The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) promotes the Laboratory of Geomatics to among other things, provide information for designing actions and strategies to prevent public property damage from natural phenomena or civil construction.
The generated platform includes a georeferenced database, as well as spatial information in different formats such as KMZ, dxf and shp, which can be visualized and manipulated via Google Earth, Auto CAD and geographic information systems.
This information is used to produce the cartography related to the 187 archaeological sites open to the public in the country, its natural environment and the socioeconomic background of the surrounding communities, visiting services and even the state of conservation of the architectural structures distributed within them.
This is a valuable material for archaeological sites staff and INAH state centers staff, which may take the necessary measures to protect remains before the incidence of natural processes.
To illustrate, a map of Mexico displays natural phenomena information: Tropical storms, earthquakes, frost and hail, volcanic eruptions, winds, fires, etc., and you can mark points of archaeological sites in it, so those with the possibility of being affected can be identified.
“These analysis tools are very useful to archaeologists while working with the spatial relations of the cultural remains they find. We base all our interpretations on these associations and that is why archaeologists always use cartography“, he pointed out.
Hence the materials developed in the Laboratory of Geomatics are consulted by researchers and can guide specific lines of study. “We have established linkages with other departments of the INAH, as the National Coordination of Anthropology, Dissemination and Institutional Development, and external departments, including the National Institute of Indigenous Languages ​​in order to exchange information and generate cartographic products in accordance with the common goals” he added.
Source: Mi Morelia
