We used old maps vs. drone scans at a dig near Phoenix | Archaeology Discoveries

Paige Martin · 2026-04-18T06:40:05.504947+00:00

Last season, our team was working a Hohokam site. We started with 1920s survey maps. They were okay, but vague. Then we got a drone with LIDAR. The scans showed irrigation canals we totally missed. Anyone else switch to aerial tech and find something big?

felix_henderson545mo ago

That thermal find is cool, gray6. Just a heads up, LIDAR and thermal are totally different tools. LIDAR maps the ground shape, thermal shows heat differences. Both are game changers though.

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the_patricia5mo ago

@felix_henderson54 is right to point out the difference, but thermal and LIDAR can work together on the same drone setup now. We ran a project last year where we did both passes in one flight. LIDAR showed us the raised mound edges and the thermal camera picked up soil compaction differences from buried walls. The old maps had that area marked as open desert, total bust. Really makes you wonder how many major sites are still sitting right under our feet because the tools just weren't there yet.

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gray65mo ago

Yeah, we had the same thing happen on a project in New Mexico. Spent weeks pacing out what we thought were just natural washes from an old map. Got a drone with a thermal camera for a day, and it lit up a whole network of pit house outlines we were literally walking over. Felt pretty silly, but hey, that's why we get the new toys. Makes you wonder what else those old surveyors just had to shrug and guess about.

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