Archaeologist uses satellite imagery to explore ancient Mexico

Adds Messinger: “Applications of remote sensing have long been a motivating factor for our technology work in the field of remote sensing, and the chance to work closely with an end-user here at RIT is a fantastic opportunity for our students and faculty. By learning more about how the technology can help in this application, we will be in a much better position to guide our future sensor development and algorithmic research.”

The technology works by differentiating materials on the ground on the basis of reflected light. Objects that look the same in visible light may have very different reflective properties when sampled across the spectrum.

“When you put the data back together as a picture you begin to see things you couldn’t see before, and you can make distinctions that to your eyes look the same,” Middleton says.

Satellite imagery covering more than 30,000 square kilometers will help Middleton identify different plant species, environments and ecosystems, and acres of arable land or mineral resources surrounding particular sites.

“We can start looking at the relationship between ancient cities and ancient human settlements in a way that no one has really been able to do before,” Middleton says.

The new landscape map will also show how development has changed the region since the first survey conducted 30 years ago.

“We will be able to compare the then-and-now images and be able to make a very good assessment of what we have lost in the past several decades as a result of development,” Middleton says.

Another aspect of the NASA-funded project will focus on environmental change. This part of the study, done in conjunction with colleagues at the University of Colorado at Boulder will analyze plant microfossils in sediment samples collected from a variety of locations, including areas where streams expose sediment layers 10,000 years old.

“Roughly 10,000 years ago, Oaxaca was wetter than it is today,” Middleton says. “Today it’s classified as semi-arid, and the dominant vegetation in the valley is thorn-scrub forest. Ten thousand years ago, it was a grassland and there were horses there.”

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