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Science Forum Index » Archaeology Forum » Satellite imagery and Laser radar aids in exploring...
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| Jack Linthicum... |
 Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 9:21 am |
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Archaeologist Uses Satellite Imagery To Explore Ancient Mexico
enlarge
In a novel archeological application, multi- and hyperspectral data
will help build the most accurate and most detailed landscape map that
exists of the southern state of Oaxaca, where the Zapotec people
formed the first state-level and urban society in Mexico. (Credit:
Image courtesy of Rochester Institute of Technology)
ScienceDaily (May 13, 2008) — Satellite imagery obtained from NASA
will help archeologist Bill Middleton peer into the ancient Mexican
past. In a novel archeological application, multi- and hyperspectral
data will help build the most accurate and most detailed landscape map
that exists of the southern state of Oaxaca, where the Zapotec people
formed the first state-level and urban society in Mexico.
“If you ask someone off the street about Mexican archeology, they’ll
say Aztec, Maya. Sometimes they’ll also say Inca, which is the wrong
continent, but you’ll almost never hear anyone talk about the
Zapotecs,” says Middleton, acting chair of the Department of Material
Culture Sciences and professor in the Department of Sociology and
Anthropology at Rochester Institute of Technology. “They had the first
writing system, the first state society, the first cities. And they
controlled a fairly large territory at their Zenith—250 B.C. to 750
A.D.”
The process of state formation varied across the Zapotec realm.
Sometimes it involved conquest, and other times it was more
economically driven. Archeologists like Middleton are interested in
different aspects of society that emerged in the process, such as
social stratification and the development and intensification of
agriculture and economic specialization.
Middleton’s study will explore how the Oaxacan economy and environment
changed as the Zapotec state grew and then collapsed into smaller city-
states. Funding from NASA and National Geographic will also help
Middleton build a picture of how climate and vegetation patterns have
changed over time.
“For the past 4,000 years, human activities have been a factor in
environmental change,” Middleton says. “And there are some parts of
Mesoamerica that we have pretty good evidence that the environment we
see today is the catastrophic result of ancient agricultural
practices.” Middleton will focus on two sites in the Chichicapam
Valley located in between two of the major arms of the central valleys
of Zapotec. The National Geographic-funded portion of the study began
last summer when he documented important archeological sites and
selected candidates for excavation.
Imagery from Earth Observing 1 and Landsat satellites obtained over
three years will help Middleton identify the natural resources found
at archeological sites. He will work with colleagues John Kerekes and
David Messinger along with graduate student Justin Kwon in RIT’s
Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science to analyze the large
amounts of data taken at different wavelengths of the electromagnetic
spectrum. Their own research uses similar techniques to analyze urban
landscapes, and inspired Middleton to apply the technology to
archeological landscapes.
“We are excited to be collaborating with Bill in this application of
remote sensing technology to archaeological study,” says Kerekes.
“This project shows a true strength of RIT with an environment that
allows physical scientists and engineers like us to easily work
together with a social scientist like Bill.”
Adds Messinger: “Applications of remote sensing have long been a
motivating factor for our technology work in the field of remote
sensing, and the chance to work closely with an end-user here at RIT
is a fantastic opportunity for our students and faculty. By learning
more about how the technology can help in this application, we will be
in a much better position to guide our future sensor development and
algorithmic research.”
The technology works by differentiating materials on the ground on the
basis of reflected light. Objects that look the same in visible light
may have very different reflective properties when sampled across the
spectrum.
“When you put the data back together as a picture you begin to see
things you couldn’t see before, and you can make distinctions that to
your eyes look the same,” Middleton says.
Satellite imagery covering more than 30,000 square kilometers will
help Middleton identify different plant species, environments and
ecosystems, and acres of arable land or mineral resources surrounding
particular sites.
“We can start looking at the relationship between ancient cities and
ancient human settlements in a way that no one has really been able to
do before,” Middleton says.
The new landscape map will also show how development has changed the
region since the first survey conducted 30 years ago.
“We will be able to compare the then-and-now images and be able to
make a very good assessment of what we have lost in the past several
decades as a result of development,” Middleton says.
Another aspect of the NASA-funded project will focus on environmental
change. This part of the study, done in conjunction with colleagues at
the University of Colorado at Boulder will analyze plant microfossils
in sediment samples collected from a variety of locations, including
areas where streams expose sediment layers 10,000 years old.
“Roughly 10,000 years ago, Oaxaca was wetter than it is today,”
Middleton says. “Today it’s classified as semi-arid, and the dominant
vegetation in the valley is thorn-scrub forest. Ten thousand years
ago, it was a grassland and there were horses there.”
Adapted from materials provided by Rochester Institute of Technology.
http://www.archaeologynews.org/story.asp?ID=287196&Title=Archaeologist%20Uses%20Satellite%20Imagery%20To%20Explore%20Ancient%20Mexico
UCF Research Project Uses Technology to Revolutionize Archaeology
May 9, 2008
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala
NASA, lasers, the rainforest canopy and Maya ruins sound like the
ingredients for the next Hollywood blockbuster.
The list actually describes a University of Central Florida study
under way in Belize that promises to revolutionize archaeology thanks
to the latest technology. Researchers are using LiDAR remote sensing
to unlock the secrets of the Maya hidden by forest canopy.
“The lasers we’re using to map the ruins have never been used before,”
said UCF archaeologist Arlen Chase. “And it’s going to make a world of
difference because traditional methods of mapping are very time
consuming, very laborious and very slow.”
Arlen and Diane Chase, both Anthropology professors at UCF, are
working with UCF Biology Professor John Weishampel, two University of
Florida professors, an archaeologist from Belize and UCF research
scientist.
In 24 years of digging at Caracol, Belize, the Chase team has mapped
24 square kilometers in the dense rainforest, but the researchers
believe the site is 177 square kilometers. The laser approach promises
to enable them to gain the data necessary to produce a map of the
entire area in about two months. The Chases will combine the complete
landscape record with actual archeology to better define the socio-
economic, cultural, political and religious systems of the ancient
Maya.
The team will use LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging
and refers to a collection of laser-based sensors that transmit and
receive signals. In this study, a plane will fly over the
archaeological site and shoot signals to sensors on the ground. The
combination will produce an image of the topography. What’s unique
about this approach – designed by Weishampel -- is that LiDAR promises
to provide a complete map of the canopy and surfaces below the canopy,
which includes buildings, roadways and even terraces once used for
farming by the Maya.
Weishampel has been using lasers to study forests and other vegetation
for the past several years, but archaeologists are just starting to
tap into the more advanced lasers and other modern equipment. Most
archaeologists today still use the same survey equipment that city
workers use for roadwork. They cut through vegetation with machetes to
set up the surveyors for the line-of-sight calculations they need.
Weishampel is interested in the results because it will give him a
snapshot of forest vegetation today and how it was influenced by land
use practices of 1000 years ago. This understanding will be useful in
analyzing trends in how humans impact the levels of carbon storage.
Rainforests play an important role in understanding and managing
global warming.
“It’s very exciting,” said the biologist who, in combination with the
Chases, landed the $412,000 NASA and Space Research Initiative grant
that’s made this project possible. “I’ll be in the plane as we make
passes over the terrain this summer. It’s my opportunity to be Indiana
Jones in a very high-tech way.”
NASA is interested because, if the project is successful, the same
technology and techniques could be applied to scan and map other
archaeological sites.
The University of Florida’s National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping
will provide the research-grade elevation and topographic data from
the data collected in Belize. The partners at UF are Professor Ramesh
L. Shrestha and Assistant Professor K. Clint Slatton. Jason Drake, a
UCF adjunct assistant research professor and Jaime Awe, the director
of the Institute of Archaeology in Belize round out the group. The
team brings together experts in three different fields to
revolutionize archeology.
“Someday, we may all be using this technology routinely, and that
could mean huge progress in learning about our past and applying
lessons learned to our future,” said Diane Chase.
The team began laying the groundwork in Belize in March and will be
back at Caracol this summer to begin their laser expedition.
http://news.ucf.edu/UCFnews/index?page=article&id=00240041a0ca090119cd98901306f35&mode=news |
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