UC San Diego

A workflow featuring combined methods of low-altitude aerial photography (LAAP), digital photogrammetry and Structure from Motion (SfM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analyses, and ethnographic analogy is proposed as a viable survey method for investigation of site formation processes. LAAP and photogrammetry are techniques with long histories of application to archaeology, although technological developments have improved their efficiency and usefulness to the field archaeologist. Structure from Motion and GIS are relatively new technologies, and their use allows for new applications of traditional techniques. By consulting ethnographic studies and operationalizing them within a GIS framework using data acquired through LAAP and SfM, this paper aims to outline a method of modeling site formation processes, including artifact deposition and natural transformations of archaeological context