scholarly journals Archaeological Mapping Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Mary O'Keefe ◽  
David Rudd ◽  
Kathryn Hurren

In light of the earthquake in Christchurch, as well as the recent ones in Wellington, the need to know the location and types of archaeological sites/themes in Wellington is important. NZHPT, combined with the Wellington Archaeological Group, Wellington Tenths Trust/Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust, are working on a Wellington City archaeological mapping project that will have two purposes, the first being a tool that can be used in an emergency event to guide heritage experts, council, NZHPT and the equivalent of CERA, with a systematic and practical map showing the areas of high, medium, low or no archaeological risk. The second tool that will come out of this project is a mapping tool that can be used by consultants, Wellington City Council, tangata whenua, developers and other groups, on a daily basis to help identify the archaeological potential of an area in respect to proposed development or research.The project will pull together local archaeological consultants' knowledge, tangata whenua knowledge, Wellington City Council and archival information as well as information on previous archaeological authorities and registrations held at NZHPT. We are seeking information and knowledge from people within the heritage community who can help in developing the project.

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Forghani ◽  
M. Thankappan ◽  
B. Cechet

The Sentinel Bushfire Monitoring System is an internet-based mapping tool which provides timely spatial information to fire agencies across Australia. The mapping system allows users to identify active fire locations that pose a potential risk to communities and property. Sentinel at Geoscience Australia currently provides hotspot information derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensors on a continent-wide and daily basis enabling the fire community and general public to locate active fires. There has been little validation undertaken of the Sentinel since the system began operating in November 2002. Validation datasets have been collected for this work during the 2003-2007 fire seasons. Five study areas were selected to validate the detection capabilities of the MODIS and AVHRR hotspot product with fire activity that was mapped using high resolution earth observation imagery. The objective is to evaluate the reliability with which hotspots identified in MODIS and AVHRR thermal data can be used to identify fires. This consists of comparing the accuracy of AVHRR versus MODIS and quantifying the accuracy of both products. This objective is achieved by characterising errors through a stratified random sampling technique establishing a relationship between the ‘fire’ and ‘no fire’ condition, and error assessment using multi- source reference datasets over coincident MODIS and AVHRR pixels. The validation framework comprised two key approaches including validation of AVHRR hotspots in relation to MODIS hotspots and validation of both MODIS and AVHRR hotspots using multi-sensor earth observation imagery datasets. The study identified sources of errors associated with the Sentinel hotspots which could be used to improve the performance of hotspot algorithms and provide user-friendly information for the users. Statistical analysis revealed that overall commission errors of MODIS and AVHRR hotspots over the 5% sample data were 15% and 68% respectively, and overall omission errors of MODIS and AVHRR hotspots were 17% and 23% respectively.  An important outcome of this study is the production of a database of fire locations derived from high-resolution imagery, which can serve as a resource for future validation efforts as detection algorithms evolve and sensors change.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Forghani ◽  
M. Thankappan ◽  
B. Cechet

The Sentinel Bushfire Monitoring System is an internet-based mapping tool which provides timely spatial information to fire agencies across Australia. The mapping system allows users to identify active fire locations that pose a potential risk to communities and property. Sentinel at Geoscience Australia currently provides hotspot information derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensors on a continent-wide and daily basis enabling the fire community and general public to locate active fires. There has been little validation undertaken of the Sentinel since the system began operating in November 2002. Validation datasets have been collected for this work during the 2003-2007 fire seasons. Five study areas were selected to validate the detection capabilities of the MODIS and AVHRR hotspot product with fire activity that was mapped using high resolution earth observation imagery. The objective is to evaluate the reliability with which hotspots identified in MODIS and AVHRR thermal data can be used to identify fires. This consists of comparing the accuracy of AVHRR versus MODIS and quantifying the accuracy of both products. This objective is achieved by characterising errors through a stratified random sampling technique establishing a relationship between the ‘fire’ and ‘no fire’ condition, and error assessment using multi- source reference datasets over coincident MODIS and AVHRR pixels. The validation framework comprised two key approaches including validation of AVHRR hotspots in relation to MODIS hotspots and validation of both MODIS and AVHRR hotspots using multi-sensor earth observation imagery datasets. The study identified sources of errors associated with the Sentinel hotspots which could be used to improve the performance of hotspot algorithms and provide user-friendly information for the users. Statistical analysis revealed that overall commission errors of MODIS and AVHRR hotspots over the 5% sample data were 15% and 68% respectively, and overall omission errors of MODIS and AVHRR hotspots were 17% and 23% respectively.  An important outcome of this study is the production of a database of fire locations derived from high-resolution imagery, which can serve as a resource for future validation efforts as detection algorithms evolve and sensors change.


Author(s):  
Douglas William Jones

Within the past 20 years, archaeobotanical research in the Eastern United States has documented an early agricultural complex before the dominance of the Mesoamerican domesticates (corn, beans, and squash) in late prehistoric and historic agricultural systems. This early agricultural complex consisted of domesticated plants such as Iva annua var.macrocarpa (Sumpweed or Marshelder), Hellanthus annuus (Sunflower) and Chenopodium berlandieri, (Goosefoot or Lasbsquarters), and heavily utilized plants such as Polygonum erectum (Erect Knotweed), Phalaris caroliniana (May grass), and Hordeum pusillum (Little Barley).Recent research involving the use of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) specifically on Chenopodium has established diagnostic traits of wild and domesticated species seeds. This is important because carbonized or uncarbonized seeds are the most commonly recovered Chenopodium material from archaeological sites. The diagnostic seed traits assist archaeobotanists in identification of Chenopodium remains and provide a basis for evaluation of Chenopodium utilization in a culture's subsistence patterns. With the aid of SEM, an analysis of Chenopodium remains from three Late Prehistoric sites in Northwest Iowa (Blood Run [Oneota culture], Brewster [Mill Creek culture], and Chan-Ya-Ta [Mill Creek culture]) has been conducted to: 1) attempt seed identification to a species level, 2) evaluate the traits of the seeds for classification as either wild or domesticated, and 3) evaluate the role of Chenopodium utilization in both the Oneota and Mill Creek cultures.


Author(s):  
Allen Angel ◽  
Kathryn A. Jakes

Fabrics recovered from archaeological sites often are so badly degraded that fiber identification based on physical morphology is difficult. Although diagenetic changes may be viewed as destructive to factors necessary for the discernment of fiber information, changes occurring during any stage of a fiber's lifetime leave a record within the fiber's chemical and physical structure. These alterations may offer valuable clues to understanding the conditions of the fiber's growth, fiber preparation and fabric processing technology and conditions of burial or long term storage (1).Energy dispersive spectrometry has been reported to be suitable for determination of mordant treatment on historic fibers (2,3) and has been used to characterize metal wrapping of combination yarns (4,5). In this study, a technique is developed which provides fractured cross sections of fibers for x-ray analysis and elemental mapping. In addition, backscattered electron imaging (BSI) and energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (EDS) are utilized to correlate elements to their distribution in fibers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 2016-2026
Author(s):  
Tamara R. Almeida ◽  
Clayton H. Rocha ◽  
Camila M. Rabelo ◽  
Raquel F. Gomes ◽  
Ivone F. Neves-Lobo ◽  
...  

Purpose The aims of this study were to characterize hearing symptoms, habits, and sound pressure levels (SPLs) of personal audio system (PAS) used by young adults; estimate the risk of developing hearing loss and assess whether instructions given to users led to behavioral changes; and propose recommendations for PAS users. Method A cross-sectional study was performed in 50 subjects with normal hearing. Procedures included questionnaire and measurement of PAS SPLs (real ear and manikin) through the users' own headphones and devices while they listened to four songs. After 1 year, 30 subjects answered questions about their usage habits. For the statistical analysis, one-way analysis of variance, Tukey's post hoc test, Lin and Spearman coefficients, the chi-square test, and logistic regression were used. Results Most subjects listened to music every day, usually in noisy environments. Sixty percent of the subjects reported hearing symptoms after using a PAS. Substantial variability in the equivalent music listening level (Leq) was noted ( M = 84.7 dBA; min = 65.1 dBA, max = 97.5 dBA). A significant difference was found only in the 4-kHz band when comparing the real-ear and manikin techniques. Based on the Leq, 38% of the individuals exceeded the maximum daily time allowance. Comparison of the subjects according to the maximum allowed daily exposure time revealed a higher number of hearing complaints from people with greater exposure. After 1 year, 43% of the subjects reduced their usage time, and 70% reduced the volume. A volume not exceeding 80% was recommended, and at this volume, the maximum usage time should be 160 min. Conclusions The habit of listening to music at high intensities on a daily basis seems to cause hearing symptoms, even in individuals with normal hearing. The real-ear and manikin techniques produced similar results. Providing instructions on this topic combined with measuring PAS SPLs may be an appropriate strategy for raising the awareness of people who are at risk. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12431435


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-37
Author(s):  
Zahra Sina ◽  
Nadia Abdullahi

Personal hygiene products are used on a daily basis by many people. Many are comparable to the Trojan horse. On the outside, they appear to be harmless. They are contained in attractive bottles and they rely on misleading ads to attract consumers. However, these products may contain potentially harmful chemicals and many people are unaware of how individuals, societies and environments are affected in the various stages of the life cycle of many personal hygiene products. Our STSE issue deals with an everyday product that falls under the Trojan horse analogy–lotion. We are concerned that our peers and other young adults are purchasing lotions without the knowledge of how they came to stand on the shelves of a store. We conducted a correlation study between gender and popular lotion brands among teenagers and the reasons behind their choices. We came to the conclusion that more females than males were interested in popular lotion brands due to enticing features that targets mainly feminine interests (e.g. scent is an aspect of lotion that more females than males consider when purchasing the brand). For our actions, we prepared an educational mind-map on our issue and a video compilation where we interviewed female students on their reactions to various lotion brand commercials. Our actions are meant to inform the public about the controversies surrounding our issue and the techniques companies use to gain the attention of potential consumers.


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