Satellite Remote Sensing for Archaeology

307 Pages·2009·10.28 MB·English

by  Sarah H. Parcak

SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING FOR
ARCHAEOLOGY
Thishandbookisthefirstcomprehensiveoverviewofthefieldofsatelliteremotesens-
ing for archaeology and of how it can be applied to ongoing archaelogical fieldwork
projects across the globe. It provides a survey of the history and development of the
field, connecting satellite remote sensing, archaeological method and theory, cultural
resourcemanagement,andenvironmentalstudies.Withafocusonthepracticaluseof
satellite remote sensing, Sarah H. Parcak evaluates satellite imagery types and remote
sensing analysis techniques specific to the discovery, preservation, and management of
archaeologicalsites.
Case studies from Asia, Central America, and the Middle East are explored, includ-
ing Xi’an, China, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, and Egypt’s floodplains. In-field surveying
techniquesparticulartosatelliteremotesensingareemphasized,providingstrategiesfor
recordingancientfeaturesonthegroundasobservedfromspace.Thebookalsodiscusses
broaderissuesrelatingtoarchaeologicalremotesensingethics,lootingprevention,and
archaeologicalsitepreservation. Newsensingresearchisincludedandillustratedwith
theinclusionofover160satelliteimagesofancientsites.
Withacompanionwebsitewithfurtherresourcesandcolourimages,SatelliteRemote
Sensing for Archaeology will provide anyone interested in scientific applications to
uncovering past archaeological landscapes with a foundation for future research and
study.
SarahH.Parcak,PhD,isanAssistantProfessorofAnthropologyattheUniversityof
Alabama at Birmingham, USA and Director of the University’s Laboratory of Global
HealthObservation.ShedirectstheMiddleEgyptSurveyProject,andisco-Directorof
theSurveyandExcavationProjectsinEgypt.

SATELLITE REMOTE
SENSING FOR
ARCHAEOLOGY
Sarah H. Parcak
Firstpublished2009
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
270MadisonAve.,NewYork,NY10016
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,
aninformabusiness
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
©2009SarahH.Parcak
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilizedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,
orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermission
inwritingfromthepublishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Acataloguerecordforthisbookisavailable
fromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Parcak,SarahH.
Satelliteremotesensingforarcheaology/SarahH.Parcak
p.cm.
1.Archaeology–Remotesensing.2.Imagingsystemsinarchaeology.
3.Remote-sensingimages4.Archaeology–Fieldwork.5.Excavations
(Archaeology)6.Historicsites–Conservationandrestoration.
7.Antiquities–Collectionandpreservation.8.Archaeology–Methodology.
9.Archaeology–Moralandethicalaspects.10.Archaeologists–Professional
ethics.I.Title.
CC76.4.P372009
930.10285–dc22 2008040045
ISBN 0-203-88146-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10:0-415-44877-8(hbk)
ISBN10:0-415-44878-6(pbk)
ISBN10:0-203-88146-X(ebk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-44877-2(hbk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-44878-9(pbk)
ISBN13:978-0-203-88146-0(ebk)
FOR GRAMPY AND GREG
(WHO FINALLY MEET)

CONTENTS
Listofillustrations x
Listoftables xv
Preface xvi
Acknowledgements xviii
1 Introduction 1
2 Ahistoryofsatelliteremotesensingforarchaeology 13
Overview 13
1900s–1930s 14
1940s–1960s 18
1970s 20
1980s 23
1990s 28
2000onwards 31
3 Satelliteimagetypes 41
Overview 41
GoogleEarth™ 43
NASAWorldWind 51
CoronaHighResolutionSpacePhotography/KH-7/KH-9 52
KVR-1000 58
Landsat 58
SPOT 65
ASTER 67
SRTM 70
Highresolutionimagery:QuickbirdandIKONOS 72
RADAR(SIR-A,SIR-B,SIR-C,X-SAR) 73
LIDAR 76
Otherairbornesensors:RADARSAT,airbornethermalradiometry 78
Dataquality 79
vii
CONTENTS
4 Processingtechniquesandimageryanalysis 81
Overview 81
Imageryprocessingprograms 84
Integratingsatelliteimagesandaerialphotographsandvisual
interpretation 85
Georeferencing 88
Bandcombinations 91
NormalizedDifferenceVegetationIndex 92
Classification 94
Thresholding 97
PrincipalComponentsAnalysis 97
LandUseLandCoverChanges 99
DEMtechniques 100
Hyperspectralstudies 101
Filtering 102
RADAR/LIDARanalysistechniques 104
GISandremotesensing 106
Combinedtechniques 109
Towardsautomatedarchaeologicalsitedetection? 110
5 Landscapeapproachesandprojectdesign 113
Overview 113
Landscapetypes 117
Featuretypes 131
Howmuchcansatellitesdetect? 144
6 Casestudies 147
Overview 147
ThePeten,Guatemala 147
AngkorWat,Cambodia 151
Xi’an,China 155
Ubar,Oman 158
Homs,Syria 160
TheDeltaandMiddleEgypt 165
Conclusion 170
7 Remotesensingandsurvey 173
Overview 173
Recordingsheetoverview 192
Examplerecordingsheet 201
Conclusion 202
viii
CONTENTS
8 Conservation,heritagemanagement,andtheethicsofremote
sensingforarchaeology 205
Overview 205
Conservationandheritagemanagement 208
Ethics 220
9 Conclusion 233
Bibliography 243
Index 275
ix