Juan Carlos Fernandez-Diaz
Biographic Data
| ID | 1934282 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Juan Carlos Fernandez-Diaz |
| GIVEN NAMES | Juan Carlos |
| FAMILY NAME | Fernandez-Diaz |
| SIGNATURE | FERNANDEZ-DIAZ J C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Houston |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3703-7555 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 55 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
New regional-scale Classic Maya population density estimates and settlement distribution models through airborne lidar scanning
Running out of empty space: Environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico
As airborne lidar surveys reveal a growing sample of urbanised tropical landscapes, questions linger about the sampling bias of such research leading to inflated estimates of urban extent and population magnitude. 'Found' datasets from remote sensing conducted for non-archaeological purposes and thus not subject to archaeological site bias, provide an opportunity to address these concerns through pseudorandom sampling. Here, the authors present t…
Architecture, wealth and status in Classic Maya urbanism revealed by airborne lidar mapping
Exploring the Nature of Authority Over, and Ownership of Data Generated by Archaeological Lidar Projects in Latin America
Data ownership and accessibility are critical issues across academia, but especially in fields that touch upon digital heritage that relates to pre-colonial/colonial societies. Who can access spatial datasets about pre-colonial landscapes, who is writing about these topics, and who, by extension, is considered an authority on these topics? This paper explores data ownership, gender, and local affiliation by examining publications on archaeologica…
Cultural Landscapes of Resilience and Vulnerability: The Selin Farm Site, Northeastern Honduras
Research at the Selin Farm site in northeastern Honduras examined changing cultural landscapes in a region whose prehistory is poorly understood. Low-impact field methods and radiocarbon dates reveal how this cultural landscape changed in response to shifting priorities among its inhabitants from a.d. 300–1000. We found evidence for rapid accumulation of deposits beginning around a.d. 600, when the site nearly doubled in size over the span of jus…
Origins and spread of formal ceremonial complexes in the Olmec and Maya regions revealed by airborne lidar
Monumental architecture at Aguada Fénix and the rise of Maya civilization
Whose Data Is It Anyway? Lessons in Data Management and Sharing from Resurrecting and Repurposing Lidar Data for Archaeology Research in Honduras
As a response to Hurricane Mitch and the resulting widespread loss of life and destruction of Honduran infrastructure in 1998, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted the first wide-area airborne lidar topographic mapping project in Central America. The survey was executed by the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin (BEG) in 2000, and it was intended to cover 240 square kilometers distributed among 15 flood…
Structure’ density, area, and volume as complementary tools to understand Maya Settlement: An analysis of lidar data along the great road between Coba and Yaxuna
Ancient lowland Maya complexity as revealed by airborne laser scanning of northern Guatemala
Classic Maya civilization in detail Lidar (a type of airborne laser scanning) provides a powerful technique for three-dimensional mapping of topographic features. It is proving to be a valuable tool in archaeology, particularly where the remains of structures may be hidden beneath forest canopies. Canuto et al. present lidar data covering more than 2000 square kilometers of lowland Guatemala, which encompasses ancient settlements of the Classic M…
The application of airborne mapping LiDAR for the documentation of ancient cities and regions in tropical regions
Progression and Issues in the Mesoamerican Geospatial Revolution: An Introduction
The use of airborne mapping lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), a.k.a airborne laser scanning (ALS), has had a major impact on archaeological research being carried out in Mesoamerica. Since being introduced in 2009, mapping lidar has revolutionized the spatial parameters of Mesoamerican, and especially Maya, archaeology by permitting the recovery of a complete landscape and settlement pattern for further analysis. However, like any new technolo…
Boots on the Ground at Yaxnohcah: Ground-Truthing Lidar in a Complex Tropical Landscape
This study proposes a sampling method for ground-truthing LiDAR-derived data that will allow researchers to verify or predict the accuracy of results over a large area. Our case study is focused on a 24 km 2 area centered on the site of Yaxnohcah in the Yucatan Peninsula. This area is characterized by a variety of dense tropical rainforest and wetland vegetation zones with limited road and trail access. Twenty-one 100 x 100 m blocks were selected…
Mapping the Tres Zapotes Polity: The Effectiveness of Lidar in Tropical Alluvial Settings
Seasonal wetlands and exuberant crop growth present challenges to systematic archaeological survey in alluvial settings, particularly in the tropical lowlands. Lidar can reduce the time and cost required to survey such areas by allowing targeting of elevated features not buried under recent alluvium, but demographic interpretation requires estimating post-abandonment alluvial depths. The broad alluvial plain between the Papaloapan delta and the T…
Detection Thresholds of Archaeological Features in Airborne Lidar Data from Central Yucatán
In this article we evaluate ∼48km 2 of airborne lidar data collected at a target density of 15 laser shots/m in central Yucatán, Mexico. This area covers parts of the sites of Chichén Itzá and Yaxuná, a kilometer-wide transect between these two sites, and a transect along the first few kilometers of Sacbé 1 from Yaxuná to Cobá. The results of our ground validation and mapping demonstrate that not all sizable archaeological features can be detecte…
Now You See It… Now You Don’t: Understanding Airborne Mapping LiDAR Collection and Data Product Generation for Archaeological Research in Mesoamerica
In this paper we provide a description of airborne mapping LiDAR, also known as airborne laser scanning (ALS), technology and its workflow from mission planning to final data product generation, with a specific emphasis on archaeological research. ALS observations are highly customizable, and can be tailored to meet specific research needs. Thus it is important for an archaeologist to fully understand the options available during planning, collec…
Boots on the Ground at Yaxnohcah: Ground-Truthing Lidar in a Complex Tropical Landscape
This study proposes a sampling method for ground-truthing LiDAR-derived data that will allow researchers to verify or predict the accuracy of results over a large area. Our case study is focused on a 24 km 2 area centered on the site of Yaxnohcah in the Yucatan Peninsula. This area is characterized by a variety of dense tropical rainforest and wetland vegetation zones with limited road and trail access. Twenty-one 100 x 100 m blocks were selected…
Origins and spread of formal ceremonial complexes in the Olmec and Maya regions revealed by airborne lidar
Progression and Issues in the Mesoamerican Geospatial Revolution: An Introduction
The use of airborne mapping lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), a.k.a airborne laser scanning (ALS), has had a major impact on archaeological research being carried out in Mesoamerica. Since being introduced in 2009, mapping lidar has revolutionized the spatial parameters of Mesoamerican, and especially Maya, archaeology by permitting the recovery of a complete landscape and settlement pattern for further analysis. However, like any new technolo…
Detection Thresholds of Archaeological Features in Airborne Lidar Data from Central Yucatán
In this article we evaluate ∼48km 2 of airborne lidar data collected at a target density of 15 laser shots/m in central Yucatán, Mexico. This area covers parts of the sites of Chichén Itzá and Yaxuná, a kilometer-wide transect between these two sites, and a transect along the first few kilometers of Sacbé 1 from Yaxuná to Cobá. The results of our ground validation and mapping demonstrate that not all sizable archaeological features can be detecte…
Structure’ density, area, and volume as complementary tools to understand Maya Settlement: An analysis of lidar data along the great road between Coba and Yaxuna
Mapping the Tres Zapotes Polity: The Effectiveness of Lidar in Tropical Alluvial Settings
Seasonal wetlands and exuberant crop growth present challenges to systematic archaeological survey in alluvial settings, particularly in the tropical lowlands. Lidar can reduce the time and cost required to survey such areas by allowing targeting of elevated features not buried under recent alluvium, but demographic interpretation requires estimating post-abandonment alluvial depths. The broad alluvial plain between the Papaloapan delta and the T…
Running out of empty space: Environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico
As airborne lidar surveys reveal a growing sample of urbanised tropical landscapes, questions linger about the sampling bias of such research leading to inflated estimates of urban extent and population magnitude. 'Found' datasets from remote sensing conducted for non-archaeological purposes and thus not subject to archaeological site bias, provide an opportunity to address these concerns through pseudorandom sampling. Here, the authors present t…
Now You See It… Now You Don’t: Understanding Airborne Mapping LiDAR Collection and Data Product Generation for Archaeological Research in Mesoamerica
In this paper we provide a description of airborne mapping LiDAR, also known as airborne laser scanning (ALS), technology and its workflow from mission planning to final data product generation, with a specific emphasis on archaeological research. ALS observations are highly customizable, and can be tailored to meet specific research needs. Thus it is important for an archaeologist to fully understand the options available during planning, collec…
Progression and Issues in the Mesoamerican Geospatial Revolution: An Introduction
The use of airborne mapping lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), a.k.a airborne laser scanning (ALS), has had a major impact on archaeological research being carried out in Mesoamerica. Since being introduced in 2009, mapping lidar has revolutionized the spatial parameters of Mesoamerican, and especially Maya, archaeology by permitting the recovery of a complete landscape and settlement pattern for further analysis. However, like any new technolo…
Boots on the Ground at Yaxnohcah: Ground-Truthing Lidar in a Complex Tropical Landscape
This study proposes a sampling method for ground-truthing LiDAR-derived data that will allow researchers to verify or predict the accuracy of results over a large area. Our case study is focused on a 24 km 2 area centered on the site of Yaxnohcah in the Yucatan Peninsula. This area is characterized by a variety of dense tropical rainforest and wetland vegetation zones with limited road and trail access. Twenty-one 100 x 100 m blocks were selected…
Mapping the Tres Zapotes Polity: The Effectiveness of Lidar in Tropical Alluvial Settings
Seasonal wetlands and exuberant crop growth present challenges to systematic archaeological survey in alluvial settings, particularly in the tropical lowlands. Lidar can reduce the time and cost required to survey such areas by allowing targeting of elevated features not buried under recent alluvium, but demographic interpretation requires estimating post-abandonment alluvial depths. The broad alluvial plain between the Papaloapan delta and the T…
Detection Thresholds of Archaeological Features in Airborne Lidar Data from Central Yucatán
In this article we evaluate ∼48km 2 of airborne lidar data collected at a target density of 15 laser shots/m in central Yucatán, Mexico. This area covers parts of the sites of Chichén Itzá and Yaxuná, a kilometer-wide transect between these two sites, and a transect along the first few kilometers of Sacbé 1 from Yaxuná to Cobá. The results of our ground validation and mapping demonstrate that not all sizable archaeological features can be detecte…
The application of airborne mapping LiDAR for the documentation of ancient cities and regions in tropical regions
Ancient lowland Maya complexity as revealed by airborne laser scanning of northern Guatemala
Classic Maya civilization in detail Lidar (a type of airborne laser scanning) provides a powerful technique for three-dimensional mapping of topographic features. It is proving to be a valuable tool in archaeology, particularly where the remains of structures may be hidden beneath forest canopies. Canuto et al. present lidar data covering more than 2000 square kilometers of lowland Guatemala, which encompasses ancient settlements of the Classic M…
Structure’ density, area, and volume as complementary tools to understand Maya Settlement: An analysis of lidar data along the great road between Coba and Yaxuna
Monumental architecture at Aguada Fénix and the rise of Maya civilization
Whose Data Is It Anyway? Lessons in Data Management and Sharing from Resurrecting and Repurposing Lidar Data for Archaeology Research in Honduras
As a response to Hurricane Mitch and the resulting widespread loss of life and destruction of Honduran infrastructure in 1998, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted the first wide-area airborne lidar topographic mapping project in Central America. The survey was executed by the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin (BEG) in 2000, and it was intended to cover 240 square kilometers distributed among 15 flood…
Origins and spread of formal ceremonial complexes in the Olmec and Maya regions revealed by airborne lidar
Exploring the Nature of Authority Over, and Ownership of Data Generated by Archaeological Lidar Projects in Latin America
Data ownership and accessibility are critical issues across academia, but especially in fields that touch upon digital heritage that relates to pre-colonial/colonial societies. Who can access spatial datasets about pre-colonial landscapes, who is writing about these topics, and who, by extension, is considered an authority on these topics? This paper explores data ownership, gender, and local affiliation by examining publications on archaeologica…
Cultural Landscapes of Resilience and Vulnerability: The Selin Farm Site, Northeastern Honduras
Research at the Selin Farm site in northeastern Honduras examined changing cultural landscapes in a region whose prehistory is poorly understood. Low-impact field methods and radiocarbon dates reveal how this cultural landscape changed in response to shifting priorities among its inhabitants from a.d. 300–1000. We found evidence for rapid accumulation of deposits beginning around a.d. 600, when the site nearly doubled in size over the span of jus…
Architecture, wealth and status in Classic Maya urbanism revealed by airborne lidar mapping
Running out of empty space: Environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico
As airborne lidar surveys reveal a growing sample of urbanised tropical landscapes, questions linger about the sampling bias of such research leading to inflated estimates of urban extent and population magnitude. 'Found' datasets from remote sensing conducted for non-archaeological purposes and thus not subject to archaeological site bias, provide an opportunity to address these concerns through pseudorandom sampling. Here, the authors present t…
New regional-scale Classic Maya population density estimates and settlement distribution models through airborne lidar scanning
Archaeological Research and Protection (15 works) · Archaeology (15 works) · Geography (15 works) · Lidar (11 works) · Remote sensing (11 works) · 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage (10 works) · Maya (9 works) · Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications (7 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (6 works) · Cartography (6 works)