Ground-penetrating radar for landscape archaeology: Method and applications

Ground-penetrating radar mapping allows for a three-dimensional analysis of archaeological features within the context of landscape studies. The method’s ability to measure the intensity of radar reflections from as deep as 5 meters in the ground can produce images and maps of buried features not visible on the surface. A study was conducted in the desert of the American Southwest to study the buried remains of ceremonial architecture within one valley in southern Utah. In this area large circular depressions on the ground were thought to be the remains of ceremonial buildings called kivas, indicating a connection of the people that lived there to a powerful and influential city to the south called Chaco. The ground-penetrating radar analysis of these features, however, showed them to be small family-sized kivas with associated roomblocks, which does not support these people’s strong connection to the city to the south. When these buildings were mapped and then placed within the river valley, it was determined that each was likely the product of a single family or extended family, who probably lived by subsistence agriculture. This study shows the applicability of using three-dimensional GPR analysis to place the built-environment within its landscape in order to test ideas about and explain social factors and connections that were in place during prehistoric times.