Mapping Archaeological Landscapes from Space

✍ Scribed by Douglas C. Comer, Michael J. Harrower (auth.)

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 276
• Series: SpringerBriefs in Archaeology 5
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

​ Given the rising awareness and interest in aerial and satellite remote sensing, there is a need to familiarize archaeologists with the basic principles and applications of what have become the most useful technologies. This volume, in the Springerbriefs Archaeologial Heritage Management series, accomplishes this. Contributions to the volume come from those who have been active in developing key technologies as well as those who have been most successful in applying them. Leading experts, most of them from NASA, concisely describe what needs to be understood in order to utilize images produced from data collected by the most important airborne and satellite sensing devices.. Exemplary applications of these technologies are presented in brief by archaeologists who have made notable discoveries using them or have contributed to archaeological resource preservation. Among the technologies examined are those that are undergoing rapid refinement and will be carried by an increasing number of aerial and satellite platforms, such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR), Lidar, and multispectral/hyperspectral sensors, as well as older space technologies now made more useful by the availability of increasingly sophisticated computer hardware and software. Of particular importance is the ability to model how development in and around archaeological sites and landscapes can damage or destroy archaeological materials. Nurturing the development and application of space and aerial technologies in archaeology is therefore a matter of the greatest urgency, an appropriate goal to adopt by governments and universities at the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. Researchers gain a sense of what is possible by the use of these technologies, and why they should be used.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Introduction: The History and Future of Geospatial and Space Technologies in Archaeology....Pages 1-8
Front Matter....Pages 9-9
An Overview of the Application of Remote Sensing to Archaeology During the Twentieth Century....Pages 11-19
CORONA Satellite Imagery and Ancient Near Eastern Landscapes....Pages 21-31
The CORONA Atlas Project: Orthorectification of CORONA Satellite Imagery and Regional-Scale Archaeological Exploration in the Near East....Pages 33-43
Archaeological Landscapes of China and the Application of Corona Images....Pages 45-54
Front Matter....Pages 55-55
Multispectral and Hyperspectral Technology and Archaeological Applications....Pages 57-71
Petra and the Paradox of a Great City Built by Nomads: An Explanation Suggested by Satellite Imagery....Pages 73-83
Beyond the Bend: Remotely Sensed Data and Archaeological Site Prospection in the Boyne Valley, Ireland....Pages 85-95
Archaeological Remote Sensing in Jordan’s Faynan Copper Mining District with Hyperspectral Imagery....Pages 97-110
Front Matter....Pages 111-111
Synthetic Aperture Radar, Technology, Past and Future Applications to Archaeology....Pages 113-131
The Use of Multispectral Imagery and Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar for the Detection of Archaeological Sites and Features in the Western Maya Wetlands of Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico....Pages 133-144
The Promise and Problem of Modeling Viewsheds in the Western Maya Lowlands....Pages 145-157
The Influence of Viewshed on Prehistoric Archaeological Site Patterning at San Clemente Island as Suggested by Analysis of Synthetic Aperture Radar Images....Pages 159-171
Front Matter....Pages 173-173
LIDAR, Point Clouds, and Their Archaeological Applications....Pages 175-186
The Use of LiDAR at the Maya Site of Caracol, Belize....Pages 187-197
New Perspectives on Purépecha Urbanism Through the Use of LiDAR at the Site of Angamuco, Mexico....Pages 199-210
Front Matter....Pages 211-211
Methods, Concepts and Challenges in Archaeological Site Detection and Modeling....Pages 213-218
Multi-Temporal Classification of Multi-Spectral Images for Settlement Survey in Northeastern Syria....Pages 219-228
New Geospatial Technologies Leading to New Strategies: The Case of Kerkenes Dağ, Turkey....Pages 229-239
Identifying Probable Archaeological Sites on Santa Catalina Island, California Using SAR and Ikonos Data....Pages 241-249
Front Matter....Pages 211-211
Refinement of a Method for Identifying Probable Archaeological Sites from Remotely Sensed Data....Pages 251-258
Survey, Automated Detection, and Spatial Distribution Analysis of Cairn Tombs in Ancient Southern Arabia....Pages 259-268
Back Matter....Pages 269-276

✦ Subjects

Archaeology; Aerospace Technology and Astronautics; Regional and Cultural Studies