Remote Sensing, Fractals, and Cultural Landscapes: An Ethnographic Prolegomenon Using U2 Imagery.

This paper is a preliminary discourse on how settlements fit into their landscapes. One is able to show the degree of similarity between the organizing principles of landscapes and the organizing principles of settlements. It is the first step in showing how landscapes and settlements are impacted by both natural and cultural forces. The paper measures landscapes surrounding settlements with fractals and compares these measurements to similar fractal measurements of the settlements themselves. The data are U2 remote imagery of ethnographic Rio Grande Pueblos. The landscapes surrounding Santa Ana, Pojaque, and Laguna are significantly more similar to their respective towns than the landscapes of Cochiti, Acoma, and Isleta. The technique is extendable to prehistoric landscapes and settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]