Search for: All records

ABSTRACT This article presents results from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) aerial remote sensing study to improve understanding of Pueblo agricultural features in the Northern Rio Grande area of New Mexico that were in use by the 13th centuryad. It builds on previous archaeological research that has focused on recording precontact and historic Pueblo agricultural practices, pollen analyses and paleoclimatic reconstruction. Evidence suggests that Pueblo people were successfully growing crops including maize, cotton and wheat, in areas where, based on environmental conditions, they could not necessarily grow. This study seeks to better understand the environmental modifications employed by Pueblo peoples to enable growth of these crops. Cobble‐bordered gravel mulch field systems, thought to retain heat and moisture, are located throughout the study area. This article discusses the utility of airborne photogrammetry to locate and map gravel mulch fields on the landscape. Geographic information system (GIS) analysis of the UAS‐derived digital surface model includes slope, aspect and water flow direction and sink to shed light on gravel mulch field function. The article also discusses the potential of handheld and airborne infrared imaging for assessing the thermoregulation of these fields. Final consideration of how the survey results align with the priorities of the Tewa people for future arid‐land farming demonstrates additional utility of the approach. 

Many communities in southwestern Madagascar rely on a mix of foraging, fishing, farming, and herding, with cattle central to local cultures, rituals, and intergenerational wealth transfer. Today these livelihoods are critically threatened by the intensifying effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. Improved understanding of ancient community-environment dynamics can help identify pathways to livelihood sustainability. Multidisciplinary approaches have great potential to improve our understanding of human-environment interactions across spatio-temporal scales. We combine archaeological survey data, oral history interviews, and high-resolution multispectral PlanetScope imagery to explore 400 years of human-environment interaction in the Namonte Basin. Our analysis reveals that settlement and land-use led to significant changes in the region’s ecology, both during periods of occupation and after settlement abandonment. Human activity over this period may have stabilized vegetative systems, whereby seasonal changes in vegetative health were reduced compared to surrounding locations. These ecological legacies may have buffered communities against unpredictable climate challenges.