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Applying Photogrammetric Mapping: A Case Study from Northern New Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Winifred Creamer
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115
Jonathan Haas
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605
Thomas Mann
Affiliation:
Thomas R. Mann and Associates, 5115 Copper NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108

Abstract

Photogrammetric mapping, the creation of detailed maps from aerial photographs, offers advantages to archaeologists that have not been fully utilized in recent years. Photogrammetry provides an efficient and cost-effective way to map extensive, complex sites. Common field problems such as obsolete equipment, unskilled staff, limited field time, and inhospitable field conditions are reduced accordingly. The usefulness of photogrammetry is demonstrated through work at the site of Pueblo Blanco, New Mexico, occupied ca. A.D. 1370-1525. A photogrammetric map was used to calculate total site size and the number of stories in each block of rooms. Further, the map supports an ongoing effort to stabilize the site and monitor the locality for looting and serves as a planning document for management of future uses.

El mapeo fotogramétrico emplea fotograflas aéreas para hacer mapas detallados. Esta técnica ofrece al arqueólogo valiosas ventajas que no se han explotado ultimamente. La fotogrametría es un modo eficiente y de costo moderado con que se puede mapear complejos arqueológicos extensos y complicados. Dificultades comunes que ocurren en el trabajo del campo, tales como equipo obsoleto, personal sin entrenamiento, temporadas de campo limitadas, y clima inhóspito, son disminuidos. Se presenta un ejemplo del uso de los datos de mapas fotogramétricos del sitio de Pueblo Blanco, Nuevo México, ocupado entre 1370–1525 d.C. En Pueblo Blanco, calculamos el número total de estructuras en el sitio y el numero de pisos en cada estructura. Además, se usa el mapa en la planficación de establización del sitio mismo, en el control de destrucción por huaqueros y como documento de planificación de usos futuros del lugar.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1997

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