GIS and Archaeology

My dissertation research project is part of a larger research effort, the Paisajes Arqueológicos en el Paralelo 49º project (PICT 99 04-06405), directed by José Luis Lanata of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) in Argentina. The Project Aim is to study prehistoric landscape use during the Mid to Late Holocene (6500 BP to AD 1750) by hunter-gatherers living between the 49º and 50º S parallels in Southern Argentina. Our current research strategy has involved pedestrian reconnaissance field survey using 15m spacing. When a site or an isolated artifact is encountered, its coordinates are recorded using handheld Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and notes are collected about the find. The GPS used include a Garmin 12XL, a Garmin eTrex Vista, and a Magellan Meridian Platinum. The data collected has not undergone differential correction. As a result, its accuracy is between approximately 5-15m. This GPS data is later projected over Landsat TM satellite imagery (30 m spatial resolution) in a Geographic Information System (GIS).

The goal of this page is to document the entire process of data acquisition, registration & projection, management, and analisis so that others seeking to undertake similar work as part of their reseach have a resource to refer to. This page is a work in progress.

Data Acquisition

1. Georeferenced Landsat Thematic Mapper Satellite Imagery

2. Georeferenced Shapefiles

3. Global Positioning Systems (GPS)