The
LSU CADGIS Research Laboratory has been supplying GIS and technical assistance
to Terry WInemiller's research into the settlement patterns of the Maya. He
is employing Geomedia, geographic information system, to build a GIS containing
data for over 2,500 archaeological sites to identify the factors that might
have influenced ancient settlers to occupy certain areas as well as those
that caused them to avoid others. 
The
principal components of the GIS include published archaeological site locations
or geographic coordinates for previously unknown sites gathered in the field
with a Trimble GPS data collector; and a physical profile of the region derived
from Landsat TM, Sir C radar, ortho-rectified air photos, and thematic maps.
Micro level site-specific cultural data were recovered from existing site
maps or through field survey and mapping operations. Using
Geomedia, he integrated small-scale thematic maps, Arc/Info data sets, ArcView
thematic data, Landsat TM, and Sir C Radar into the GIS to facilitate definition
of sub-regions based upon a variety of geophysical factors.
His work at Chichén
Itzá and elsewhere throughout the Maya Lowlands demonstrates that extant
maps, remote sensing data, and non-spatial information available from a variety
of sources can be integrated into a GIS. The result is a powerful analytical
tool that has the potential to incorporate a limitless amount of information
for analyses and predict the occurrence of undocumented archaeological sites.
The procedure to integrate maps created over a century ago and data relevant
to the study of ancient Maya settlements into a modern analytical tool giving
the long-silent map makers new voices and enabling them to
contribute to a better 
understanding
of the human - environment interface.
At the Intergraph Geospatial World 2002 Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 2002, Farrell Jones gave a presentation written by Terry Winemiller about the Mayan work. To view the Powerpoint presentation, click on the conference logo on the right. (Warning: PPT file size is about 48MB!)