GIS in Latin America Webinar Series: Geospatial Data and Human-Centered Landscapes in Guatemala

2.1.2021
Omar Alcover Firpi, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The incorporation of technologies like Lidar and photogrammetry in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can facilitate the documentation of archaeological sites and landscapes at greater scale and precision than before. In the forests of northern Guatemala, this combination of remotely sensed data and GIS has allowed archaeologists to “see” beyond the jungle canopy, revealing the extent to which the Indigenous communities of this region modified their landscapes over time.

In this talk, Alcover will discuss the advantages and the limitations of employing these technologies in archaeological research, making a case for why geospatial data is best understood within Indigenous systems of knowledge and conceptions of space. Alcover draws on his research in the Usumacinta River Valley and the Buenavista Valley in northern Guatemala, particularly the early Maya sites of Macabilero and El Zotz, to illustrate his team’s multifaceted methodology that integrates photogrammetric modeling, Lidar, and GIS with excavation data, ethnohistorical research, and oral history. By integrating these digital and critical methods into the archaeological toolset, researchers are better situated to interpret complex archaeological contexts, as well as reach the public in compelling ways.