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Satellite Remote Sensing of Archaeological Vegetation Signatures in Coastal West Africa

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Abstract

This article discusses how archaeological sites in Sierra Leone, and by extension much of West Africa, can be identified through vegetation patterns (vegetation signatures) detectable in very high-resolution (VHR) multispectral satellite imagery. Settlement sites typically have a differing pattern of vegetation from the surrounding landscape, including concentrations of very large trees with sociocultural and historical significance: cotton (Ceiba pentandra) and baobab (Adansonia digitata). These features are conspicuous elements of the landscape both from the ground and in aerial imagery. Two complementary methods of using VHR multispectral satellite imagery are discussed in this paper: visual interpretation and semi-automated subpixel classification. These techniques are aiding ongoing archaeological survey of the Sierra Leone River Estuary. The impact of recently renewed industrial activity at a site of probable archaeological significance is also assessed through visually interpreted VHR satellite imagery.

Résumé

Cet article traite de la façon dont les sites archéologiques en Sierra Leone, et par extension dans une grande partie de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, peuvent être identifiés grâce à leur type de végétation, détectable par l’imagerie satellite multispectrale à très haute résolution (VHR). Les sites de peuplement ont généralement un modèle de végétation différent de celui du paysage environnant, comme la concentration de très grands arbres ayant une importance socioculturelle et historique: le fromager (Ceiba pentandra) et le baobab (Adansonia digitata). Ces arbres sont des éléments remarquables du paysage à la fois au niveau du sol et dans l’imagerie aérienne. Deux méthodes complémentaires de l’utilisation de l’image satellite multispectrale très haute résolution sont traités dans le présent document: l’interprétation visuelle et la classification semi-automatique sous-pixel. Ces techniques apportent une aide à l’étude archéologique en cours dans l’estuaire de la rivière Sierra-Leone. L’impact de l’activité industrielle récemment renouvelée, sur un site archéologique ayant probablement une importance significative, est également évalué grâce à l’interprétation visuelle de l’imagerie par satellite VHR.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my advisor, Christopher R. DeCorse, for his tireless support and for providing several of the photographs used in this article. I also graciously acknowledge Jane M. Read for introducing me to satellite imagery analysis and offering helpful guidance. Many thanks to Isatu Smith and The Monuments and Relics Commission of Sierra Leone for their support of AISLE project research. Several other colleagues obligingly read and offered their perspectives on this manuscript as it developed, including Matthew Reilly, Karrieann Soto, Maria Fernanda Boza Cuadros, and Kate Navickas. Finally, I would like to thank the DigitalGlobe Foundation for providing the WorldView-2 imagery used in this project and the two anonymous reviewers for their attentive analysis and productive suggestions.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, Syracuse University, 209 Maxwell Hall, Syracuse, NY, 13244-1090, USA

    Sean H. Reid

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Correspondence to Sean H. Reid.

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This study used satellite imagery obtained through a DigitalGlobe Foundation imagery grant.

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Reid, S.H. Satellite Remote Sensing of Archaeological Vegetation Signatures in Coastal West Africa. Afr Archaeol Rev 33, 163–182 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-016-9222-2

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