Imagine what future generations will discover, long after we're gone. "Man, that civilization really liked cul-de-sacs!"
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Free is Good.
15
Fascinating research and great photos and information.
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The cost of lidar itself is actually not particularly expensive. Over the past 10 years, hardware and software have improved by leaps and bounds and costs have dropped considerably. As for deployment and flying - those expenses aren't going down anytime soon. Planes, helicopters, and drones (substantial enough to carry lidar setups) are pricey.
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In an anthropology class at Carnegie-Mellon in the late 1960s, the professor asked us to imagine the room we were in as a far-in-the-future archeological site. Large slabs of slate (the blackboards) would be the few largely un-decayed elements at the site. Our consensus: the place must have been a pool hall. Hunh! That class was a lesson in subjectivity. This article takes the field of surveying to a new level. Thanks!
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I've visited several Classic Maya sites in Mexico and Guatemala, and I recommend them to all travelers. These lidar scans will add immensely to our understanding of that brilliant civilization. I'd like to see more articles about the archaeological application of lidar, not just in Mexico but elsewhere around the world.
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I wish they somehow could have kept this quiet.
I am sure the looting has begun.
22
Drone based LIDAR will be the next really big tool in archaeology.
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@Getagrip
It already is but is limited to relatively small areas compared to scans from large aircraft.
11
fascinating! Thanks for this article.
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Remarkable work!
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The power of publicly funded science
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Lidar is obviously crucial technology, so why isn't it free for the sake of scientific knowledge?
8
I bet LIDAR can help us find other "lost" civilizations and peoples. It offers new opportunities to learn more about those who came before us.
23
cool!
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