The Use of LiDAR at the Maya Site of Caracol, Belize

Abstract

With its ability to penetrate dense tropical canopies, LiDAR is ­revolutionizing how ancient Mesoamerican landscapes are recorded. Locating ancient sites in the Maya area of Central America traditionally employed a variety of techniques, ranging from on-the-ground survey to aerial and satellite imagery. Because of dense vegetation covering most ancient remains, archaeological documentation of the extent of archaeological sites using traditional means was both difficult and usually incomplete. LiDAR was initially applied to the site of Caracol, Belize in April 2009 and yielded a 200 sq km Digital Elevation Model that, for the first time, provided a complete view of how the archaeological remains from a single Maya site – its monumental architecture, roads, residential settlement, and agricultural terraces – were distributed over the landscape. With the detailed information that can be extracted from this technology, LiDAR is significantly changing our perceptions of ancient Maya civilization by demonstrating both its pervasive anthropogenic landscapes and the scale of its urban settlements.