“Mojos Pre-Hispanic 3D”: Mapping of monumental mounds in the Llanos de Mojos using LiDAR technology
In a region where vegetation is exuberant, the registration of archaeological sites using “traditional” methods such as land prospecting gives unsatisfactory results. Overcoming these obstacles by applying the LiDAR technology will help to obtain reliable data that will form the basis for a series of archaeological interpretations (location and hierarchy of sites, calculations about human impact on the environments of monumental sites, communication pathways between sites, etc.). This corpus of data will allow discussing the emergence of social stratification in this part of the Bolivian Amazon, its particularities and dependence on the specific environment.
Loma San Nicolas covered by vegetation
To the southeast of the Beni department, in the Cercado province, there are several artificial mounds that are locally known as lomas. According to archeological surveys conducted in the last decade (Lombardo & Prümers 2010), the area of distribution of these mounds is at least three times larger than initially proposed by the geographer Denevan (1966). The more than 400 identified mounds are part of a set of works and landscape modifications. The mounds are interconnected by embankments and associated with complex drainage works by means of canals, water reservoirs, dikes, etc. These earthworks are found in the pampa and are more susceptible to being destroyed during the current agricultural work and use of heavy machinery.
The Project Team (2019)
The application of the LiDAR technology will make it possible to generate accurate maps of an entire region with all the archaeological remains that have left their mark on the earth’s surface. The visualization of this “domesticated landscape” in 3D will help in making decisions for the enhancement of archaeological and tourist heritage, which involves developing measures for protection, study and conservation of cultural heritage.
Project Team
Dr. Heiko Prümers, German Archaeological Institut
Dr. Carla Jaimes Betancourt, University of Bonn
Dr. Mark Robinson, University of Exeter
Dr. José Iriarte, University of Exeter
Funding
German Archaeological Institut, Germany
Intervenciones Urbanas, Bolivia
Presentation of the Project Mojos Pre- Hispanic 3D:
https://www.intervencionesurbanas.bo/mojos-prehispanico-en-3d/
