Illinois Archaeology Lecture Series

Illinois State Archaeological Survey’s John Lambert, Assistant Research Scientist, Geospatial Analysis, will present The View from Above: UAS-based Aerial Photography and Photogrammetry of Cahokia’s Grand Plaza as this month’s Illinois Archaeology lecture, on Sunday, August 20th at 2:00 p.m.

Rapid development of increasingly powerful and accessible computer hardware, processing software, and UAS platforms has fueled a rapid increase in the adoption of UAS-based photogrammetry in archaeology. The use of aerial photography to document archaeological phenomena has a long history, and UAS facilitate the collection of high-resolution aerial photography and topographic data at a variety of scales—from individual features, to sites, to entire anthropogenic landscapes. Here, I present the results of UAS-based aerial photography and photogrammetry at Cahokia’s Grand Plaza. The pre-contact Mississippian city of Cahokia (1050-1500 CE), including the Grand Plaza and the complex of mounds surrounding it, constitutes one of the largest constructed landscapes in North America. At its peak, the Cahokia precinct was comprised of approximately 120 earthen mounds, numerous plazas, several wood palisades and compounds, formal causeways that crossed the site and connected mounds, and thousands of buildings. UAS-based photogrammetry can help archaeologists document this landscape and understand the complex history of pre-contact and historic landscape modification at Cahokia.

The lecture begins promptly at 2:00 p.m. followed by an opportunity to meet with the speaker and museum staff.  Admission is free; however, donations are appreciated.