ArchaeoCafé - Episode 2-24 - Using LiDAR in archaeology: An interview with Sarah Smith

In this episode I talk with Sarah Smith about the use of LiDAR in archaeology and her research at the Highland Valley Copper Mine.

Episode notes are available on the ArchaeoCafé website.
http://archaeocafe.kvasirpublishing.com/archaeocafe-podcast-ep-224-smith

About Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is a senior archaeologist and project manager at Stantec, based in Burnaby, in British Columbia, Canada. Throughout her career, she has worked on and directed cultural resource management projects throughout the province of British Columbia. She completed a master's degree in heritage resource management at the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. Her research at SFU, conducted in collaboration with the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council and Teck Resources, focused on the efficacy of LiDAR data as a tool for archaeological prospection and was based on her work at the Highland Valley Copper Mine.

Web:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-smith-62308732/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Smith80/research

Some useful terminology and links

LiDAR ("light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging")
A method used in archaeology to make digital 3D representations of areas on the earth's surface. It can reveal micro-topography that is otherwise hidden by vegetation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lidar

Highland Valley Copper Mine
The largest open-pit copper mine in Canada, located near Logan Lake, British Columbia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Valley_Copper_mine

Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council
A First Nations government Tribal Council comprising bands in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbia.
https://nntc.ca/about-overview.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nlaka%27pamux_Nation_Tribal_Council

Selected reading

Analysis of the efficacy of LiDAR data as a tool for archaeological prospection at the Highland Valley Copper Mine
by Sarah Smith
Masters thesis at Simon Fraser University, Department of Archaeology, 2021, 153 pages.
https://summit.sfu.ca/item/21351

LiDAR’s Potential for Improving Archaeological Field Inventories in British Columbia, Indigenous Archaeology, and Beyond
SFU Student News, 2021
http://www.sfu.ca/archaeology/current-students/HRM/hrmnews/lidar-potential.html

Airborne LiDAR, archaeology, and the ancient Maya landscape at Caracol, Belize
by Arlen F. Chase and others
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011, vol. 38(2), p. 387-398
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.018

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