Corona Photographs in Monsoonal Semi‐arid Environments

Addressing Archaeological Surveys and Historic Landscape Dynamics over North Gujarat, India

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12429598
AutoresFrancesc C Conesa (0000-0002-4026-7266, CaSEs ‐ Complexity and Socio‐Ecological Dynamics Research Group, autor de correspondencia), Marco Madella (0000-0002-9324-1545, CaSEs ‐ Complexity and Socio‐Ecological Dynamics Research Group), Nikolaos Galiatsatos (0000-0002-0425-1662, Department of Geography University of Durham Lower Mountjoy, South Road Durham DH1 3LE UK), Andrea L Balbo (0000-0002-3906-375X, CaSEs ‐ Complexity and Socio‐Ecological Dynamics Research Group), S V Rajesh (Department of Archaeology University of Kerala, Kariavattom Campus Kariavattom 695 581 Thiruvananthapuram India), P Ajithprasad (Department of Archaeology and Ancient History The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda 390 002 Vadodara India)
Año2014
Volumen22
Número2
Páginas75-90
Fecha de publicación2014-10-31
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArchaeological Prospection (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1075-2196 • E-ISSN: 1099-0763
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arp.1498
OpenAlexW1927361940
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas62

Here we illustrate a ground map approach that uses orthorectified CORONA KH4B images and declassified topographical maps to study historical land‐use dynamics and to help planning archaeological survey in the monsoonal semi‐arid alluvial plains of North Gujarat, India. In spite of its generalized use in archaeological applications, CORONA photographs have rarely been used in Indian archaeological contexts. The methods discuss a cost‐effective and integrated protocol for: (i) obtaining ground control points (GCPs) and orthorectify CORONA photographs when very high‐resolution imagery or detailed topographic maps are not available; and (ii) evaluating the integration of declassified datasets into Google Earth Pro for addressing archaeological surveys in remote areas. The merging of CORONA imagery with declassified USA and the former USSR historical military maps provided a picture of the human–environment interaction in North Gujarat of the past 40 years, prior to the intense development of mechanical agriculture and regional irrigation channels. We conclude by identifying the human and climate‐induced taphonomical processes that are obliterating a fragile landscape characterized by archaeological scatters located in fossilized sand dunes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Archaeology · Arid · Corona (planetary geology · Geography · Physical geography · Remote sensing · 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Paleontology