GIS 5990 Module 5: Scythian Landscapes, Prepare Week

Layout from the first week of the Scythian Landscapes project.

After our two week module on predictive modeling, we begin another three chapter project investigating a particular topic. This time, we are considering the theoretical perspectives contained within landscape archaeology and, with GIS as the tool, looking at Sythian burial mounds in southern Russia (near the borders of Mongolia and Kazakhstan).

Our tasks for the first week were relatively light. To prepare for next week's tasks, we prepared a mosaic of four DEMs that were then clipped to a polygon representing the study area. We were provided with an aerial photo of the mounds near Tuekta, Russia that needed to be georeferenced to the clipped DEM. Our layout was required to include the clipped DEM along with an inset of the georeferenced aerial photo. I added a small-scale reference inset to further orient the viewer; the arrows I added from Adobe Illustrator to make the relationship between the insets clear.