Airborne Lidar Survey, Density-Based Clustering, and Ancient Maya Settlement in the Upper Usumacinta River Region of Mexico and Guatemala

Charles Golden,Timothy Murtha,Morgan Clark,Alexandra Bazarsky,G. Van Kollias,Alejandra Roche Recinos,Juan Carlos Fernandez Diaz,Mark Agostini,Joshua Schnell,Socorro del Pilar Jiménez Álvarez,Shanti Morell-Hart,Whittaker Schroder,Andrew K. Scherer,Bethany Whitlock,Omar Alcover Firpi,Mallory Matsumoto

doi:10.3390/rs13204109

Abstract

We present results from the archaeological analysis of 331 km2 of high-resolution airborne lidar data collected in the Upper Usumacinta River basin of Mexico and Guatemala. Multiple visualizations of the DEM and multi-spectral data from four lidar transects crossing the Classic period (AD 350–900) Maya kingdoms centered on the sites of Piedras Negras, La Mar, and Lacanja Tzeltal permitted the identification of ancient settlement and associated features of agricultural infrastructure. HDBSCAN (hierarchical density-based clustering of applications with noise) cluster analysis was applied to the distribution of ancient structures to define urban, peri-urban, sub-urban, and rural settlement zones. Interpretations of these remotely sensed data are informed by decades of ground-based archaeological survey and excavations, as well as a rich historical record drawn from inscribed stone monuments. Our results demonstrate that these neighboring kingdoms in three adjacent valleys exhibit divergent patterns of structure clustering and low-density urbanism, distributions of agricultural infrastructure, and economic practices during the Classic period. Beyond meeting basic subsistence needs, agricultural production in multiple areas permitted surpluses likely for the purposes of tribute, taxation, and marketing. More broadly, this research highlights the strengths of HDBSCAN to the archaeological study of settlement distributions when compared to more commonly applied methods of density-based cluster analysis.

Highlights

The analyses presented here build on a decade of research in the neotropics and elsewhere that have demonstrated the unprecedented ability of lidar to penetrate the often-dense jungle canopy, facilitating the identification of premodern architecture and anthropogenic landscape modifications through the production of ‘bare earth’ digital elevation models (DEMs) e.g., [7,8,9,10,11,22]; though for alternative terminology see [23,24]
Some singular GPS points provide details on multiple anthropogenic features associated with those points and recorded in the course of field research; for instance a single GPS point may designate a group of buildings around a patio, and all of the features are considered ground-verified where substantiated by field notes
Pandemic restrictions on travel imposed by the authors’ universities during much of 2020 and 2021 largely prevented us from ground-verifying points since lidar data collection in 2019; we have been able to coordinate with local colleagues in Mexico to verify features provisionally identified in our data analysis, including those related to agricultural intensification

Summary

Introduction

Lidar (light detection and ranging) survey in the Upper Usumacinta River region of Mexico and Guatemala, with a particular focus on significant differences in settlement patterns, Remote Sens. We present here the findings from the first extensive, high-resolution (>15 pulses/m2). Lidar (light detection and ranging) survey in the Upper Usumacinta River region of Mexico and Guatemala, with a particular focus on significant differences in settlement patterns, settlement density, and land use in adjacent within this landscape of the settlement density, and land use in adjacent polities polities within this landscape of the Western Maya Lowlands.

Results

Discussion

Conclusion