Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T00:06:24.290Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mapping Ritual Landscapes Using Lidar

Cave Detection through Local Relief Modeling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Holley Moyes  and
Shane Montgomery
Holley Moyes*
Affiliation:
Anthropology Program, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, University of California, Merced, 5200 N. Lake Dr., Merced, CA, 95343
Shane Montgomery
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Howard Phillips Hall Rm 309, Orlando, FL 32816
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Data collected from aerial lidar scanning provides new opportunities for archaeological survey. It is now possible, in a short period of time, to collect vast amounts of geographic data that would have taken years of pedestrian survey to acquire. This enhances and extends landscape studies by reducing time-frames and cost, encouraging analyses based on real-world data collection on a regional scale. This paper describes an approach for modeling the ritual landscape surrounding the ancient Maya center of Las Cuevas, Belize by analyzing the spatial aspects of ritual cave use. Using lidar-derived data, we describe a method for locating potential cave sites using Local Relief Models, which requires only a working knowledge of relief visualization techniques and no specialized skills in computer programming. Our method located the five known cave sites within our 222 km2 lidar study area—including one with a fissure entrance. We plan to ground-truth potentialities to develop models of the ritual landscape that can be visualized and analyzed. By researching cave use on a regional scale and defining the relationships between caves and surface features, we advance cave studies by deepening our understanding of the ritual landscape and its articulation with ancient Maya socio/political dynamics.

Los datos recolectados por el reconocimiento aéreo lidar ofrece nuevas oportunidades para el estudio arqueológico. Ahora en un período corto es posible recopilar grandes cantidades de datos geográficos que antes tomaban años para adquirir en un reconocimiento peatonal, pero las imágenes digitales todavía requieren interpretación y verificación en el terreno. El nuevo método mejora y amplía el estudio del paisaje en que se reduce el tiempo y los costos del estudio. En esta manera fomenta el análisis basado en la recolección de datos del mundo actual en una escala regional. En este artículo enfocamos en diferente métodos de modelar el paisaje ritual que rodea el antiguo centro maya de Las Cuevas, Belice mediante el análisis de los aspectos espaciales de uso ritual de una cueva. Utilizando los datos de lidar, describimos un método para localizar posibles sitios de cuevas utilizando Shaded Relief Models que sólo requiere un conocimiento práctico de las técnicas de visualización, sin el conocimiento especializado en la programación de computadoras. Estamos a favor de un enfoque híbrido utilizando tanto automatizado y manual de evaluación, que ha demostrado ser eficaz en la búsqueda de las posibilidades más prometedoras. Nuestro método nos permitió a localizar todas las cuevas conocidas en el área de lidar de 222 km2—incluso aquellas con entradas estrechas y horizontales. Con estos datos en mano tenemos la intención de desarrollar modelos de paisaje ritual y sus cambios en el tiempo que se pueden visualizar y analizar. La investigación del uso de las cuevas en una escala regional y la identificación de las relaciones entre las cuevas y los rasgos de la superficie, los estudios ayudaran nuestra comprensión del paisaje ritual y cómo coincide con las dinámicas sociopolíticas de los antiguos Mayas.

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. 249 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Ashmore, Wendy 1989 Construction and Cosmology: Politics and Ideology in Lowland Maya Settlement Patterns. In Word and Image in Maya Culture, edited by Hanks, William F. and Rice, Don S., pp. 272–286. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Ashmore, Wendy 2007 Social Archaeologies of Landscape. In A Companion to Social Archaeology, edited by Meskell, Lynn and Pruecel, Robert W., pp. 255–271. Blackwell, Malden, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Ashmore, Wendy 2008 Visions of the Cosmos: Ceremonial Landscapes and Civic Plans. In Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, edited by David, Bruno and Thomas, Julian, pp. 199–209. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California.Google Scholar
Ashmore, Wendy, and Sabloff, Jeremy A. 2002 Spatial Order in Maya Civic Plans. Latin American Antiquity 13:201–215.Google Scholar
Benson, Richard, and Yuhr, Lynn B. 2016 Site Characterization of Karst and Psuedokarst Terraines: Practical Strategies and Technology for Practicing Engineers, Hydrologists, and Geologists. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Bewley, Robert, Crutchley, Simon, and Shell, Colin 2005 New Light on an Ancient Landscape: Lidar Survey in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Antiquity 79(305):636–647.Google Scholar
Brady, James E. 1989 An Investigation of Maya Ritual Cave Use with Special Reference to Naj Tunich, Peten, Guatemala. Ph.D. dissertation, Archaeology Program, University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Ashmore, Wendy 1999 Mountains, Caves, Water: Ideational Landscapes of the Ancient Maya. In Archaeologies of Landscapes: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Ashmore, Wendy and Knapp, A. Bernard, pp. 124–145, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Prufer, Keith M. 2005 In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, edited by Brady, James E. and Prufer, Keith M., pp. 1–17. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Brady, Jame E. and Veni, George 1992 Man-made and Psuedo-karst Caves: The Implications of Subsurface Features within Maya Centers. Geoarchaeology 7(2):149–167.Google Scholar
Casati, Roberto, and Varzi, Achille C. 1994 Holes and Other Superficialities. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., Chase, Diane Z., and Weishampel, John F. 2010 Lasers in the Jungle: Airborne Sensors Reveal a Vast Maya Landscape. Archaeology 63(4):27–29.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., Chase, Diane Z., Weishampel, John F., Drake, Jason B., Shrestha, Ramesh L., Slatton, K. Clint, Awe, Jaime J., and Carter, William E. 2011 Airborne Lidar, Archaeology, and the Ancient Maya Landscape at Caracol, Belize. Journal of Archaeological Science 38:387–398.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., Chase, Diane Z., Fisher, Christopher T., Leisz, Steve, and Weishampel, John F. 2012 Geospatial Revolution and Remote Sensing Lidar in Mesoamerican Archaeology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(32):12916–12921.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., Chase, Diane Z., Awe, Jaime J., Weishampel, John F., Iannone, Gyles, Moyes, Holley, Jaeger, Jason, and Brown, Kathryn M. 2014 The Use of Lidar in Understanding the Ancient Maya Landscape. Advances in Archaeological Practice: A Journal of the Society for American Archaeology, August 2014:208–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chase, Arlen F., Chase, Diane Z., Awe, Jaime, Weishampel, John, Iannone, Gyles, Moyes, Holley, Yaeger, Jason, Brown, Kathryn M., Shrestha, Ramesh, Carter, William, and Fernandez-Diaz, Juan 2014 Ancient Maya Regional Settlement and Inter-Site Analysis: The 2013 West-Central Belize Lidar Survey. Remote Sensing New Perspectives of Remote Sensing for Archaeology, Special Issue, 6: 8671–8695.Google Scholar
Chase, Diane Z., Chase, Arlen F., Awe, Jaime J., Walker, John H., and Weishampel, John F. 2011 Airborne Lidar at Caracol, Belize and the Interpretation of Ancient Maya Society and Landscapes. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 8, pp. 61–73. Institute of Archaeology, NICH, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Christenson, Allen J. 2008 Places of Emergence: Sacred Mountains and Cofradía Ceremonies. In Pre-Columbian Landscapes of Creation and Origin, edited by Staller, John Edward, pp. 95–121. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Collcutt, S. N. 1979 The Analysis of Quaternary Cave Sediments. World Archaeology 10(3):290–301.Google Scholar
Culver, David C., and White, William B. 2004 Encyclopedia of Caves. Academic Press, Burlington, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Digby, Adrian 1958 A New Maya City Discovered in British Honduras: First Excavations at Las Cuevas, An Underground Necropolis Revealed. The Illustrated London News, February 15, 1958.Google Scholar
Evans, Damian H., Fletcher, Roland J., Pottier, Christophe, Chevance, Jean-Baptiste, Soutif, Dominique, Tan, Boun Suy, Im, Sokrithy, Ea, Darith, Tin, Tina, Kim, Samnang, Cromarty, Christopher, De Greef, Stephane, Hanus, Kasper, Baty, Pierre, Kuszinger, Robert, Shimoda, Ichita, and Boornazian, Glenn 2013 Uncovering Archaeological Landscapes at Angkor using Lidar. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110(31):12595–12600.Google Scholar
Farrand, William 1985 Rockshelter and Cave Sediments. In Archaeological Sediments in Context, edited by Stein, Julie K. and Farrand, William R., pp. 21–40, Center for the Study of Early Man, Institute for Quarternary Studies, Orono, Maine.Google Scholar
Farriss, Nancy M. 1984 Maya Society under Colonial Rule: The Collective Enterprise of Survival. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Feld, William A. 1994 The Caves of Caracol: Initial Impressions. In Studies in the Archaeology of Caracol, Belize, edited by in Chase, Diane Z. and Chase, Arlen F., pp. 76–82. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute Monograph 7, San Francisco, California.Google Scholar
Ford, Derek C., and Williams, Paul W. 1989 Karst Geomorphology and Hydrology. Unwin Hyman, Boston, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Gallagher, Julie M., and Josephs, Richard L. 2008 Using Lidar to Detect Cultural Resources in a Forested Environment: An Example from Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA: Archaeological Prospection 15:187–206.Google Scholar
García-Zambrano, Angel J. 1994 Early Colonial Evidence of Pre-Columbian Rituals of Foundation. In Seventh Palenque Round Table, Vol. IX, 1989, edited by Robertson, Merle G. and Field, Virginia, pp. 217–227, Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco, California.Google Scholar
Griffith, Cameron 2000 Remote Sensing in Cave Research. Electronic document, http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/belize/remote.html, accessed November 25, 2015.Google Scholar
Griffith, Cameron 2001 Locating Cave Sites: Results of our Remote-Sensing research. Electronic document, http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/belize/newremote.html, accessed November 25, 2015.Google Scholar
Gunn, John 2003 Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science. Fitzroy Dearborn, New York.Google Scholar
Gutierrez, Francisco, Cooper, Anthony H., and Johnson, Kenneth S. 2008 Identification, Prediction, and Mitigation of Sinkhole Hazards in Evaporite Karst Areas. Environmental Geology 53(5):1007–1022.Google Scholar
Hesse, Ralf 2010 LiDAR-Derived Local Relief Models: A New Tool for Archaeological Prospection. Archaeological Prospection 17(2):67–72.Google Scholar
Heyden, Doris 1975 An Interpretation of the Cave Underneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico. American Antiquity 40:131–147.Google Scholar
Hofton, Michelle A., Rocchio, L.E., Blair, J. Bryan, and Dubayah, Ralph 2002 Validation of Vegetation Canopy Lidar Sub-Canopy Topography Measurements for a Dense Tropical Forest. Journal of Geodynamics 34:491–502.Google Scholar
Jennings, Joseph N. 1997 Cave and Karst Terminology, Australian Speleological Federation Inc. Administrative Handbook. Electronic document, http://home.mira.net/~gnb/caving/papers/jj-cakt.html, accessed November 25, 2015.Google Scholar
Knapp, A. Bernard, and Ashmore, Wendy 1999 Archaeological Landscapes: Constructed, Conceptualized, Ideational. In Archaeologies of Landscape: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Ashmore, Wendy and Knapp, A. Bernard, pp. 1–30. Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Kobal, Milan, Bertoncelj, Irena, Pirotti, Francesco, Dakskobler, Igor, and Kutnar, Lado 2015 Using Lidar Data to Analyse Sinkhole Characteristics Relevant for Understory Vegetation under Forest Cover-Case Study of a High Karst Area in the Dinaric Mountains. PloS one, 10(3):e0122070.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kosakowsky, Laura, Moyes, Holley, Robinson, Mark, and Voorhies, Barbara 2013 Ceramics of Las Cuevas and the Chiquibul: At World's End. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 10:25–32. Institute of Archaeology, NICH, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Layton, Robert, and Ucko, Peter J. 1999 Introduction: Gazing on the Landscape and Encountering the Environment. In The Archaeology and Anthropology of Landscape: Shaping Your Landscape, edited by Ucko, Peter J. and Layton, Robert, pp. 1–20. Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
McAnany, Patricia A. 1995 Living with the Ancestors: Kingship and Kinship in Ancient Maya Society. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Miao, Xin, Qui, Xiaomin, Wu, Shuo-Sheng, Luo, Jun, Gouzie, Douglas R., and Xie, Hongjie 2013 Developing Efficient Procedures for Automated Sinkhole Extraction from Lidar DEMs. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 79(6):545–554.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley 2006 The Sacred Landscape as a Political Resource: A Case Study of Ancient Maya Cave Use At Chechem Ha Cave, Belize, Central America. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Anthropology, University at Buffalo, New York.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley 2012 Constructing the Underworld: The Built Environment in Ancient Mesoamerican Caves. In Heart of Earth: Studies in Maya Ritual Cave Use, edited by Brady, James E., pp. 95–110. Association for Mexican Cave Studies, Bulletin Series No. 23, Austin.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley 2015 Introduction. In Dreams at Las Cuevas: Investigating a Location of High Devotional Expression, Results of the 2014 Field Season, edited by Robinson, Mark and Moyes, Holley, pp. 3–12. Report on file at the Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History, Belmopan, Belize. http://faculty2.ucmerced.edu/hmoyes/node/3768 Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley, Awe, Jaime J., Brook, George, and Webster, James 2009 The Ancient Maya Drought Cult: Late Classic Cave Use in Belize, Latin American Antiquity 20(1):175–206.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley, and Brady, James E. 2012 Caves as Sacred Space in Mesoamerica. In Sacred Darkness: A Global Perspective on the Ritual Use of Caves, edited by Moyes, Holley, pp. 151–170. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley, and Prufer, Keith M. 2013 The Geopolitics of Emerging Maya Rulers: A Case Study of Kayuko Naj Tunich, a Foundational Shrine at Uxbenká, Southern Belize. Journal of Anthropological Research, 69(2): 225–248.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley, Robinson, Mark, Kosakowsky, Laura, and Voorhies, Barbara 2012 Better Late than Never: Preliminary Investigations at Las Cuevas, Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 9, pp. 221–231. Institute of Archaeology, NICH, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley, Robinson, Mark, Voorhies, Barbara, Kosakowsky, Laura, Arksey, Marieka, Ray, Erin, and Hernandez, Shayna 2015 Dreams at Las Cuevas: A Location of High Devotional Expression of the Late Classic Maya. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 12, pp. 239–249. Institute of Archaeology, NICH, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Novák, David 2014 Local Relief Model (LRM) Toolbox for ArcGIS. Electronic document, http://www.academia.edu/5618967/Local_Relief_Model_LRM_Toolbox_for_ArcGIS_UPDATE_2014-10-7, accessed January 30, 2015.Google Scholar
Novaković, Gregor, Mlekuž, Dimitrij, Rozman, Luka, Lazar, Aleš, Peric, Borut, Cerkvenik, Rosana, Peternelj, Karmen, and Erič, Miran 2014 New Approaches to Understanding the World Natural and Cultural Heritage by Using 3D Technology: UNESCO's Ikocjan Caves, Slovenia. International Journal of Heritage in the Digital Era 3(4):629–624.Google Scholar
Palka, Joel W. 2015 Maya Pilgrimage to Ritual Landscapes: Insights from Archaeology, History, and Ethnography. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Prufer, Keith M., and Brady, James E. 2005 Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context, edited by Prufer, Keith M. and Brady, James E., pp. 149–166. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Renfrew, Colin 1985 The Archaeology of Cult. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Renfrew, Colin 2001 Production and Consumption in a Sacred Economy: The Material Correlates of High Devotional Expression at Chaco Canyon. American Antiquity 66(1):14–25.Google Scholar
Rinker, J. N. 1975 Airborne Infrared Thermal Detection of Caves and Crevasses. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 44(11).Google Scholar
Rüther, Heinz, Chazan, Michael, Schroeder, Ralph, Neeser, Rudy, Held, Christoph, Walker, Steven James, Matmon, Ari, Horwitz, Liora Kolska 2009 Laser scanning for conservation and research of African cultural heritage sites: the case study of Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 36:1847–1856.Google Scholar
Sadier, Benjamin, Delannoy, Jean-Jacques, Benedetti, Lucilla, Bourlès, Didier L., Jaillet, Stéphane, Geneste, Jean-Michel, Lebatard, Anne-Elisabeth, and Arnold, Maurice 2012 Further Constraints on the Chauvet Cave Artwork Elaboration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109(21):8002–8006 Google Scholar
Schávelzon, Daniel 1980 Temples, Caves, or Monsters: Notes on Zoomorphic Façades in Pre-Hispanic Architecture. In Third Palenque Round Table, 1978, Part 2: Proceeding of the Tecera Mesa Rodunda de Palenaque, June 11–18, 1978, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene, pp. 151–162. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Sherwood, Sarah C., and Goldberg, Paul 2001 A Geoarchaeological Framework for the Study of Karstic Cave Sites in the Eastern Woodlands. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 26(2):145–168.Google Scholar
Sittler, Benoit 2004 Revealing Historical Landscapes by Using Airborne Laser Scanning: A 3-D Model of Ridge and Furrow in Forests near Rastatt, Germany. In Proceedings of Natscan, Laser-Scanners for Forest and Landscape Assessment - Instruments, Processing Methods and Applications, edited by Thies, M., Koch, B., Spiecker, H., and Weinacker, H., International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Volume XXXVI, Part 8/W2, pp. 258–261.Google Scholar
Stoddart, Simon, and Zubrow, Ezra E. B. 1999 Changing Places. Antiquity 73(281):686–688.Google Scholar
Stone, Andrea 1995 Images from the Underworld: Naj Tunich and the Tradition of Maya Cave Painting. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Straus, Lawrence Guy 1990 Underground Archaeology: Perspectives on Caves and Rockshelters. In Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol 2, edited by Schiffer, Michael B., pp. 255–304. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Straus, Lawrence Guy 1997 Convenient Cavities: Some Human Uses of Caves and Rockshelters. In The Human Use of Caves, edited by Bonsall, Clive and Tolan-Smith, Christopher, BAR International Series 667, pp. 1–8. Archaeopress, Oxford.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. Eric S. 1975 Introduction to the Reprint Edition. In The Hill-Caves of Yucatan, by Mercer, Henry C., pp. vii–xliv. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Tokovinine, Alexandre 2013 Place and Identity in Classic Maya Narratives. Dumbarton Oaks Pre- Columbian Art and Archaeology Studies Series, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Trigger, Bruce 2006 A History of Archaeological Thought. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Tuan, Yi-Fu 1977 Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.Google Scholar
Weishampel, John F., Blair, J. Bryan, Dubayah, Ralph, Clark, David B., and Knox, Robert G. 2000 Canopy Topography of an Old-Growth Tropical Rainforest Landscape: Selbyana 21:79–87.Google Scholar
Weishampel, John F., Blair, J. Bryan, Knox, Robert G., Dubayah, Ralph, and Clark, David B. 2000 Volumetric Lidar Return Patterns from an Old-Growth Tropical Rainforest Canopy. International Journal of Remote Sensing 21:409–415. doi: 10.1080/014311600210939.Google Scholar
Weishampel, John F., Hightower, Jessica N., Chase, Arlen F., Chase, Diane Z., and Patrick, Ryan A. 2011 Lidar Detection and Characterization of Karst Depressions. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 73(3):187–196.Google Scholar
White, William B. 1988 Geomorphology and Hydrology of Karst Terrains. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Woodward, Jamie C., and Goldberg, Paul 2001 The Sedimentary Records in Mediterranean Rockshelters and Caves: Archives of Environmental Change. Geoarchaeology 16(4):327–54.Google Scholar
Zakšek, Klemen, Oštir, Kristof, and Kokalj, Žiga 2011 Sky-View Factor as a Relief Visualization Technique. Remote Sensing 3:398–415.Google Scholar
Zhu, Junfeng, Taylor, Timothy P., Currens, James C., and Crawford, Matthew M. 2014 Improved Karst Sinkhole Mapping in Kentucky Using Lidar Techniques: A Pilot Study in Floyds Fork Watershed. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 76(3):207.Google Scholar