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Drone-Mounted Lidar Survey of Maya Settlement and Landscape

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2019

Timothy M. Murtha Open the ORCID record for Timothy M. Murtha [Opens in a new window] ,
Eben N. Broadbent ,
Charles Golden ,
Andrew Scherer ,
Whittaker Schroder ,
Ben Wilkinson  and
Angélica Almeyda Zambrano
Timothy M. Murtha*
Affiliation:
Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, 389 Grinter, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Eben N. Broadbent
Affiliation:
School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Reed Lab, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Charles Golden
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02454, USA
Andrew Scherer
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Brown University, Box 1921, Providence, RI 02912, USA
Whittaker Schroder
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Ben Wilkinson
Affiliation:
School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Reed Lab, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Angélica Almeyda Zambrano
Affiliation:
Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management, University of Florida, 240 Florida Gym, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
*
(tmurtha@ufl.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

We conducted unmanned aerial vehicle lidar missions in the Maya Lowlands between June 2017 and June 2018 to develop appropriate methods, procedures, and standards for drone lidar surveys of ancient Maya settlements and landscapes. Three site locations were tested within upper Usumacinta River region using Phoenix Lidar Systems: Piedras Negras, Guatemala, was tested in 2017, and Budsilha and El Infiernito, both in Mexico, were tested in 2018. These sites represent a range of natural and cultural contexts, which make them ideal to evaluate the usefulness of the technology in the field. Results from standard digital elevation and surface models demonstrate the utility of deploying drone lidar in the Maya Lowlands and throughout Latin America. Drone survey can be used to target and efficiently document ancient landscapes and settlement. Such an approach is adaptive to fieldwork and is cost effective but still requires planning and thoughtful evaluation of samples. Future studies will test and evaluate the methods and techniques for filtering and processing these data.

En este trabajo describimos los resultados del uso de tecnología lidar en drones en el área Maya entre junio del 2017 y 2018. Nuestro objetivo es desarrollar métodos, procedimientos y estándares apropiados para el uso de lidar en drones en el mapeo de asentamientos antiguos. Se sobrevolaron tres sitios dentro de la región superior del río Usumacinta: Piedras Negras en Guatemala, Budsilha y El Infiernito en México. Estos sitios representan una gama de contextos naturales y culturales ideales para evaluar las aplicaciones de la tecnología lidar en el campo. Los modelos de elevación digital y de superficie digital muestran la utilidad del uso de drones en el área Maya. Esta tecnología es apropiada y rentable para el trabajo de campo, pero aún requiere de una detallada planificación y evaluación de las muestras. Futuros estudios evaluarán métodos y técnicas para filtrar y procesar estos datos.

Keywords

UAV lidarremote sensingGISMayalidar en dronesdetección remotaSIGMaya
Type
Report
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , September 2019 , pp. 630 - 636
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by the Society for American Archaeology 

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References

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