Corona Photographs in Monsoonal Semi‐arid Environments

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

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12429598
AutoresFrancesc C Conesa (0000-0002-4026-7266, CaSEs ‐ Complexity and Socio‐Ecological Dynamics Research Group, autor correspondente), 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)
Ano2014
Volume22
Fascículo2
Páginas75-90
Data de publicação2014-10-31
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoArchaeological Prospection (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1075-2196 • E-ISSN: 1099-0763
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arp.1498
OpenAlexW1927361940
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências 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