Mining Our Past
A Comparison of Peruvian Silver Refineries with West Virginia Coal Mines
Drones and Archaeology
Using drones to map ancient mining towns
In the high Andean mountains of Peru, few trees grow on the landscape. This makes taking photographs from above an ideal way to look at the layout of an ancient settlement.
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Right: Sarah Kennedy with a drone used to map an archaeological site in Peru. After the site is mapped, the drone is brought back to the field house. The aerial photographs are located on a small SD drive, and are easily downloaded onto a computer.
Drone Flight
Often drone flying can be challenging. Wind, weather, altitude, and even pesky vultures can affect the flight of a light-weight drone. Often we lay out tarps for landing, as they protect the drone from rocks and grass.
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Left: Ryan Smith pilots a drone in Peru.
Drones and Excavation
Drone photographs are helpful during archaeological excavation. Excavation units can be seen in relation to buildings and structures.
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Left: Amadeo Mammani excavates a housing structure at the silver refining mill of Trapiche in Peru. Buckets, trowels, dust pans, brushes, measuring tapes, and notebooks can all be seen from the photograph - all tools used by archaeologists.
Drones and Visualization
Using the Bird's Eye View
Drone photographs can also be extremely helpful when visualizing how mining settlements were located on the landscape. Getting a bird's eye view is important when thinking about how far away a mining site is from the mine itself, as well as from roads, rivers, and nearby towns.
Right: A drone photograph of the silver refining camp of Trapiche near Puno, Peru, looking north. A river is located to the left of the site, and was used to clean and process silver ore. An old canal is visible on the right of the site, in lighter yellow. It starts upstream and would have brought water to the mill, using gravity as it traveled down the hill to power a grinding mill.
Drones and Map Making
Drone photographs can also be used to make detailed maps. The map at the left was made by overlaying over 100 drone photographs. The photos are stitched together in a computer program and can be used with other data collected by GPS or total stations to create accurate maps of ancient mining sites. Map at left by Sarah Kennedy.