SETTLEMENT, AGRICULTURE, AND ENVIRONMENT AT AVENTURA, BELIZE: RESULTS OF NEW LIDAR RESEARCH

Abstract

In 2009, the first LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) was flown over Caracol, Belize, transforming our understanding of Maya settlement, agriculture, and environment, and positioning the country of Belize as a leader in this transformation. Flown a decade later in 2019, this article reports on an 18 square kilometer LiDAR survey at Aventura, northern Belize. The National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping at the University of Houston used an Optech Titan sensor, the world’s first multispectral airborne LiDAR sensor, in the Aventura LiDAR survey. With approximately 25 points per square meter, we were able to maximize our detection of smaller features, as documented in ground truthing. LiDAR has two primary uses: (1) locating previously unidentified sites and (2) providing a complex human geography of ancient places that link people and land. This paper highlights how LiDAR facilitates the development of a human geography of ancient places. At Aventura, LiDAR research illustrates a human geography that links people, settlement, agricultural, and environment. Raised field agricultural systems at Aventura along the New River, and systems of bajos and pocket bajos, provide a window into understanding Aventura’s environmental positioning, wetland resources, and agrarian roots and insight into a broader New River agricultural-environmental system.