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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Archaeological Gis Analysis Of Raised Field Agriculture In The Bolivian Amazon, Thomas W. Lee
Archaeological Gis Analysis Of Raised Field Agriculture In The Bolivian Amazon, Thomas W. Lee
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Modern agricultural systems have been criticized for their detrimental effects on the environment and a general emphasis on crop yield rather than long-term sustainability. Traditional forms of agriculture may provide case-specific examples of sustainable alternatives for contemporary societies. In the seasonally inundated savannas of the Llanos de Mojos, pre-Columbian Indians piled earth into ‘large raised field platforms’ elevated high enough above the floodplain to allow crops to grow. Archaeological evidence indicates that raised field agriculture supported much larger populations than those found in the Beni today. The examination of satellite imagery has revealed more than 40,000 individual fields spread across …
Spatial Patterns Of Raised Fields And Linguistic Diversity In Mojos, Beni, Bolivia, Elimarie Garcia-Cosme
Spatial Patterns Of Raised Fields And Linguistic Diversity In Mojos, Beni, Bolivia, Elimarie Garcia-Cosme
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Throughout Amazonia, earthworks are found in areas of diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. The distribution of these earthworks within various linguistic and ethnic areas suggests a multiethnic or multilinguistic network, in which interaction between these diverse groups occurred, creating diverse communities. Movement and communication within Amazonia along river networks allowed for this interaction. Interaction between groups in Amazonia may have also influenced the different methods of landscape modification. This thesis presents a GIS-based spatial analysis of raised fields, a type of agricultural earthwork found throughout the Llanos de Mojos (Mojos), located in the Beni Department of Bolivia. The distribution of …
A Spatial Analysis Of Chachapoya Mortuary Practices At La Petaca, Chachapoyas, Peru, Lori Epstein
A Spatial Analysis Of Chachapoya Mortuary Practices At La Petaca, Chachapoyas, Peru, Lori Epstein
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Diversity of Chachapoya mortuary practices is not well understood archaeologically, even though the region has received some attention for the monumental constructions and visually striking mortuary complexes located high on open cliff faces. This may be due to the difficult accessibility and often poor state of preservation consistent with many Chachapoya mortuary and occupation sites. This thesis reconstructs mortuary practices at La Petaca in the Chachapoyas region of Peru, applying paleodemographic and GIS methodological approaches to facilitate and improve the bioarchaeological study of commingled skeletal remains in an open, disturbed communal funerary context. Research focused on SUP CF-01, a natural …
Traversing The Terrain: A Least Cost Analysis On Intersite Causeways In The Maya Region, Alexander Rivas
Traversing The Terrain: A Least Cost Analysis On Intersite Causeways In The Maya Region, Alexander Rivas
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The study of ancient Maya causeways is crucial for understanding Maya social and spatial organization. Archaeologists have been interested in Maya causeways for decades, specifically documenting their locations. More recently, the use of Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, has been used for understanding the spatial organization of archaeological sites. GIS analyses on ancient Maya causeways however have been very limited. This thesis aims to evaluate ancient Maya causeways through GIS analysis. Specifically, five intersite causeway systems are looked at: the Mirador Basin, Yaxuna-Coba-Ixil, Uxmal-Nohpat-Kabah, Ake-Izamal-Kantunil, and Uci-Kancab-Ukana- Cansahcab. These causeway systems were evaluated using least-cost paths based on the terrain. …
Geographic And Environmental Influence On Maya Settlement Patterns Of The Northwest Yucatan: An Explanation For The Sparsely Settled Western Cenote Zone, Patrick Rohrer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Most settlement pattern research and GIS analysis of the ancient Maya of the Northern Yucatan have focused on water availability in a dry landscape where cenotes are often the only water source. While water is of paramount importance, permanent settlement secondarily requires farmable soil, a resource often as precious as water in many parts of the Yucatan. The dynamics between these resources reveal areas of ideal settlement and more challenging landscapes for which the Maya developed strategies to overcome environmental conditions. A region of the southwest "Cenote Zone", however, appears to have presented the ancient Maya with insurmountably poor environmental …
Integrating Differential Global Positioning Systems And Geographic Information Systems For Analysis And Mapping Of Skeletal Dispersals, Brittany Walter
Integrating Differential Global Positioning Systems And Geographic Information Systems For Analysis And Mapping Of Skeletal Dispersals, Brittany Walter
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Scene mapping is an integral part of processing a forensic scene with scattered human remains. By utilizing the appropriate mapping technique, investigators can accurately document the location of human remains and maintain a precise geospatial record of this evidence at a scene. Global positioning system (GPS) units have been used for years to survey the spatial distribution of large-scale archaeological sites. However, differential global positioning (DGPS) unit now provide decreased positional error suitable for small-scale surveys, such as forensic scenes. Because of the lack of knowledge concerning this utility in mapping a scene, controlled research is necessary to determine the …