Ashton Lang
Anthropology 8
Discussion Section R
11/23/2013
Importance of GIS, Remote Sensing, and Google Earth Pro
The importance of using GIS (Geographic Information System) RS (Remote Sensing) and Google Earth Pro in the fieldwork of anthropology, archaeology, and other sub-fields of work are becoming more and more prominent in the use of figuring out the landscapes which are overburden with vegetation and sediment along with providing insights to numerous paleoanthropological investigations. The use of geospatial technologies that include GIS, satellite and airborne remote sensing, and global navigational satellite systems aid in the enhancement of our ability to collect, store, analyze, and represent geographic data. This paper is a summary and comparison between two articles, "A malarial ridden swamp: using Google Earth Pro and Corona to access the southern Balikh Valley, Syria" by Carrie Hritz and the other article entitled, "GIS and Paleoanthropology Incorporating New Approaches From the Geospatial Sciences in Analysis of Primate and Human Evolution" by authors R.L.
Anemone, G.C. Conroy, and C.W. Emerson. These two articles focus on showing the importance of using the following equipment for image interpretations because it enhances the identification of relict archaeological features and can aid in the reconstruction of settlement patterns.
The first article by Carrie Hritz is an exploration of the benefits of satellite survey for areas both where datasets are unavailable, and the actual landscape is inaccessible due to an overburden of vegetation and current politics in the southern and northern Balikh River Valley
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near the Turkish border. As previously stated this study took place in the unsurveyed southern Balikh valley, Syria. In this case study they did a comparison between landscapes of the southern and northern valley and where able to get the data and differences of the two landscapes. The methods that were used was...