A collection of national GIS layers compiled by the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST). The data was funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CERL, NRCS, and NPS to support a National Archeological Overview. It includes layers related to archaeological site distribution, climate, vegetation, agriculture, and population.
Use Cases
- Map archaeological site distribution based on GIS layers showing cultural resource extent.
- Analyze environmental trends for cultural resource management based on climate and vegetation layers.
- Study correlations between population data and archaeological resources based on census-derived layers.
- Model agricultural land use impacts on cultural sites based on agriculture-related GIS data.
Strengths
- Data originates from authoritative sources including census information, remote sensing studies, and point/station data.
- Funded by multiple U.S. government agencies: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CERL, NRCS, and NPS.
- Created to demonstrate the need and feasibility for a national study using spatial data as a base.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST)
- Collection Method
- Gathered from census information, remote sensing studies, and data collected at specific points/stations.
- Geography
- United States (likely national coverage)