Mapping country. Recording heritage. Enabling projects.
Understanding country requires more than fieldwork. It requires the ability to record, map and analyse cultural heritage spatially — capturing what exists, where it exists and how it relates to the broader landscape. Trace Archaeology's cultural mapping and GIS team provides exactly that capability, giving Aboriginal Corporations the tools to document and manage their country, and giving developers and miners the spatial data they need to make informed decisions about their projects.
For Aboriginal Corporations and Traditional Owners, cultural mapping is a powerful tool for asserting rights, protecting significant places and building a permanent record of cultural knowledge tied to country. Our team works alongside community members to identify, record and map cultural sites, songlines, significant landscapes and places of ongoing cultural importance — producing GIS datasets and mapping outputs that can be used for heritage management, native title negotiations, ranger programs and land management planning.
For developers, miners and exploration companies, our GIS mapping and spatial data services provide clarity on what cultural heritage is present within a project area, where it is located and how it should be managed. We integrate heritage survey data, registered site information and spatial analysis into clear, accessible mapping products — giving project managers, environmental teams and approvals officers the information they need to plan with confidence.
Our team operates CASA-certified drone technology across all terrain types — from Perth's metropolitan area to the remote ranges of the Pilbara and Kimberley and the landscapes of the Northern Territory. Using high-resolution drone cameras and photogrammetry software, we produce detailed aerial site photographs, 3D models and orthorectified mapping outputs that provide an unparalleled record of heritage sites and their landscape context. Drones allow us to access terrain that would be difficult or impossible to survey on foot, and to capture perspectives that ground-based recording simply cannot replicate.
Our photogrammetry capability also supports heritage site documentation and conservation — creating precise 3D models of rock art, built heritage structures, artefact scatters and other significant places for long-term digital preservation and research.
Trace Archaeology is a division of Trace Enterprises — Perth's only fully integrated heritage, environmental and planning consultancy. Our cultural mapping and GIS outputs integrate seamlessly with the heritage management plans, environmental assessments and planning documents produced by our Trace Archaeology, Trace Ecology and Trace Planning teams.
Aerial Photography & Mapping Index
Every heritage mapping project starts with the right team.
Whether you need cultural mapping, GIS analysis, drone surveys or photogrammetry, Trace Archaeology is ready to help. Talk to our team today — no obligation.