Large-scale medieval urbanism traced by UAV–lidar in highland Central Asia

Michael D. Frachetti (), Jack Berner, Xiaoyi Liu, Edward R. Henry, Farhod Maksudov and Tao Ju
Additional contact information
Michael D. Frachetti: Washington University in St. Louis
Jack Berner: Washington University in St. Louis
Xiaoyi Liu: Washington University in St. Louis
Edward R. Henry: Colorado State University
Farhod Maksudov: Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences
Tao Ju: Washington University in St. Louis

Nature, 2024, vol. 634, issue 8036, 1118-1124

Abstract: Abstract Aerial light detection and ranging (lidar) has emerged as a powerful technology for mapping urban archaeological landscapes, especially where dense vegetation obscures site visibility1,2. More recently, uncrewed aerial vehicle/drone lidar scanning has markedly improved the resolution of three-dimensional point clouds, allowing for the detection of slight traces of structural features at centimetres of detail across large archaeological sites, a method particularly useful in areas such as mountains, where rapid deposition and erosion irregularly bury and expose archaeological remains3. Here we present the results of uncrewed aerial vehicle–lidar surveys in Central Asia, conducted at two recently discovered archaeological sites in southeastern Uzbekistan: Tashbulak and Tugunbulak. Situated at around 2,000–2,200 m above sea level, these sites illustrate a newly documented geography of large, high-altitude urban centres positioned along the mountainous crossroads of Asia’s medieval Silk Routes (6th–11th century CE (Common Era)4,5. Although hidden by centuries of surface processes, our pairing of very-high-resolution surface modelling with semiautomated feature detection produces a detailed plan of monumental fortifications and architecture spanning 120 ha at Tugunbulak, thereby demonstrating one of the largest highland urban constellations in premodern Central Asia. Documentation of extensive urban infrastructure and technological production among medieval communities in Central Asia’s mountains—a crucial nexus for Silk Road trade networks6—provides a new perspective on the participation of highland populations in the economic, political and social formation of medieval Eurasia.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08086-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:634:y:2024:i:8036:d:10.1038_s41586-024-08086-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08086-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().