472 
A number of military pilots reported the sighting of probable archeological 
sites while on wartime missions, particularly in the Mediterranean theater of 
operations. After 1945, these reports were followed up, resulting in many new 
discoveries of ancient roads, villages, and forts—not only in the Mediterranean, 
but also in Europe and Africa. As an example, the Etruscan tombs north of Rome 
were photographed and mapped during this postwar period. An excellent summary 
of early developments in aerial archeology has been prepared by Deuel (1969). 
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Archeology in the Americas 
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The beginnings of aerial archeology in the western hemisphere were her 
alded by exploratory flights made in 1930 over the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. 
These visual reconnaissance flights, conducted by Charles Lindbergh, resulted 
in only limited successes because of insufficient advance planning and dense, 
masking ground cover. Nevertheless, a few important sites were located, and 
the attendant publicity that was generated induced several foundations and 
universities to send archeological expeditions into Mexico and South America. 
Since 1934, a majority of the site discoveries in these regions has been made 
through aerial reconnaissance and/or photographic interpretation. 
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In spite of technological advances, the applications of aerial archeology 
have been limited in the United States until the past few years. Perhaps this 
is a reflection of our greater interest in the present than in our ancestry, 
but there are probably other reasons also. Among these are (1) the relatively 
short period of established human settlement, (2) the feeling that many, if 
not most, sites have already been described, and (3) the attitude that more 
impressive sites are likely to be found outside USA boundaries. Whether these 
are valid generalizations can only be determined by the future. 
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The following selective listing includes some of the better known sites 
in the USA that were discovered, delineated, or mapped through aerial techniques: 
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1932—Photographic evidence of effigy sites (giant Indian pictographs) on bluffs 
above the Colorado River near Blythe, California. 
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1932—Delineation of Hohokam Indian irrigation canals in southern Arizona. 
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1948—Mapping of Zuni and Hopi Indian pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico. 
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1953—Detailed site mapping of concentric banks of earthworks (part of mound 
complex) near Poverty Point, Louisiana. 
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1959—Discovery of village sites in the Alaskan tundra. 
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1965—Discovery and delineation of fortified village sites along the Missouri 
River in South Dakota. 
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1968—Discovery of prehistoric Indian agricultural plots (by infrared scanning) 
in northern Arizona. 
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1970-73—Discovery and mapping of ancient roadways and Indian pueblos in the 
vicinty of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. 
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