title: Identifying Ancient Settlement Patterns through LiDAR in the Mosquitia Region of Honduras.
abstract: The Mosquitia ecosystem of Honduras occupies the fulcrum between the American continents and as such constitutes a critical region for understanding past patterns of socio-political development and interaction. Heavy vegetation, rugged topography, and remoteness have limited scientific investigation. This paper presents prehistoric patterns of settlement and landuse for a critical valley within the Mosquitia derived from airborne LiDAR scanning and field investigation. We show that (i) though today the valley is a wilderness it was densely inhabited in the past; (ii) that this population was organized into a three-tiered system composed of 19 settlements dominated by a city; and, (iii) that this occupation was embedded within a human engineered landscape. We also add to a growing body of literature that demonstrates the utility of LiDAR as means for rapid cultural assessments in undocumented regions for analysis and conservation. Our ultimate hope is for our work to promote protections to safeguard the unique and critically endangered Mosquitia ecosystem and other similar areas in need of preservation.
authors: Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Christopher T
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3358-5415
authors: CT
authors: Fisher
authors: National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Juan Carlos
authors: JC
authors: Fernández-Diaz
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors: Anna S
authors: AS
authors: Cohen
authors: Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
authors: Oscar
authors: O
authors: Neil Cruz
authors: Independent Scholar, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors: Alicia M
authors: AM
authors: Gonzáles
authors: Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Stephen J
authors: SJ
authors: Leisz
authors: Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Florencia
authors: F
authors: Pezzutti
authors: National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Ramesh
authors: R
authors: Shrestha
authors: National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors: William
authors: W
authors: Carter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods; D002947:Cities; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D005843:Geography; D006721:Honduras; D006801:Humans; D065947:Rainforest; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology / Q000379:methods*; D063809:Satellite Imagery / Q000379:methods*; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology*