TY - JOUR
T1 - Aerial, surface, and subsurface multimodal mapping in Coastal Peru: Insights from Cerro San Isidro, Moro Region, Nepeña Valley
AU - Golay Lausanne, Kayla
AU - Chicoine, David
AU - Navarro Vega, Jeisen
AU - Lau, George F.
N1 - Data Availability Statement: All physical data collected in the field are managed and stored in accordance with regulations from the Ministerio de Cultura del Peru. Data are archived at the Department of Anthropology at McMaster University and Louisiana State University's Department of Geography and Anthropology.
Funding Statement: The 2022 season was possible thanks to the financial support of the National Science Foundation (award 1853905), Louisiana State University's Department of Geography and Anthropology, and the Department of Anthropology and Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University.
PY - 2024/5
Y1 - 2024/5
N2 - This article describes a series of steps to integrate multiple modes of archaeological mapping in arid and agricultural settings. We use the coastal region of Peru as a case study and share our recent field experience at Cerro San Isidro, a multicomponent hill site located in the agriculture-intensive and mid-elevation (about 500 m asl) Moro region of the Nepeña Valley. In June and July 2022, we spent eight weeks deploying a combination of drone aerial imagery, pedestrian GPS reconnaissance, and GPR survey to map the surface and subsurface features at the site and in the adjacent agricultural fields. Our efforts suggest that the ancient settlement extended over an area of at least 50 ha, well beyond the visible surface architecture. Using a multimodal approach to confirming the partial destruction of archaeological vestiges by modern agricultural encroachment is both time-effective and noninvasive. The article offers insights from our experience, including the sequence of field operations, technical troubleshooting, and the collection and integration of datasets. We discuss the methodological potential and implications of this combination of multimodal mapping and its deployment in coastal Peru, a region that, like many others in the world, is increasingly subject to rapid agricultural expansion and other anthropogenic developments.
AB - This article describes a series of steps to integrate multiple modes of archaeological mapping in arid and agricultural settings. We use the coastal region of Peru as a case study and share our recent field experience at Cerro San Isidro, a multicomponent hill site located in the agriculture-intensive and mid-elevation (about 500 m asl) Moro region of the Nepeña Valley. In June and July 2022, we spent eight weeks deploying a combination of drone aerial imagery, pedestrian GPS reconnaissance, and GPR survey to map the surface and subsurface features at the site and in the adjacent agricultural fields. Our efforts suggest that the ancient settlement extended over an area of at least 50 ha, well beyond the visible surface architecture. Using a multimodal approach to confirming the partial destruction of archaeological vestiges by modern agricultural encroachment is both time-effective and noninvasive. The article offers insights from our experience, including the sequence of field operations, technical troubleshooting, and the collection and integration of datasets. We discuss the methodological potential and implications of this combination of multimodal mapping and its deployment in coastal Peru, a region that, like many others in the world, is increasingly subject to rapid agricultural expansion and other anthropogenic developments.
KW - Peru
KW - archaeological survey
KW - drone imagery
KW - ground-penetrating radar
KW - multimodal mapping
KW - remote sensing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85190108155&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/aap.2024.2
DO - 10.1017/aap.2024.2
M3 - Article
SN - 2326-3768
VL - 12
SP - 143
EP - 155
JO - Advances in Archaeological Practice
JF - Advances in Archaeological Practice
IS - 2
ER -