EAST—In late 2025, the cultural resources management firm Hartgen Archeological Associates Inc. used LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to map the Flint Mine Archaeological Site, a Conservancy preserve in New York’s Hudson Valley. The approximately 62-acre site contains a chert outcropping that was used by Indigenous toolmakers for thousands of years and was acquired by the Conservancy in 2021 as part of a mitigation for a large solar development taking place in the region.
Although the site’s chert outcrop was an important source of toolstone, the quarry has undergone very little systematic study. William Beauchamp of the New York State Museum first documented the site as early as 1900 after local residents shared artifact collections from the area. In 1924, State Archaeologist Arthur Parker formally investigated the quarry, recording numerous pits and extensive accumulations of stone debris. He also produced the first map of the site. Aside from excavations by the University at Albany in the 1990s, little additional fieldwork has been conducted.
Hartgen completed the LiDAR survey as a mitigation for another development project. By measuring subtle variations in the ground surface beneath vegetation, the technology mapped quarry features more accurately and in greater detail than Parker could achieve on foot. The site’s scale, geology, and dense vegetation had previously made such a comprehensive spatial view difficult.
The 3D aerial map produced from this survey offers a more comprehensive and useful view of the site. Researchers can now use the dataset to examine how quarrying developed across the hill and how people accessed its chert beds over time. The survey also establishes a detailed baseline for the Conservancy’s long-term stewardship, allowing future LiDAR mapping to help identify disturbances or other changes at the preserve.
