Ground-Penetrating Radar and Topographic Correction Using Ground-Based Photogrammetry at the Late Archaic Ceremonial Site of Caballete (Fortaleza Valley, Peru)

Summary

Caballete is a Late Archaic (3000-1800 B.C.) ceremonial site located in the Fortaleza Valley of Peru. In 2015, a focused archaeo-geophysical survey was conducted as a pilot effort to determine the utility of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry in locating subsurface features at the site. The Caballete survey included approximately 1.5 ha of targeted GPR and a smaller magnetometry survey across the 400 ha site. The site features six platform mounds ranging from approximately 5 to 17 m in height. Five of the mounds are arranged in a "U" pattern. An open area of approximately 10 ha is situated within this "U" and features a centrally located low lying rise of 0.12 ha. Five GPR survey areas were selected instead of one large contiguous area in order to test multiple architectural features throughout the site. Due to environmental and logistical restrictions an aerial photogrammetric survey was not possible. Instead, ground-based photogrammetric photos were taken to produce digital elevation models (DEMs). DEMs were then used to topographically correct the GPR data. This study tests the applicability of non-aerial photogrammetry when drones or kites are inaccessible or fail. In addition, feature detection with topographically corrected and non-topographically corrected GPR data are compared.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage