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Terrestrial laser scanning for the documentation of an at-risk buffalo jump

(EgPp-26) in south-central Alberta

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 After the flood: Investigations of impacts to archaeological
resources from the 2013 flood in southern Alberta
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALBERTA
OCCASIONAL PAPER NO. 37

Terrestrial laser scanning for the documentation of an at-risk buffalo jump

(EgPp-26) in south-central Alberta
Kelsey Pennanena*, Peter C. Dawsona, and Jeremy J. Leydenb
a
University of Calgary, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4
b
Stantec Consulting Ltd., 130 - 2886 Sunridge Way NE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T1Y 7H9
*corresponding author: kelsey.pennanen1@ucalgary.ca

ABSTRACT
This paper reports on the use of ground-based LiDAR (terrestrial laser scanning—TLS) to digitally capture a buffalo
jump site located in south-central Alberta (EgPp-26). We discuss how the resulting digital data can be used to create
accurate 3D reconstructions and how the application of these high-resolution geospatial datasets can be used for quan-
tifying analyses. Accurate measurements can be taken directly from TLS datasets for use in mapping, as well as 3D
visualization of geoarchaeological data. Furthermore, the acquisition of multiple TLS datasets over time can be used
to quantify morphometric change and erosional processes impacting archaeological sites. Analytical data from TLS
scans can help document often understudied aspects of geoarchaeological processes and facilitate new interpretations
at archaeological sites. This technology was rapidly deployed at the Wearmouth Buffalo Jump for the purposes of
documentation, monitoring, and digital preservation. The resulting datasets provide a lasting digital record of the site,
as it appeared in September of 2016 and 2017. As natural disasters such as flooding and wildfire increase in frequency,
we conclude that reality-capture technologies, such as terrestrial laser scanning, are effective tools for monitoring,
managing, and preserving heritage resources.

KEYWORDS
bison jump, terrestrial laser scanning, ground-based LiDAR, Great Plains

1. Introduction
The 2013 flooding of the Jumpingpound Creek drain-
age caused rapid migration of the river’s main channel.
This caused the fast-flowing water to erode sediments at
the base of a large sandstone cliff that had previously re-
mained largely undisturbed for 200 years. Erosion along
the river revealed that sediments at the base of the cliff
contained the remains of thousands of bison, evidence that
this locale was used as a bison jump site by Indigenous
peoples during the Protohistoric Period, between approx-
imately AD 1700 and 1870 (Leyden and Landals 2017).
Nearly 3 metres of sediment deposited at the base of the
cliff, along with the archaeological evidence of the sub-
stantial kill site, are currently at-risk due to continued ero-
sion along Jumpingpound Creek. Terrestrial laser scanning
(TLS) was implemented to rapidly document and monitor
erosion at the site. Our results demonstrate that TLS tech-
nology is an extremely useful tool for documenting and
preserving sites, as well as for determining and quantifying
change over time. Potential applications of this technology
for extraction of relevant analytical data for archaeological
investigations on the Great Plains is also discussed.
2. Site background
The Wearmouth Buffalo Jump (EgPp-26) is located in
south-central Alberta in the Jumpingpound Creek drain-

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 Pennanen et al. / Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper 37 (2017) 73–81
age basin (Figure  1). While the site was significantly im-
pacted by the 2013 flooding of the basin, a portion of the site
remained undisturbed. Excavations at the base of the jump
were conducted by Stantec Consulting Ltd. in 2016, and re-
sulted in the recovery of over 180,000 artifacts—mostly bi-
son faunal remains—from 12 square metres of excavations
to depths of up to 2.5 metres (Leyden and Landals 2017).
Figure 1. Location of Wearmouth Buffalo Jump (EgPp-26).
74
The recoveries suggest that this may be one of the densest
bone beds ever recovered on the Northern Plains. Based on
the location of the site (Figure 2), it may also have some
association with the “Men’s Pound” encampment from the
tradition of the “first marriage” as recorded in the oral his-
tory of the Blackfoot peoples (Leyden and Landals 2017).
Terrestrial laser scanning was selected as a viable tool to
 Pennanen et al. / Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper 37 (2017) 73–81
Figure 2. Cliff face and cutbank exposure at Wearmouth Buffalo Jump (EgPp-26) looking north.
document this site, as it provided a means of accurate, rapid,
and high-resolution data collection.
3. Background of ground-based LiDAR
TLS, or terrestrial LiDAR, uses light detection and rang-
ing methods as a surveying system that enables rapid mea-
surement of X, Y, and Z coordinate points to create accu-
rate representations of objects in three-dimensional space
(Larsen et al. 2017). The method measures distance to an
object by illuminating the object with a pulsed laser beam,
and then measuring the pulses reflected by the object with
a sensor. In a time-of-flight scanner directed at objects, the
speed of the laser beam (constant, as the speed of light) de-
termines the velocity of the electromagnetic waves emitted
by the laser, and the rotating instrument head and mirror
calculates horizontal and vertical angles. The distance to the
object is determined by measuring the time elapsed until
the return pulse is received, and by dividing the product of
the measured time and speed of light, by two (Fabris et al.
2011). This is represented by the equation:
D =  v(Δt/2)
In this equation, “D” is the distance between the center of
the laser scanner and the point on the object being scanned,
“v” is the velocity of the electromagnetic wave emitted
(speed of light), and “Δt” is the difference between the time
the wave was emitted and the time the returning wave was
received, i.e., total time measured for the returning wave
to be received (Fabris et al. 2011:11). Laser scanners emit
these beams in 360° throughout the area being surveyed,
and therefore capture information from all visible surfac-
75
es. This data is then combined to display the X, Y, and Z
coordinates in space, creating highly detailed and valuable
point-cloud datasets. Ground-based LiDAR collects data,
in the form of hundreds of light reflectance values, in situ
to form the shape of the scene being scanned. To gather
more thorough data and provide greater coverage, multiple,
overlapping scans can be acquired from various scan po-
sitions. Registration of the scans is performed by match-
ing identifiable features (specific targets placed throughout
the scene being surveyed) contained within the point-cloud
data from overlapping point-clouds (Lichti et al. 2002; Fab-
ris et al. 2011:11). TLS records an unprecedented amount
of high-resolution geospatial data that can subsequently be
utilized for analysis and interpretation of geoarchaeological
aspects of archaeological sites.
4. Applications of TLS
Current applications of TLS technology have focused pri-
marily on the use of point-cloud datasets for creating 3D
models to record and visually display architectural heri-
tage (e.g., Entwistle et al. 2009; Holden et al. 2015). This
technology has the potential for even greater utility, as the
vast, geospatial point-cloud datasets that are created con-
tain an immense amount of valuable information pertaining
to the site. For example, TLS has been used within other
disciplines as a method of quantifying coastal erosion. By
comparing datasets collected at different points in time, this
information can be used to quantify erosion at archaeolog-
ical sites using change-detection algorithms. This data can
subsequently be extrapolated to make predictions relating to
site erosion potential into the future. Longoni et al. (2016),
Day et al. (2013), and Resop and Hession (2010) used TLS
 Pennanen et al. / Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper 37 (2017) 73–81
to calculate and quantify sediment erosion in geological
investigations, demonstrating the effectiveness of TLS for
coastal monitoring. Nasermoaddeli and Pasche (2008) uti-
lize TLS as a method of determining and quantifying riv-
erbank erosion, and outline how airborne applications of
LiDAR leave open the possibility of measuring areas that
are currently unscanned and shadowed due to negative
bank slopes in eroding areas. TLS data can subsequently
be used to determine at what angle undercutting occurs on
destabilized river cut banks, while extrapolation of these
data allows one to predict probable future phases of erosion
(Nasermoaddeli and Pasche 2008:5). Cross-sections of cut
banks can also be created by viewing a selected cut of the
visible point-cloud datasets. The resulting data can then be
analyzed to ascertain slope instability along cut banks, even
for areas with severe undercutting.
TLS is also useful for creating high-resolution Digi-
tal Terrain Models (DTMs) for accurate measurement of
topographic features, as well as small-scale relief maps
for detailed archaeological site interpretations. DTMs can
also be used to enhance geoarchaeological interpretations
Figure 3. Length and area calculations from point cloud data.
76
of the site. Furthermore, ground relief can be mapped by
extracting light reflectance values caused by vegetation ob-
struction, through use of the last return signal of the LiDAR
data. This allows for detailed DTMs to be created for heav-
ily vegetated areas, which can be used for more thorough
analyses of landscapes.
Carey et al. (2006) demonstrate the efficiency of LiDAR
in documenting geoarchaeological datasets, and determine
that LiDAR last-pulse DTM models are effective tools for
mapping geomorphologic natural features, as well as cultur-
al features within a study area. The integration of research
methods from geomatics engineering into archaeological
site investigation has the potential to aid in extracting and
analyzing a wide range of geomorphological data, that can
expand our understanding of site-formation processes at
work in southern Alberta. For example, software such as
Autodesk ReCap allows users to calculate accurate length,
area, and volume, as well as other measurements, of fea-
tures captured by scans, which can aid in archaeological
and sedimentological analyses (Figure 3). Accurate mea-
surements can also be taken directly from TLS datasets for
 Pennanen et al. / Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper 37 (2017) 73–81

use in mapping and 3D visualization of geoarchaeological
data. Therefore, while most data collection for archaeolo-
gists typically occurs in the field, TLS enables extraction
of relevant data in post-field settings. In many cases, tra-
ditional archaeological techniques for surveying and doc-
umentation, such as photography and traditional land sur-
veying, are not suited to high-resolution documentation of
many features. The advantages of using TLS for recording
archaeological excavations has been demonstrated by Jah-
raus et al. (2015), as well as by Forte et al. (2015) using
the Çatalhöyük archaeological site as a case study for the
documentation and 3D reconstruction of dense and com-
plex stratigraphic elements of sites. The vast quantity of
geospatial data collected using TLS can also be visualized
and manipulated to display subtle variations in sediment, or
enhance and extract features that may reflect natural or cul-
tural influences through edge detection and manipulation of
lighting displays (Figure 4).

Figure 4. 3D visualization of site; manipulation of lighting displays for cutbank locality.

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 Pennanen et al. / Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper 37 (2017) 73–81
5. Methods
Data collection at the Wearmouth Buffalo Jump was con-
ducted using a Z+F 5010X laser scanner set-up in 11 differ-
ent scan positions around the site (Figure 5). The scanner
collects point data in 360° at a distance of up to 130 metres.
The 11 scans were then registered together to produce a sin-
gle point-cloud dataset containing accurate and high-resolu-
tion spatial data. Initial scanning of the site took place Sep-
tember 15, 2016 and a second set of scans was collected one
year later, on September 30, 2017. The data was processed
and analyzed at the University of Calgary’s Digital Heritage
Laboratory in the Department of Anthropology and Archae-
ology. Z+F Laser Control software was used to register the
data, conduct distance and volume measurements from the
scanning data, as well as to display cross-sectional views of
point-cloud data for estimation of cut bank instability. Au-
todesk ReCap was used for visualization and enhancements
of data through lighting manipulations and edge detection.
Additionally, point-cloud data was used to create accurate
and photo-realistic models of the cut bank, cliff, and other
areas of interest at the site, using Autodesk ReMake soft-
Figure 5. Scan locations and point-cloud data along Jumpingpound Creek (2016).
78
ware. CloudCompare software was used to determine the
degree of change that exists between the two non-contem-
poraneously collected point-cloud datasets.
The point-clouds from 2016 and 2017 were first brought
into Autodesk ReCap, where limit boxes were used to iso-
late a 45-metre stretch of the cut bank on both sides of Jump-
ingpound Creek. These smaller sections of the point-cloud
were then imported into CloudCompare, where they were
registered together. The resulting single point-cloud was
colour-coded, according to differences in the absolute dis-
tances between corresponding points in the 2016 and 2017
clouds. Thus, the greater the degree of change between the
two clouds, the greater the distances between correspond-
ing points. Normally, a geo-referenced control network is
established at the site to increase the accuracy and precision
in the registration. This is especially the case in structural
engineering, where detecting changes at the level of mil-
limetres is frequently necessary. However, the changes we
were interested in detecting at Wearmouth were expected to
be much larger and such fine-grained registration was not
necessary.
 Pennanen et al. / Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper 37 (2017) 73–81

6. Results
While this research is still ongoing, initial results (Fig-
ure 6) indicate that significant erosion is continuing to oc-
cur along the cut bank present at the Wearmouth Buffalo
Jump, with substantial impacts to the bone bed and archae-
ological deposits. In some areas of the cut bank, over a
metre of sediment erosion has occurred between 2016 and
2017, with associated loss of zooarchaeological materials
and artifacts at the site. Additionally, a significant loss of
vegetation, further impacting the stability of the cut bank,
was recorded along the scree slope of the bank in the 2017
scans.
at the site appears to be cattle (based on cattle trails and
hoof prints on the banks) that are exacerbating erosion
by climbing up the cut bank from the creek bed. The re-
sults of this analysis will aid in continued site monitoring
and can be used in the determination of methods for site
preservation and protection. As a visualization method
for perceiving all changes simultaneously, as well as a
tool for quantifying amount of change, TLS datasets are
particularly well-suited to investigate impacts of natural
erosion. As we move forward with this research, we plan
to expand the change detection analysis to other areas of
the site.

The impacts of the 2013 flooding of the Jumpingpound

Creek basin has had important repercussions, the effects
of which are ongoing at the Wearmouth Buffalo Jump
and continue to greatly impact the site three and four
years later. One particularly important agent of change
7. Discussion and conclusion
While the potential of terrestrial LiDAR technology has
been extensively utilized and explored within the natural
sciences (e.g., Day et al. 2013; Longoni et al. 2016), the

Figure 6. Results of cloud-to-cloud comparison for change detection between 2016 and 2017 point-cloud datasets; a. Change resulting in continued
erosion of sediments and bone bed deposits along cutbank; b. Change due to loss of vegetation; c. Area containing 2016 excavation; d. Change detected
from lower water levels of Jumpingpound Creek in 2017; e. Perceived changes resulting from differing alignments of cropped point-clouds.

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 Pennanen et al. / Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper 37 (2017) 73–81
implementation of this technology for the documentation
of Indigenous sites that are at-risk due to natural factors
has yet to be fully realized. Terrestrial laser scanning can
be implemented as a tool for the rapid collection of data at
archaeological sites prior to destruction. The ease of imple-
mentation and accuracy of results of TLS allows for the rap-
id determination and quantification of changes to the land-
scape over time. The datasets collected can then be quickly
disseminated among researchers for further interpretations
or for visualization purposes for public outreach and dis-
play.
Archaeology is a unique discipline that lies at the inter-
section of physical spaces and the people inhabiting them,
and all archaeological sites subsequently have a landscape,
within which lies its context. The use of reality capture
technologies like TLS allows archaeologists to investigate
landscapes with an eye for both the human and natural in-
teractions, and therefore provides a greater ability for in-
terpreters to delineate landscapes and the information they
contain. As stated by Richter (2014:42),
terrestrial LiDAR makes the archaeological site itself
an artifact, and allows it to be taken home with the
archaeologist for further investigation, measurement
and analysis.
This additional information, in combination with that ob-
tained from artifact analyses, allows archaeologists to gain
greater insight into how landscapes were constrained or
changed by human activities (French 2003).
Most current uses of TLS for archaeological site docu-
mentation and digital preservation are not fully utilizing
and exploiting these vast datasets. The most applicable and
beneficial aspect of TLS is that it allows for the in situ doc-
umentation of features that are unmovable, and therefore
cannot be taken to the laboratory for further analysis. Ex-
ploring the potential of these datasets for investigating geo-
archaeological processes on archaeological sites provides
new and exciting ways to visualize and document sedimen-
tological features in their fullest detail. This paper demon-
strates the potential of TLS as a remote sensing approach
for the investigation of complex natural alluvial landscapes
with rich cultural archaeological resources. If natural di-
sasters such as major flooding events and wildfires become
more frequent, it is essential that we examine new methods
to determine their impact on vulnerable heritage resourc-
es. Reality capture technologies such as laser scanning may
hold the key to developing more sophisticated monitoring
programs that will ensure heritage resources survive for fu-
ture generations.
80
8. Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Alison Landals of Stan-
tec Consulting Ltd., Alberta Culture and Tourism, with an
additional thank you to the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council. We are also grateful to the Wearmouth
family for providing access to this site, and all the individ-
uals involved in the discovery, excavation, and preservation
of this site.
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