Exploring Pithouses: Using GPR to Identify and Map Taos, NM Sites

Author(s): Lauren OBrien; Jennie O. Sturm

Year: 2015

Summary

In June of 2014, multiple pithouse sites within the Taos Valley were surveyed with ground-penetrating radar (GPR). GPR survey was employed to map two known pithouse sites and two possible pithouse sites. The Taos Valley ranges dramatically in elevation and terrain, many times leaving the surface indications of sites nonexistent. Also, the components (features) of each site exist at different depths. Because GPR is a high resolution mapping method that allows features of interest to be analyzed in 3D, using this method allowed us to map the structure of the pithouses and determine the presence of possible extramural features and additional structures without large scale excavation. These maps will be used to create a database of pithouse sites across the Taos Valley, giving us a more complete understanding of this period.

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Cite this Record

Exploring Pithouses: Using GPR to Identify and Map Taos, NM Sites. Lauren OBrien, Jennie O. Sturm. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 397882)

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Keywords

General
GPR Pithouse

Geographic Keywords
North America - Southwest

Spatial Coverage

min long: -115.532; min lat: 30.676 ; max long: -102.349; max lat: 42.033 ;