The present study addresses concerns which have originated in the Resources Inventory Committee (RIC), an initiative undertaken by Provincial and Federal Governments to integrate program design and set standards for resource inventory. This study was done under the Earth Sciences Task Force, one of six task forces. The Earth Sciences Task Force has four Task Groups, including Landslide/Slope Stability; Seismic; Aquifer/Hydrogeology; and Archaeology.
A previous study has discussed the state of the existing inventory in British Columbia (Eldridge and Moon 1992). The present study examines the quality and coverage of archaeological surveys in British Columbia and the feasibility of incorporating the existing data into predictive models; identifies areas requiring additional survey; discusses appropriate scales, sampling strategies, and environmental parameters for potential mapping (predictive modelling); determines a preferred methodology for inventory; and selects an area and techniques for testing the preferred methodology.
Overview studies are found to be lacking in specific statements which enable potential mapping. Several recent overviews, two of which included potential maps, are examined in detail. Maps at 1:250,000 scale from one report are found to be useful for regional planning but lacking the precision necessary for archaeological resource management.
All twenty one probabilistic surveys conducted in British Columbia are examined in detail. Summary tables of their methods and results are presented.
These reports are found to be mostly of high quality and useful for predictive modeling.
A large selection of intensive non-probabilistic surveys was also examined. Methods and results are tabulated and mapped together with those of probabilistic surveys. Many of these reports were found to have some Utility for predictive modelling.
Areas requiring additional survey are discussed. Large parts of the province have never been surveyed or survey has been so limited that the inventory is not useful for management or modelling. Survey methods and reporting standards are discussed. A major recommendation is that survey study areas be mapped on the same base as used for the B.C. Archaeological Site Inventory, whether maintained on a Geographic Information System (GIS) or on hardcopy maps.
It is conservatively estimated that 16,000 prehistoric archaeological sites occur along the coastline of the province of which about 5,000 have been recorded. In the interior of the province, probably at least 70,000 archaeological sites exist, of which only 9,000 are recorded. The numbers for the interior could be underestimated by an order of magnitude.
A recommendation is made to conduct two predictive modelling experiments. These would test appropriate methods for producing potential maps to cover unsurveyed areas. One is recommended for the southern Strait of Georgia, where a good archaeological inventory is already available in a GIS along with over 50 environmental and land use inventories. The second test is recommended for the Dean River Valley in the Chilcotin region. Environmental resource folio maps have been generated for this area, including a 1:50,000 archaeological potential map derived from probabilistic data. It is recommended that the most powerful GIS predictive modelling tool, logistic regression analysis, be tested against the judgemental method, which appears to outperform the GIS modelling. Field truthing would be an important component of both experiments.