Reconstructions of local resource procurement networks at Cerro Baúl, Peru using multispectral ASTER satellite imagery and geospatial modeling

Abstract

Multispectral remote sensing is increasingly common in archaeology, but is largely oriented towards site-detection applications. A high-resolution approach using ASTER data to map environmental and geological resources in the vicinity of Cerro Baúl is outlined here. Spectral mapping evaluates several band ratio and relative band depth image transforms that target diagnostic reflectance/absorption features of earth materials. Available geological resources had a high degree of spatial heterogeneity, which conditioned household strategies for obtaining raw materials. However, some variability cannot be explained by the geological environment alone. Using Minimum Convex Polygons and Kernel Density home-territory estimates, I outline the spatial organization of resource networks that differed from household to household. Differences in household resource networks suggest that socio-economic factors conditioned the use of materials, including locally-available ones. These results demonstrate the utility of multispectral remote sensing to construct palaeoecological models on a scale congruent with archaeological questions.