Putting Us on the Map: Remote Sensing Investigation of the Ancient Maya Landscape
Putting Us on the Map: Remote Sensing Investigation of the Ancient Maya Landscape
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DOI：
10.1007/0-387-44455-6_6
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发表时间：
2006
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影响因子：
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通讯作者：
William A. Saturno;T. Sever;D. Irwin;B. Howell;T. Garrison
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文献类型：
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作者：
William A. Saturno;T. Sever;D. Irwin;B. Howell;T. Garrison
危地马拉北部的佩廷地区拥有一些拉丁美洲最重要的玛雅考古遗址。正是在这个地区，玛雅文明开始、繁荣起来，然后突然崩溃。遥感技术正在帮助定位和绘制玛雅古迹的地图，这些古迹今天因加速砍伐和掠夺而受到威胁。专题测绘仪、IKONOS和QuickBird卫星，以及机载STAR-3I和AIRSAR雷达数据，结合全球定位系统(GPS)技术，正在成功地探测到遗址、道路、运河和水库等古代玛雅地物。卫星图像也被用来绘制Bajos的地图，Bajos是季节性洪水泛滥的沼泽，覆盖了超过40%的陆地表面。多年来，古代玛雅人在耕种和定居时使用巴霍斯一直是专业界争论的焦点。但最近几年对巴乔系统内的文化特征的检测和验证提供了确凿的证据，表明古代玛雅人从最早的时候就很好地适应了湿地环境，并利用了这些环境，直到玛雅崩溃。在过去的两年里，我们发现在IKONOS卫星图像上的热带森林植被特征与考古遗址的位置之间存在着很强的关系。我们认为，在古代玛雅建筑中使用石灰石和石灰石膏会影响地表植被的水分、营养和植物种类。我们已经在图像中绘制了这些植被特征图，并通过实地调查验证了它们是考古遗址的指示。然而，我们还没有确定图像中光谱特征的性质，这是我们正在进行的研究的重点。通过使用遥感和地理信息系统技术，可以在茂密的热带森林环境中确定未记录的考古特征，并监测这些文化特征以保护它们。
The Petén region of northern Guatemala contains some of the most significant Maya archaeological sites in Latin America. It was in this region that the Maya civilization began, flourished, and abruptly collapsed. Remote sensing technology is helping to locate and map ancient Maya sites that are threatened today by accelerating deforestation and looting. Thematic Mapper, IKONOS, and QuickBird satellite, and airborne STAR-3i and AIRSAR radar data, combined with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, are successfully detecting ancient Maya features such as sites, roadways, canals, and water reservoirs. Satellite imagery is also being used to map the bajos, which are seasonally flooded swamps that cover over 40% of the land surface. The use of bajos for farming and settlement by the ancient Maya has been a source of debate within the professional community for many years. But the detection and verification of cultural features within the bajo system within the last few years are providing conclusive evidence that the ancient Maya had adapted well to wetland environments from the earliest times and utilized them until the time of the Maya collapse. In the last two years, we have discovered that there is a strong relationship between a tropical forest vegetation signature in IKONOS satellite imagery and the location of archaeological sites. We believe that the use of limestone and lime plasters in ancient Maya construction affects the moisture, nutrition, and plant species of the surface vegetation. We have mapped these vegetation signatures in the imagery and verified through field survey that they are indicative of archaeological sites. However, we have not yet determined the nature of the spectral signature in the imagery and that is a focus of our ongoing research. Through the use of remote sensing and GIS technology it is possible to identify unrecorded archaeological features in a dense tropical forest environment and monitor these cultural features for their protection.