A Spy in the Sky: The Potential of Historical Aerial and Satellite Photography for Archaeological Research

Hanson, W. S.; Oltean, Ioana A.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-4505-0_1

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…[103][104]. The configuration of low-relief features thus emphasized, all that remains is their proper interpretation -a subject gaining attention as evidenced in recent work [e.g., 3].…”

Section: Original Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping site-level microtopography with Real- Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (RTK GNSS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Photogrammetry (UAVP)

Roosevelt

2014

Open Archaeology

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Microtopographic mapping has a long history in archaeology and has gained prominence recently owing to the proliferation of digital technologies. With such proliferation, it becomes necessary to compare and contrast different approaches based on a common set of criteria. This article compares the implementation and efficiency of two methods of mapping microtopography -ground-based Real-Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System (RTK GNSS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Photogrammetry (UAVP) survey -assessing the pros and cons of each, including those related to data quality. 'Off-the-shelf' solutions for methods were used to create the comparative dataset of microtopographic maps of six Middle and Late Bronze Age sites over the course of four seasons between 2007 and 2013 in the study area of the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey in western Turkey. Comparison of results demonstrate that the methods are similar with respect to ease of implementation, cost efficiency, and the (in)significance of data defects, while, unsurprisingly, UAVP survey can be greater than one order of magnitude more labor efficient than RTK GNSS survey and over two orders of magnitude more detailed as measured by data density. The accuracy of both methods is high, within typical error budgets for site-level mapping, and comparable to other recent digital mapping approaches. Accordingly, the results suggest that, given site suitability, UAVP is the more labor and cost-efficient method in the long run, with significant data quality benefits.

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“…[103][104]. The configuration of low-relief features thus emphasized, all that remains is their proper interpretation -a subject gaining attention as evidenced in recent work [e.g., 3].…”

Section: Original Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping site-level microtopography with Real- Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (RTK GNSS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Photogrammetry (UAVP)

Roosevelt

2014

Open Archaeology

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“…Because historical aerial and satellite imagery preserve a picture of the earth's surface that often predates major land use changes seen in recent decades, analysis of these images has proven to be a uniquely powerful means to explore archaeological landscapes in many parts of the world (e.g., Hanson and Oltean 2013). Archaeologists working in Europe, for example, have made use of the relatively rich archives of aerial imagery available there, some dating as early as the First World War, to undertake a wide variety of studies (e.g., Musson et al 2013;Oltean 2012;Ortega and Sanchez-Pardo 2012;Stichelbaut 2006;Stichelbaut and Bourgeois 2009;Tartara 2012;Visy 2012;Young 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This article presents investigations into the viability of using historical aerial photographs from the 1930s to document prehistoric and historic Indigenous agricultural fields and other related features in southwestern Wisconsin. Archaeological research in other parts of the world has long relied on analyses of historical aerial and satellite imagery dating from the early to mid-twentieth century as a means to discover, map, and interpret archaeological sites and features that have been obscured or destroyed in recent decades (e.g., Casana 2014;Casana et al 2012;Hammer and Ur 2019;Hanson and Oltean 2013;Musson et al 2013;Soroush 2016;Stichelbaut 2006;Stichelbaut and Bourgeois 2009; Ur 2013). While historical imagery is more rarely employed in North American archaeology, several studies demonstrate the power of historical aerial photography to reveal archaeological landscape features in the United States (e.g., Bitely 2013; Clark and Casana 2016;McLeester et al 2018;Vogel 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

Finding Fields: Locating Archaeological Agricultural Landscapes Using Historical Aerial Photographs

McLeester

Casana

2021

Am. Antiq.

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During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, over 450 precolumbian and historic Indigenous agricultural fields were documented across the state of Wisconsin. Today, the vast majority of these features are generally assumed to have been destroyed. Focusing on the Wisconsin River basin, which has the highest concentration of known archaeological field systems in the Midwest, this study explores the potential of using historical aerial photographs to identify and interpret archaeological agricultural features. Relying on state site records, an archive of high-resolution 1930s aerial images, and modern lidar data, we carefully examine the region surrounding 59 sites where fields had previously been documented. At a quarter of the sites we investigated, we successfully identified both known and unrecorded archaeological features—including agricultural fields, effigy mounds, earthworks, and house basins—most of which have been destroyed by recent land use practices. Our analysis sheds light on the complexity and richness of the archaeological landscape, with vast agricultural spaces situated beyond traditional site boundaries, and suggests that precolumbian and historic Indigenous agricultural fields may have been much larger and more widespread than conventionally understood.

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“…Do skutecznej lokalizacji cmentarzy wojennych (w tym pięciu znajdujących się na terenie gminy Nowa Sucha) przyczyniła się zastosowana w procesie archeologicznego przywracania pamięci złożona i wielofazowa korelacja różnego typu danych historycznych, archeologicznych i teledetekcyjnych w środowisku GIS (w toku badań czerpaliśmy m.in. z inspiracji zawartych w pracach: Hesse, 2010;Kokalj, Zakšek, Oštir, 2011;Opitz, 2013;Hanson, Oltean, 2013). Wyniki historycznej kartografii skorelowane ze zgeopozycjonowanymi zdjęciami lotniczymi, z danymi z lotniczego skanowania laserowego oraz prospekcja terenowa pozwoliły na wiążącą lokalizację tych cmentarzy wojennych, które zachowały się choćby w szczątkowej własnej formie terenowej.…”

Section: Lokalizacja Cmentarzy Wojennych W Ramach Archeologicznego Przywracania Pamięci O Wielkiej Wojnieunclassified

Czysto ludzka sprawa? Archeologiczne przywracanie pamięci o trudnej przeszłości przez tropienie naturo-kulturowych przemian cmentarzy wojennych

et al. 2019

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In this article the outcomes of historical, archaeological, spatial and anthropological research concerning material remnants of the war cemeteries left by the Great War in Central Poland, in the area of Rawka and Bzura are presented. On the example of one of the four communes (Nowa Sucha) subjected to research under the project Archaeological Revival of Memory of the Great War (ARM), the processes of creation, transformation, decay, destruction and re-making present the resting places of the soldiers fallen between December 1914 and July 1915 are shown. In the first part, we sketch the output atmosphere that accompanied the primary context in which war cemeteries were established and place the war cemeteries in the network of social, formal and legal determinants. In the second part, we frame the historical and social contexts in which the resting places of the fallen soldiers of the German and Russian armies were massively created. Than, we show the difficulties associated with locating particular war cemeteries and signal strengths and obstacles in correlating results of archival research and use of remote sensing and archaeological methods in order to restore the memory of war cemeteries and establish their current and future condition as material warnings. Also we stress the looping of cultural and natural factors both in the process of protecting and destroying material condition of war cemeteries. Finally, on the example of one of the cemeteries we show how slow and arduous but at the same time promising can be the process of transformation from a forgotten/plowed cemetery into a place of/in memory, and as an agent struggling with the continuous nature-cultural transformations.

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A Spy in the Sky: The Potential of Historical Aerial and Satellite Photography for Archaeological Research

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Mapping site-level microtopography with Real- Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (RTK GNSS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Photogrammetry (UAVP)

Mapping site-level microtopography with Real- Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (RTK GNSS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Photogrammetry (UAVP)

Finding Fields: Locating Archaeological Agricultural Landscapes Using Historical Aerial Photographs

Czysto ludzka sprawa? Archeologiczne przywracanie pamięci o trudnej przeszłości przez tropienie naturo-kulturowych przemian cmentarzy wojennych

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