Late Pleistocene and early Holocene landscapes exposed during the last glaciation have since beeninundated by rising sea levels, resulting in their submergence and often subsequent burial by sedimentaccretion. On the outer continental shelf (OCS) in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) the formerlyexposed landscape coincides with the presence of Paleoindian and Early Archaic human populations in theregion. Unlike submerged prehistoric sites in other parts of the world the emphasis in the northwesternGOM is not on artifacts or even sites, but rather on the identification of the landscapes in whicharchaeological sites would have been located prior to sea-level rise. The first step in identifying andverifying these features, and any subsequent sites, consists of geophysical remote sensing, especiallyacoustic profiling, to identify subseafloor horizons and depositional events considered conducive forhuman habitation. This paper will look at current methods for identifying prehistoric sites on the GOMOCS, challenges faced in identifying prehistoric sites using the most prevalent technologies, and willbriefly explore alternate technologies that are available or in development that could improve our currentcapabilities.
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