Remote Sensing to Identify Chaco Roads: A Case Study of the North Road

Summary

The focus of this research is to demonstrate the efficacy of data processing methodologies of remotely sensed data to detect the Chacoan Great North Road between Pueblo Alto and Pierre’s group. This research highlights a scaled approach to the analysis and processing of remotely sensed data to efficiently identify prehispanic roads. The data analyzed in this project includes: thermal infrared multispectral scanner (TIMS), light detection and ranging (LiDAR), orthoimagery from Google Earth and Worldview 3, and legacy historic aerial imagery. We also discuss the efficacy of additional remote sensing data types which have not been applied to this study area, including advanced spaceborne thermal emission reflectance radiometer (ASTER) and hyperspectral thermal emission spectrometer (HyTES). The use of novel processing techniques via proprietary and open access processing methods, improved road identification as opposed to traditional aerial image analysis. The use of a multi-scalar integrative approach to the identification of roads allowed us to avoid false positives (modern roads), understand modern impacts, and predict the long term future of these roads.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22117