A Bird’s-Eye View: Historic Aircraft Navigation Arrows in Northern Arizona

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Historical Archaeologies of the American Southwest, 1800 to Today" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Following the invention of the airplane in 1903, the early 20th century saw the rapid development of aviation technology, both for commercial and recreational purposes. As early pilots struggled to effectively navigate during an era characterized by unruly aircraft and sparse ground support, concrete arrows, beacons, and other navigational aids were constructed to mark the way. In 2018 Cornerstone Environmental identified the remains of a forgotten aircraft navigational aid during an archaeological survey on the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. This paper presents a brief background of the origin of associated arrows, beacons, and other such aids, and explores the function, age, and relation of this marker to other similar features.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Historical Archaeologies of the American Southwest, 1800 to Today   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24455