LiDAR is a remote sensing technology that analyses the light reflected off a target that has been illuminated by means laser. LiDAR uses ultraviolet, visible, or near infrared light to image objects and between a wide range of materials can distinguish The LiDAR was first invented in the 1960’s and has been used to create high-resolution maps. Aircraft mounted LiDAR can map surfaces down to a 30cm resolution or better. LiDAR can be used to provide archaeologists with the ability to create high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) which is particularly helpful in dense environment, scans can  reveal micro-topography that are otherwise hidden by vegetation. Archaeologists from the University of Central Florida are using this technology to scan the Maya Caracol site and have discovered that in just a few weeks of LiDAR work they were able to create a detailed map of 80 square miles of the site more than eight times what they had been able to map in the 25 years they had been working on the site.