Moreover, Hume states “I therefore decided that the only practical course was to take a chance, and bring in a mechanical grader to scrape away the plow zone in strips wide enough for us to examine the clay subsoil for signs of colonial disturbance.” (Hume, 10) By, utilizing this method and taking a gamble Hume had uncovered several grave sites and trash pits, and more importantly 17th century artifacts were found. Furthermore, Hume stated that “But again the artifacts dated from the seventeenth, and not the eighteenth, century, among them a small brass mathematical counter made by Hanns Krauwinckel of Nuremberg, between 1580 and 1610.” (Hume, 17)
This accidental discovery was the first step in identifying this site as the Martin’s Hundred Plantation. The next process was to ask several research questions that would lead to more questions, and this process allowed for Hume to be as objective as possible in addition to venturing into unfamiliar territory of research. Hume stated “The question “When? Was but one of many: Why were there so many sites in so small an area? Who had lived there and why? What happened to cause them to be abandoned?” (Hume,