Satellite-based remote sensing rapidly reveals extensive record of Holocene coastal settlement on Madagascar

Despite decades of archaeological research, roughly 75% of Madagascar's land area remains archaeologically unexplored and the oldest sites on the island are difficult to locate, as they contain the ephemeral remains of mobile hunter/forager campsites. The known archaeological record is therefore biased toward later sites, especially sites dating to the second millennium AD, following the expansion of Indian Ocean trading networks. Systematic...