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Locating and Dating Sites Using Lidar Survey in a Mosaic Landscape in Western Belize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Jason Yaeger ,
M. Kathryn Brown  and
Bernadette Cap
Jason Yaeger
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249. [email protected]
M. Kathryn Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249. [email protected]
Bernadette Cap
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249. [email protected]
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Abstract

We use the results of a high-resolution lidar survey to assess the advantages and limitations of archaeological applications of lidar data and address some of its methodological challenges. Our data come from the Mopan and Macal River valleys in western Belize, a region that includes several ancient Maya political centers and their hinterlands. Visual inspection of the lidar data has revealed many new sites and new features at previously mapped sites, and these findings significantly enhance our understanding of the valley's cultural history and political dynamics. By comparing data from prior systematic pedestrian surveys, visual and TPI analysis of the lidar data, and analysis of other remotely sensed data, we assess the limits of mound visibility in the lidar data and examine how vegetation and topographic factors impact those limits. We also present slope analysis as a useful tool for predicting whether mounds were constructed in the Preclassic period (1000 B.C.–A.D. 250) or the Classic period (A.D. 250–900).

Por medio de la presentación de los resultados de un recorrido de lidar, se discuten las ventajas y desventajas de aplicaciones de lidar a cuestionantes arqueológicas y se presentan algunos retos de metodología. El estudio se ubica en los valles de los ríos Mopan y Macal en la región occidental de Belice, zona que incluye múltiples centros políticos y sus zonas adyacentes. Análisis visual de los datos de lidar revela nuevos sitios y nuevos rasgos arqueológicos en sitios ya investigados, los cuales nos brindan nuevos modelos de la historia cultural de la valle tanto como su dinámica política. Al comparar los resultados de recorridos sistemáticos terrestres con los análisis visuales y índice de posición topográfico (TPI) de los datos de lidar y otros datos remotos, se examina los límites mínimos de la identificación de rasgos y las maneras en las cuales factores de vegetación y topografía se juega con tales límites. Un análisis de las inclinaciones de montículos sugiere que la inclinación se puede utilizar como un factor predictivo de la edad del montículo, porque los montículos de la época Preclásica (1000 a.C. a 250 d.C.) presentan un declive menor en comparación con los de la época Clásica (250 d.C. a 900 d.C.).

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 4 , Issue 3: Special Issue: Progression and Issues in the Mesoamerican Geospatial Revolution , August 2016 , pp. 339 - 356
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016

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