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Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies

University of Arkansas

Archaeological GIS and Mapping

Home » Research » Archaeology/Historic Preservation » Archaeological Geomatics » Archaeological GIS and Mapping

The application and development of powerful new mapping and analytical approaches to archaeological and heritage resources is one way in which the Center and it's collaborators apply geomatics, in addition to HDS, geophysics, photogrammetry and others. The projects  have demonstrated the effectiveness of archaeological methods and the deployment of tools that offer an opportunity to recover a great deal of information about site content while reducing costs associated with traditional archaeological survey and excavation. For example, archaeological remains and cultural behavior expressed through micro-topography can be revealed using high-precision mapping techniques. High-resolution topographic mapping can be used to locate and identify morphological features in previously investigated sites with the important benefit of being non-invasive and non-destructive in nature. Various 3D GIS methods can be used to explore and represent archaeological cave sites - whose complex geometries challenge traditional mapping.

In an early application of true 3D mapping to an archaeological site, the Palaeoanthropology Unit for Research and Exploration at the University of the Witwatersrand in conjunction with the University of Arkansas' department of Anthropology and the Center recognized the need for the Swartkrans 3D GIS Project. Swartkrans was used as the pilot site to demonstrate how GIS technology is capable of deriving new or enhanced information from existing data and facilitating current methods of analyses.

Double Ditch is known for its significant topographic variations that define two fortification ditches, numerous depressions over former houses and borrow pits, and mounds as tall as 3 m. The Microtopographic Survey at Double Ditch was conducted by Dr Ken Kvamme and his students using the Center's robotic total station  in 2004 to aid in the interpretation of archaeological and remote sensing data from a four year project.

Between November of 2003 and May of 2004, the site of Leetown at Pea Ridge National Military Park was subjected to a series of geophysical surveys, including microtopographic mapping for the Microtopography at Pea Ridge National Park. 

Dr Ken Kvamme and his collaborators conducted an innovative application of low altitude Aerial Archaeology at Double Ditch using a powered parachute as a platform to gather digital color video, high resolution color stills, and thermal imaging.