Abstract
The MRAS Project: Using GIS to Design an Archaeological Survey Track: Archaeology Author(s): Shinu Abraham, Carol Cady The Malabar Region Archaeological Survey (MRAS) is a GIS-based project designed to document late prehistoric and early historic sites along the southwestern coast of India. A major goal of MRAS is to analyze the participation of local communities in the ancient Indian Ocean trade system from the perspective of the site of Pattanam, a key port on the Malabar Coast. Pattanam mostly likely functioned as a trade node, linking overseas commerce with inland exchange networks. We will discuss the development of a GIS-based archaeological survey of Pattanam and its hinterland, including the challenges of working in an area with limited available geospatial data. We will focus on our efforts to obtain information from a variety of sources (satellite imagery, older paper maps, and often poorly documented archaeological site data) and to integrate ceramic attribute data from our MRAS survey with published artifact information. Shinu Abraham St. Lawrence University Anthropology Piskor Canton , NY 13617 US Phone: 315 229-5723 E-mail: sabraham@stlawu.edu Carol Cady St. Lawrence University Library Launders Science Library Canton , NY 13617 US Phone: (315)229-5824 E-mail: ccady@stlawu.edu |
|||||
