Lasers Without Lost Cities: Using Drone Lidar to Capture Architectural Complexity at Kuelap, Amazonas, Peru

Abstract

We report the results of drone lidar survey at a high-elevation archaeological site in the Chachapoyas region of Peruvian Amazonia. Unlike traditional airborne remote sensing, drone lidar produces very high-density measurements at a wide range of scan angles by operating at low altitudes and slow flight speeds. These measurements can resolve near vertical surfaces and novel dimensions of variability in architectural datasets. We show in a case study at Kuelap that the number of detected structures almost exactly matches the number reported from previous ground level surveys, and we use these data to quantify the relative circularity and size frequency distribution of architectural structures. We demonstrate variability in domestic architecture that was obscured in previous models produced using low-resolution remote sensing. Spatial analysis of these attributes produces new hypotheses about the site's construction history and social organization.

Revealing Archaeological Sites under Mediterranean Forest Canopy Using LiDAR: El Viandar Castle (husum) in El Hoyo (Belmez-Córdoba, Spain)

“…22,34) and serving as a basis for the approach of future research [16]. Similar surveys have been performed in Central and South America, as in the case of Kuelap (Perú), where a multifunctional complex was discovered next to a fortress [17,18] (p. 12). Moreover, the use of LiDAR in Mayan areas facilitated the analysis of the relationship between environmental, cultural, and archaeological variables, which enabled researchers to deduce factors such as population density [19] (p. 17).…”

“…As an example, it is worth mentioning the LiDAR mapping of one of the world's most spectacular landmarks, Angkor Wat (Cambodia), that revealed the existence of roads, walls, and canals, giving rise to the analysis of an entire urban network [14] (p. 12,595-12,596) [15] (p. 22,34) and serving as a basis for the approach of future research [16]. Similar surveys have been performed in Central and South America, as in the case of Kuelap (Perú), where a multifunctional complex was discovered next to a fortress [17,18] (p. 12). Moreover, the use of LiDAR in Mayan areas facilitated the analysis of the relationship between environmental, cultural, and archaeological variables, which enabled researchers to deduce factors such as population density [19] (p. 17).…”

Linking Past and Present Land-Use Histories in Southern Amazonas, Peru

“…Third, substantial parts of this region remain heavily forested, with limited LiDAR applications to-date [89]. As a result, we cannot know the actual distribution of agricultural terraces within the region nor how representative our dataset of remotely sensed terraces is.…”

R3MR: Region Growing Based 3D Mesh Reconstruction for Big Data Platform

“…With the rapid development of 3D measurement technology and hardware equipment, it has become a research hotspot to reconstruct 3D mesh from the point cloud data. Moreover, 3D mesh reconstruction of scattered point cloud has been widely used in many fields, such as surface interpolation of scattered points, finite element analysis, computer graphics, and visualization in scientific computing, robot vision, cultural heritage, archaeology, surveying, 3D city models, etc., [9]- [14]. Therefore, it is particularly important to use an appropriate method for 3D mesh reconstruction of the scattered point cloud.…”