Today we started our survey at one of the village sites near Bois Cotlette (see map in previous post).  The first stage of a survey – after we walk around the site and get an idea of what kind of features are there and where the grid should be placed – is to make sure that we know the precise location of at least two points near the survey grid, so that our final survey grid is as accurate as possible.  This means setting up the GPS antenna on a level tripod visible from the survey area, and leaving it to collect data for several hours.

While John was taking care of that job, the rest of us began clearing the site of stray rocks, metal, sticks, and other detritus that could interfere with our geophysical instruments.  And drinking coconut milk.

Tomorrow morning we’ll set up the grid and start our survey!