Remote sensing (archaeology)

Remote sensing techniques in archaeology are an increasingly important component of the technical and methodological tool set available in archaeological research. The use of remote sensing techniques allows archaeologists to uncover unique data that is unobtainable using traditional archaeological excavation techniques.

Remote Sensing methods employed in the service of archaeological investigations include:

Ground-based geophysical methods such as Ground Penetrating Radar and Magnetometry are also used for archaeological imaging. Although these are sometimes classed as remote sensing, they are usually considered a separate discipline (see Geophysical survey (archaeology)).

Satellite archaeology is an emerging field of archaeology that uses high resolution satellites with thermal and infrared capabilities to pinpoint potential sites of interest in the earth around a meter or so in depth. The infrared light used by these satellites have longer wavelengths than that of visible light and are therefore capable of penetrating the earth's surface. The images are then taken and processed by an archaeologist who specializes in satellite remote sensing in order to find any subtle anomalies on the earth's surface.

Landscape features such as soil, vegetation, geology, and man-made structures of possible cultural interest have specific signatures that the multi-spectral satellites can help to identify. The satellites can then make a 3D image of the area to show if there are any man-made structures beneath soil and vegetation that can not be seen by the naked eye. Commercially available satellites have a .4m-90m resolution that make it possible to see most ancient sites and their associated features in such places as Egypt, Perù and Mexico. It is a hope of archaeologists that in the next few decades resolutions will improve to the point where they are capable of zooming in on a single pottery shard buried beneath the earth's surface.

Satellite archaeology is a non-invasive method for mapping and monitoring potential archaeological sites in an ever changing world that faces issues such as urbanization, looting, and groundwater pollution that could pose threats to such sites. In spite of this, satellites in archaeology are mostly a tool for broad scale survey and focused excavation. All archaeological projects need ground work in order to verify any potential findings.

Some of the most prominent remote sensing research has been done in regard to Maya studies in Mesoamerica. The Petén region of northern Guatemala is of particular focus because remote sensing technology is of very definite use there. The Petén is a densely forested region and it lacks modern settlements and infrastructure. As a result, it is extremely difficult to survey, and because of this remote sensing offers a solution to this research problem. The use of remote sensing techniques in this region is a great example of the applications these methods have for archaeologists. The Petén is a hilly, karstic, thickly forested landscape which offers an incredible barrier for field archaeologists to penetrate. With the advent of remote sensing techniques, a plethora of information has been uncovered about the region and about the people that inhabited it.

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