Digital Terrain Analysis Reveals New Insights into the Topographic Context of Australian Aboriginal Stone Arrangements

Bibliographic Data

ID12430293
AuthorsW Boone Law (0000-0002-9803-4924, School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide SA 5005 Australia, corresponding author), Michael Slack (0000-0002-8718-9189, Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences), Michael J Slack (Scarp Archaeology Pty Ltd PO Box 191 Terrey Hills NSW 2084 Australia), Berndt Ostendorf (0000-0002-5868-3567, School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide SA 5005 Australia), Megan Lewis (0000-0003-1203-6281, School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide SA 5005 Australia)
Year2017
Volume24
Issue2
Pages169-179
Publication date2017-02-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeological Prospection (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1075-2196 • E-ISSN: 1099-0763
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arp.1567
OpenAlexW2589048847
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited18

Satellite‐derived surface elevation models are an important resource for landscape archaeological studies. Digital elevation data is useful for classifying land features, characterizing terrain morphology, and discriminating the geomorphic context of archaeological phenomena. This paper shows how remotely sensed elevation data obtained from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Advanced Land Observing Satellite was integrated with local land system spatial data to digitally classify the topographic slope position of seven broad land classes. The motivation of our research was to employ an objective method that would allow researchers to geomorphometrically discriminate the topographic context of Aboriginal stone arrangements, an important archaeological site type in the Pilbara region of northwest Australia. The resulting digital terrain model demonstrates that stone arrangement sites are strongly correlated with upper topographic land features, a finding that contradicts previous site recordings and fundamentally changes our understanding of where stone arrangement sites are likely to have been constructed. The outcome of this research provides investigators with a stronger foundation for testing hypotheses and developing archaeological models. To some degree, our results also hint at the possible functions of stone arrangements, which have largely remained enigmatic to researchers. © 2017 The Authors. Archaeological Prospection Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Archaeology · Cartography · Context (archaeology · Digital elevation model · Elevation (ballistics · Geography · Landform · Physical geography · Prospection · Remote sensing · Resource (disambiguation · Satellite imagery · Terrain · 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Computer Science · Engineering · Geology

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