024 #SAA2025 #archaeologicalpowerofgeoarchaeology #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geoarchaeology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvialterraces #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #gsa #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #OSL #micromorphology #radiocarbon #geoprobe #geotechnical #geotechnicalinvestigation #drilling #drillingrig

19 papers… from the Navy Seals of archaeology. CRM geoarchaeology conducted all over the US- on land and underwater. Geoarchaeologists from all corners, will descend on Denver next April. 52 geoarchaeology presentations in all, on the geoarchaeology of just about anything and any environment you can imagine. If this is what you’ve been missing, we’ve got you covered. See you in Denver. #yearofgeoarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvial #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #radiocarbon #geotechnical #glacial #lacustrine #GIS #hillshade #denver #colorado

What's it like standing inside a sand dune in Argentina? Evaluating paleosols at an archaeological site? Out of this world. Me, last February, coastal northern Patagonia, Argentina, 17 miles down the beach from the nearest village. Yes, we drove through and over 17 miles of sand dunes on deflated tires, twice daily, and it worked. My off-road skills improved dramatically... and so necessary to do fieldwork during daylight each day. Despite getting the truck stuck in sand dunes, standing in gale force winds off the Southern Atlantic, accepting the daily consumption of blowing sand, the night we had to sleep in the trucks... stranded, due to an outrageous tide that cut us off from the road back to camp, it was all worth it. Because, I got to work as geoarchaeologist on this fantastic interdisciplinary research team from #INCUAPA who kept this North American consistently laughing while we worked so efficiently and with rigor, because we never knew if we'd make it back to the site the next day. An unbelievable experience. When are we going back Gustavo Martínez? Eugenia Carranza Gustavo Flensborg #argentina #patagonia #sanblas #geoarchaeologyisarchaeology #yearofgeoarchaeology #culturalheritage #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #geoarchaeologist #archaeology #paleosols #geomorphology #stratigraphy #buriedAhorizons #eolian #dunes #coastal #paleolandscapes #radiocarbon

Geoarchaeologists are Efficiency Experts. Yes. Seek the LHBPM. Resist the MSD. Got a new project? Deep Vertical APE? For Highest Impact, involve us early on for: Landscape History Based Probability Modeling (LHBPM). Models NOT based on modern surface soils, modern surface slope, and/or modern surface distance to water. Those are Modern. Not Old. We want old landscapes with fine deposits contemporary with human occupation. We target the subsurface by deep testing those deep Vertical APEs. And it is very difficult to see the subsurface from the surface or on a map. It's best seen in a trench or by extracting cores in the field. FACT: Old buried sites, Don't follow modern landscape rules. Resist the lure of MSD (Modern Surface Data). It's not revealing the story of the entire vertical APE. Mind the gap. Geoarchaeology is Archaeology. We'll get you to the finish line. Faster and better. "Streamlining and upgrading quality deliverables in CRM for decades." Caltrans, Thank YOU!! D Craig Young #farwestern #caltrans #california #geoarchaeologyisarchaeology #yearofgeoarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvial #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #radiocarbon #geotechnical #glacial #lacustrine #GIS #hillshade

If archaeology is required for potential subsurface disturbance below the vertical limit of shovel testing, run, don't walk, to your nearest geoarchaeologist. They live for this and want to help. Very likely, it will save your project time, money, and increase the likelihood of a project moving forward more efficiently. Mind the gap. Then investigate it, thoroughly. For those buried sites. It's too important. #yearofgeoarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geologicalsocietyofamerica #geoarchaeology #geology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvial #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #radiocarbon #geotechnical #glacial #lacustrine #GIS #hillshade

The Ohio River. After dark. What better evidence is there of how people really like to inhabit river valleys? No idea. And not a new idea. Deep test that alluvium. Below the terminal depth of shovel tests whenever possible. It’s the ethical and sustainable thing to do. Modern soil characteristics do not matter. Deep alluvium is not modern. And it likely contains archaeological sites, potentially in very good condition. Plus, a photo from an airplane of a river that looks like it is on fire is… just fun. Almost home. To get ready to go back out to deep test. One of my favorite landscapes in the US. #yearofgeoarchaeology #erm #ermgeoarchaeology #sustainability #ermculturalheritage #SAA2024 #SAA2025 #culturalheritage #STP #societyforamericanarchaeology #geoarchaeology #deeptesting #ACRA #geoarchaeologist #culturalresources #SHPO #THPO #archaeology #crm #coring #geoprobe #floodplains #fluvial #alluvialterraces #paleosols #river #geomorphology #rivers #fluvialgeomorphology #stratigraphy #fluvial #colluvial #buriedAhorizons #alluvial #glacial #eolian #coastal #gsa #societyforamericanarchaeology #geomorphic #paleolandscapes #probabilitymodeling #predictivemodeling #OSL #micromorphology #radiocarbon #geoprobe #geotechnical #geotechnicalinvestigation #drilling #drillingrig