To: connellsamuel@...
From: e-dyrdahl@...
Subject: My Senior Thesis


Sam-


This email is being written in response to the setup of the new data
clearinghouse group. Although
I have nothing final as of yet, I figured I should let you know what
exactly I have been and am
currently doing.


This week I will be beginning the analysis for my senior thesis.
Basically I am looking at the
landscape around the fortresses to hopefully say something meaningful
about the Inka and their
warfare/conquest strategies.


I am doing both site catchment and viewshed analysis for my project.
The site catchment is being
done using a 90-m resolution SRTM raster file with the elevations
reclassified to represent certain
bands using the information in Ana's paper as a guide. The viewshed
analysis is also being done
with this raster file as well as the photographs I took at the
different fortresses.


For right now, it appears that my most worthwhile route will be
comparing the site catchments of
the Inka forts with the two that appear to not be Inka (Pimgulmi and
Pukarito). I might also try to
compare the forts to other sites in the region.


All I have written to this point is basically the lit review and
methodology portions of my thesis,
which outlines the understanding of Inka warfare and how it has been
understudied by other
archaeologists. I also discuss the knowledge of Inka conquest tactics,
fortification practices, and
the Caranqui example in particular.


If you have any comments, idea, etc. on what I am doing, please let me
know! I can also send you
what I have written to this point and see what you think!


Best,
Eric