More than 1,000 archaeological sites occur within the Clearwater‐Athabasca Spillway, a relict channel that routed catastrophic drainage from glacial Lake Agassiz during deglaciation of northeastern Alberta. This high site density is rare in the region, and artifact assemblages are large due to the presence of abundant sources of lithic raw material. Unfortunately, sites are rarely preserved in stratified or deeply buried deposits. As is often the case in subarctic areas, this lack of depositional context coupled with a paucity of datable organic materials has hindered the establishment of cultural chronologies for the region. To address this issue, we develop a process‐depositional model and digital terrain analysis to identify where thicker sediments may have accumulated, and assess whether survey strategies have adequately tested these areas. We find current survey strategies are biased to testing upland ridges with thin deposits, and that inconsistent methods of recording sediment thickness make it difficult to assess whether vertical profiles are being sampled to sterile deposits. We recommend that future survey strategies in boreal forest settings focus on a broader suite of landforms and landform elements, including those that act as sediment traps.

中文翻译：

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加拿大北方艾伯塔省东北部森林环境评估考古潜力和调查方法的过程沉积模型

克利尔沃特-阿萨巴斯卡溢洪道（Clearwater-Athabasca Spillway）内有1,000多个考古遗址，这是一条遗迹通道，在艾伯塔省东北部冰川消融期间引导了来自冰川Agassiz湖的灾难性排水。这种高的站点密度在该地区是罕见的，并且由于存在大量的片状原材料，工件组合很大。不幸的是，遗址很少保存在分层或深埋的矿床中。如同在北极地区一样，这种沉积环境的缺乏加上缺乏可数据采集的有机物质，阻碍了该地区文化年代的建立。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了过程沉积模型和数字地形分析，以识别较厚的沉积物可能聚集在何处，并评估调查策略是否已充分测试了这些区域。我们发现当前的调查策略偏向于测试薄沉积物的山脊，并且记录沉积物厚度的不一致方法使得难以评估垂直剖面是否被采样到无菌沉积物中。我们建议未来在北方森林环境中的调查策略应侧重于更广泛的地貌和地貌要素，包括充当沉积物陷阱的地貌和地貌要素。