The Abbreviated PASS form is pretty much self explanatory, and is adequate for recording most sites. This page will focus on some of the information requested on the Standard form. Not everyone may be familiar with the mapping and geology terms found on the Standard PASS form. Below are some tips on filling out some of the more difficult sections. Topographic maps and other kinds of maps are required to complete several of the sections. Print this page out if you find these tips to be helpful. For an example of a completed form see the Bucket Mine Site 36So272.
SITE NAME - Select a name that can easily be associated with the site such as a historical or physical landmark, the name of a farm, or the surname of the property owner. Historical and physical landmarks are preferred. Common surnames have the potential for being duplicated at other sites, thus causing confusion.
SITE NUMBER - If you are filing an update for a site and know the number put it here. If you don't know it's number, or it's a new site, leave this blank or write in just the state and county part of the number (i.e. 36So ).
CULTURAL PERIOD(S) - List the eras or cultural periods for when the site may have been used if know.
TYPE OF SITE - river bank, hilltop, rockshelter, prehistoric village, historic industrial, historic homestead, etc. Any general description will do.
PUBLISHED REFERENCES - Are there any published reports or historic references concerning the site.
OWNER, ADDRESS - A county Land Atlas or Plat Book can be very useful for determining land ownership. Local Ag Extension offices often have the latest edition available for purchase.
7.5 QUAD NAME, EDITION - The name of the topo is printed on the upper right and lower right boarder of the map. The edition is the year printed in black located on the lower right boarder.
UP, ACROSS - If you have a 7.5 minute topographical map of the area, measure "UP" from the bottom edge of printed map boarder (not the edge of the paper) to the location of the site in centimeters. Then measure "ACROSS" from right printed edge (not the edge of the paper) to the location of the site in centimeters. It helps if you have a tee square to keep the ruler square with the boarder of the map. This is an easy method for plotting site locations on a topo map for those persons who are not familiar with the U.T.M. Coordinate system.
U.T.M.COORDINATES:, ZONE, NORTHING, EASTING - Universal Transverse Mercator is a metric grid system based on predetermined "ZONES". The Zone number for a given topo map can be found in the bottom left boarder, look for "1000-meter Universal Transverse Mercator grid ticks, zone 17, shown in blue". Each of the blue tick marks around the border of the topo mark 1,000 meter increments north of the equator or 1,000 meter increments east of the zone's western baseline. An example of an UTM coordinate is "zone 17 4439080mN 675520mE." If grid lines are drawn across the map connecting the blue tick marks, a scale can be used to locate the site by measuring the number of meters north and east of the grid square's bottom left corner. Append the number of meters north and east of the grid squares bottom left corner to the number located on the boarder at each tick mark, (4439 + 080mN = 4439080mN, 675 + 520mE= 675520mE). Forestry Suppliers, Inc. sells a handy UTM grid scale for a few dollars. If you plan to use UTM coordinates a lot then I highly recommend Maptech's TopoScout and CD-ROM topo maps. UTM coordinates can easily be found or plotted with their product.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE - Physiographic Provinces are large regions of similar topography. Each province is further subdivided in to Sections. The Penn. Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources has an excellent web page that describes each physiographic province and section. You can determine what province and section your site is in from there.
MAP ELEVATION - Brown lines on USGS topo maps mark elevation contours above mean sea level in feet or meters. The unit of measure and the contour interval can be found at the bottom of the map. The thicker brown lines are called index contours. Thin brown lines are called intermediate contours. Find the closest thick brown line to your site. Follow that line until you find the number that represents it's elevation. Count the number of thin brown lines between the thick line and the location of your site. Add the maps contour interval to the elevation for every thin line counted if the site is uphill from the thick line. Subtract the maps contour interval if it is downhill.
TOPOGRAPHIC SETTING - Some topographical settings are: stream bank, river flood plain, hilltop, hillside spring head, etc. Anything that describes the local lay of the land on and around the site. The more detailed the better.
SLOPE DIRECTION AND DEGREE - slope is usually measured as a percentage of elevation change over distance. A 20 feet change in elevation over 500 feet of distance equals 4% slope, (500/20=.04). A general slope description can be determined by using a Soil Survey Book (see Soil Type below). Indicate the down hill dirction of the slope, such as west or northeast.
CULTIVATION - Is the area over the site being farmed, if not has it been cultivated in the past. Any observations concerning past or present cultivation practices may be useful.
SOIL TYPE - To determine soil type you need a Soil Survey Book that covers the county where the site is located. This book can be obtained at your nearest USDA Natural Resources Conservation office. Instructions and maps for determining soil type can be found in this book.
BEDROCK - It's O.K. if you leave this line blank. But if you're up for a challenge check out the link below. The most readily available way to determine the geologic name of the bedrock underlying a site is to use the Atlas of Preliminary Geologic Quadrangle Maps of Pennsylvania located on the DCNR web site. Locate the topo quad that your interested in on the "List of Quadrangles". When you find the Quad on the list click on it's link to download the map. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader for this. Not all quads are available. The names of the rock formations are listed on the boarder of the quad under "Explanation".
IMMEDIATE VEGETATION - Open fields (what kind of crops), pasture land, woodlands (avg. size of trees, undergrowth thickness), kind of trees and wild plants etc.
PRIMARY DRAINAGE - The major river system that the area around the site drains to.
NEAREST WATER - Rivers, Streams, lakes, springs, wells for historic sites, etc.
TESTED, EXCAVATED, BY - Has there been any excavations or test excavations at the site and by whom.
STRATIFIED, DEPTH OF STRATA - Some sites have multiple layers of occupation within the soil. Particularly river bank sites and rockshelter sites. Stratification usually can only be determined by a test excavation or some other freshly exposed cross section of a site's soil layers.
FEATURES - Any man made structures or disturbances like foundations, pits, walls, wells, mounds and earthworks. If the site has been test excavated list any features such as hearths, pits and postmolds.
COLLECTION LOCATIONS - List any details concerning the location and ownership of any know artifact collections from the site.
INFORMANTS - The identities of persons providing information about sites will be protected.
CRITERIA FOR NATIONAL REGISTER INCLUSION - List any reasons why the site should be considered for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
POSSIBILITY OF DESTRUCTION - List both man made and natural threats, such as construction, erosion, and rodent borrowing.
SKETCH MAP OF SITE - The best way to map a site is to photocopy a topo map and mark the location of the site on the photocopy. Remember to write the name of the topo map on the photocopy and attach it to the PASS form. If you have the Maptech topos on CD-ROM, just place a marker on the map and print it out.
NUMBER OF SQUARE FEET - Estimate how long and wide the site is and then multiply to find the area. There are 43,560 sq. ft. in one acre.
SKETCHES (WITH SCALE) OF MAJOR OR REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTILE POINT SHAPES. - A photograph with a ruler (centimeters preferred) next to the artifacts works well.
LITHIC MATERIAL BY PERCENTAGE - If you have flakes and stone tools from the site, list the different types of stone that they are made of. If you don't know specific lithic sources, just list general descriptions of color and texture.
If the site is located in a river drainage other than the Ohio River
System (including all contributing rivers and streams)
Mail the Completed PASS Form to:
Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey
PA Historical & Museum Commission
Bureau for Historic Preservation
Commonwealth Keystone Building, 2nd Floor
400 North Street
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0093.
If the site is located within the Ohio River System (including all
contributing rivers and streams)
Mail the Completed Form to:
Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Edward O'Neil Research Center
5800 Baum Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15206-3706
The number of the site will be issued to you once the form has been processed.