Preliminary Lidar-Based Analyses of Naachtun Settlement Patterns and Land Use

Summary

Located in the northern Petén, Guatemala, the Maya site of Naachtun has been investigated since 2010 by a pluri-disciplinary French-Guatemalan team. Some of its goals aim to reconstruct the political history of the site and its spatial evolution through time, and to understand the management of local resources and the impact of anthropic activities on the landscape. Archaeological and environmental excavations and studies have been carried out in the city center and surroundings areas while a pedestrian survey has been conducted on a 2km²-zone that included the site’s epicenter and its residential area.

In 2016, a LIDAR survey, funded by the Pacunam Foundation and operated by NCALM has been undertaken in a 100km²-rectangular zone centered on Naachtun with the purpose of understanding the settlement patterns —in particular the "rural" settlement— at a larger scale, resource management in relation with the different bajos closed to Naachtun, and the agrarian strategies adopted out of the city center. In this contribution, we will present the first results and interpretations of the LIDAR dataset with a focus on methodological aspects and comparisons with the traditional pedestrian survey program.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• LiDAR in the Maya Heartland: Results of the 2016 LiDAR survey in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15274