Using Laser Signals via aerial LIDAR to Map an Ancient Civilization in a Matter of Days, Surpassing Decades of On-the-Ground Mapping : Caracol : Belize : Archaeology by Chase & Chase

Laser signals via aerial LIDAR (light detection and ranging) permit a twin-engine aircraft to map ancient Caracol in Belize in Central America in a matter of days, surpassing mapping results obtained by on-the-ground mapping over two and a half decades by the archaeological husband-and-wife team of Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase.

For the story see John Noble Wilford at the New York Times in Using Laser to Map Ancient Civilization in a Matter of Days.

World's - Allegedly - Oldest Surviving Geological Map: ca. 1150 B.C. Turin Papyrus Egypt James A. Harrell & V. Max Brown : Journal of Geology

Article: The World's Oldest Surviving Geological Map: The 1150 B.C. Turin Papyrus from Egypt
authored by James A. Harrell and V. Max Brown
The Journal of Geology, 1992, volume 100, p. 3–18
Copyright 1992 The University of Chicago
DOI: 10.1086/629568

Chicago Journals - The Journal of Geology