Anthropology professor is skeptical about LiDAR Maya hype
February 15, 2018
Archaeologists are seeing the Maya culture in a whole new light thanks to an emerging technology that has identified countless new buildings that had been hidden for centuries.
It’s called LiDAR, and it digitally removes the tree canopy from aerial images of the ruins. It has exposed thousands of former homes, palaces, elevated roads, urban centers, complex irrigation systems and other signs of advanced civilization in the jungles of northern Guatemala. The 800-mile stretch that was mapped is considered one of the largest data sets ever obtained for archaeological research and a major breakthrough. ASU Now turned to Michael E. Smith, a professor of anthropology in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, for answers.
https://asunow.asu.edu/20180214-discoveries-anthropology-professor-skeptical-about-lidar-technology
