Interpreting Ground-Penetrating Radar for Archaeology

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has become one of the standard tools in the archaeologist's array of methods, but users still struggle to understand what the images tell us. In this book—illustrated with over 200 full-color photographs—Lawrence Conyers shows how results of geophysical surveys can test ideas regarding people, history, and cultures, as well as be used to prospect for buried remains. Using 20 years of data from more than 600 GPR surveys in a wide array of settings, Conyers, one of the first archaeological specialists in GPR, provides the consumer of GPR studies with basic information on how the process works. He show how the plots are generated, what subsurface factors influence specific profiles, how the archaeologist can help the surveyor collect optimal data, and how to translate the results into useable archaeological information.

“Archaeologist and noted ground-penetrating radar (GPR) specialist Conyers provides an exhaustive review of the interpretation of GPR data, concentrating on the analytical steps used to collect data and produce images for inspection, set against a thorough coverage of the interpretive problems created by the environments in which the data have been collected. He does this by relating it to his almost 25 years of experience with geophysics in archaeology and his cumulative understanding of the problems involved with the technique, developed through field projects in all continents and widely differing field conditions. Black-and-white and color images of radar data and the interpretive problems they present provide superb illustrations. Although perhaps aimed mainly at GPR archaeological practitioners, the author's lucid writing style and wide coverage make it an essential work for those who wish to use GPR data without a specialist's background, and Conyers stresses the importance of communication between specialist and nonspecialist. This is clearly a volume for specialists and college and university libraries serving programs in anthropology and archaeology, as well as forensic sciences. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries." ”

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Lawrence B. Conyers is a professor of anthropology at the University of Denver, Colorado, USA. He received BS and MS degrees in geology and geophysics from Oregon State and Arizona State Universities respectively. His PhD degree is in anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Before working with ground-penetrating radar in archaeological applications he spent seventeen years in petroleum exploration and development using seismic techniques.

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