Lidar-Based Analyses of Anthropogenic Landscape Alterations as a Component of the Built Environment

Lidar has shown considerable utility for answering specific questions regarding anthropogenic landscape alteration in archaeological contexts. We document the extent and timing of these alterations in the construction of the public and political core architectural groups at Uxbenká, Belize, using combined data from Lidar and archaeological excavations. We detail how Lidar methods combined with archaeological excavations enhance the precision of our measurements of the broad range of impacts on the landscape from investment in the built environment. We conclude that the large social investment in landscape alteration to accommodate public architecture occurred early in the polity's history (prior to A.D. 400) and that later developments, including architectural reconfigurations, did not expand greatly on these initial investments.