UTILIZING REMOTE SENSING TO DOCUMENT ANCIENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN SOUTHWESTERN AMAZONIA

The southwestern portion of the Amazon Basin has long been a center for human habitation. Today, approximately 1,300 geoglyph sites (large geometric earthworks) have been uncovered by deforestation and farming in the region. This study aims to discover and catalog new sites to protect/preserve the geoglyphs before they are destroyed. To do this, we utilized satellite imagery spanning from the early 2000s to the present day, along with remote sensing techniques such as LiDAR imagery. This allowed us to observe the evolving landscape and assess the impact of erosion by agricultural activities in different regions. We assembled a dataset comprising 65 geoglyph sites, classified based on factors including their earliest viewable date, current state of visibility, and presence and type of agricultural activities nearby. Our results indicate up to 55.4% of these sites have been damaged by agricultural activity following deforestation in the region. This relatively rapid degradation underscores the importance of employing satellite imagery as a tool to locate, identify, and document these sites for preservation.