Using remote sensing to detect late Holocene mound sites along the Calapooia River, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Summary

Low mound sites, often referred to as Calapooia Mounds in western Oregon, are prevalent throughout stream systems within the Willamette Valley. Archaeologists postulate that the Willamette Valley mounds, which date to within the last 4,000 years, were created through the accumulation of occupational debris over time. Many of these late Holocene sites are located on private property and are continually impacted by farming activities while others, located in riparian zones, are less effected. Therefore, mound sites located in farmlands are subject to a higher degree of deflation. In this pilot study, we explore the potential of utilizing remote sensing techniques, such as LiDAR, to 1) relocate known mound sites along the Calapooia River, 2) evaluate the deflation for sites in agricultural fields, and 3) allow for the identification of unrecorded mound sites in nearby river valleys. These data will be used to generate a systematic analysis of attributes for mound sites in western Oregon.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage