Nebraska Soils Field Trip - Virginia Tech

4th IUSS Soil Classification Conference Field Tour Guidebook
Draft of new section on Artifacts for the National Soil Survey Handbook,
Part 618--Soil Properties and Qualities
(2) Significance.—Artifacts that decay quickly are similar to pararock fragments and are treated
as such in sieve calculations.
(3) Entries.—Enter nonpersistent or persistent in the Component Horizon Human Artifacts and
Pedon Horizon Human Artifacts tables based on whether the artifact is expected to decay in
less than a decade or greater than a decade. Nonpersistent artifacts are expected to decay in
less than a decade. Persistent artifacts remain intact for a decade or more.
I. Artifact Roundness
(1) Definition.—“Artifact Roundness” is an expression of the sharpness of edges and corners of
objects.
(2) Significance.— The roundness of artifacts impacts water infiltration, root penetration, and
macropore space.
(3) Classes.—The artifact roundness classes follow those used for fragment roundness:
Roundness Class Definition
Very angular Strongly developed faces with very sharp, broken
edges.
Angular Strongly developed faces with sharp edges (Soil
Survey Manual (SSM)).
Subangular Detectable flat faces with slightly rounded corners.
Subrounded Detectable flat faces with well-rounded corners
(SSM).
Rounded Flat faces absent or nearly absent with all corners
rounded (SSM).
Well rounded Flat faces absent with all corners rounded.
(4) Entries.—Enter the appropriate artifact roundness class name for the record of artifacts
populated in the Component Horizon Human Artifacts and Pedon Horizon Human Artifacts
tables.
J. Artifact Safety
(1) Definition.—“Artifact Safety” is the degree of risk to humans from contact with soils that
contain artifacts. Physical contact with soils containing dangerous or harmful artifacts should
be avoided unless proper training and protective closthing is available. The risk is based on
toxicity to living organisms and not the physical risk that may be present from sharp or heavy
objects. Harmful toxicity may be immediate or long-term, or through direct or indirect
contact. Examples of innocuous artifacts include brick, concrete, glass, plastic, unprinted
paper and cardboard, and untreated wood. Some examples of noxious artifacts are batteries,
bitumen (asphalt), fly ash, garbage, paper printed with metallic ink, and wood treated with
arsenic.
(2) Significance.—Noxious artifacts are dangerous and require special handling when sampling.
Areas with noxious artifacts should have restricted human contact.
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