NMU Geographers Use GIS to Predict Archeological Sites Posted on November 29th, 2009 by Mark Bjelland

An interesting 11/29/20009 article from the StarTribune shares how Northern Michigan University geographers used satellite imagery and digital elevation models to identify landforms associated with ancient shorelines. That work revealed that 4,500 years ago the water levels were 30-40 feet higher than today. Then, they devloped a GIS model to predict Native American archeological sites based on known sites. They found 23 potential archeological sites within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and one in four proved successful in field testing–a very high rate of success.

Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks Lakeshore. Photo: Bob Brodbeck, AP