We are very pleased to announce that the Journal of Archaeological Science (JAS) and Society for Archaeological Sciences (SAS) Emerging Investigator Award for 2023 has been awarded to Jonathan S. Lim and Gonzalo J. Linares Matás as equal first authors of the paper “Dunes, death, and datasets: Modelling funerary monument construction in remote arid landscapes using spaceborne stereo imagery”. Follow the DOI for more info: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105815

 

The paper was selected on the basis of the innovative technological solutions used in this work, especially the applicability of the proposed methodology to areas with limited fieldwork access, but also the originality of the results when it comes to revealing socio-cultural aspects such as labour investment and inequality in burial mound construction. As such, the work presented in the paper has a wider impact on the field of the archaeological sciences both within and beyond archaeological remote sensing techniques. 

Authors' comments: “High-resolution volumetric estimates generated using satellite-derived elevation models are still underutilised in archaeological studies. The authors hope that the contributions towards best-practice workflows made here contribute to the wider adoption of this approach as technological solutions become more affordable. The transformative impact will be particularly relevant in the context of rural development impact assessments and heritage studies.”