Large Scale Aerial Photogrammetry: A comparative case study of changes in the archaeological landscape surrounding Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico

Summary

In this poster, I explore shifts in the geomorphic landscape surrounding Pueblo Pintado, outside of Chaco Canyon National Cultural Park, New Mexico, in order to assess modern impacts on the ancient road systems which connect Great Houses throughout the Chacoan region. Utilizing high-altitude aerial imagery gathered by Jacob Smith III, I am working to create a high-resolution, large-scale photogrammetric model surrounding Pueblo Pintado. This model will provide support for geospatial analyses of Chacoan road systems through two avenues: 1) it will aid in identifying the full extent of the Pueblo Pintado to Chaco Canyon road, as well as a smaller connecting road between Pueblo Pintado and the Chacra Face road, and 2) it will act as a more precise model from which higher resolution DTM’s and DEM’s can be created to service increasingly accurate Least Cost Path Analyses. This model will additionally operate as a comparative dataset to analyze shifts in the geomorphic landscape over a twenty-five year period; juxtaposed against modern high resolution aerial imagery supplied by a NASA DEVELOP project. Lastly, I discuss the effect of modern land easement and natural resource permits on the archeological landscape of the area as well as future research implications.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17087