Remote Sensing of Archaeological Landscapes at Picuris Pueblo

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Collaborative Archaeology at Picuris Pueblo: The New History" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2022, our team conducted experimental surveys at Picuris Pueblo using a new, drone-deployed lidar sensor alongside aerial thermal and color imaging to successfully map extensive remains of ancestral agricultural terraces and related archaeological features. This paper presents results of our 2023 efforts to expand on our initial results, extending lidar survey to cover 10+ km2 of forested landscapes both on Picuris Pueblo and nearby federal lands, revealing vast areas of previously undocumented agricultural fields, water management features, and settlement sites. In addition, we conducted ground penetrating radar, magnetic gradiometry, and thermal imaging at the historic center of Picuris Pueblo and several nearby sites, offering new insights into the location and preservation of subsurface archaeological features. Collectively, our results demonstrate how this suite of noninvasive and nondestructive remote sensing methods can be efficient and powerful tools for discovery, documentation, and interpretation of the rich archaeological landscape of Picuris Pueblo.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Collaborative Archaeology at Picuris Pueblo: The New History   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38513.0