Shifting Perspectives And Ethical Concerns in the Era of Remote Sensing Technologies
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title
SAA Archaeological Record
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Publisher
Society for American Archaeology
Volume
18
Issue
2
First Page
8
Last Page
15
Abstract
Dramatic changes have occurred over the past 10 years in the practice of archaeology due to the increasing use of remote sensing technologies (RST), and, in particular, the use of mapping airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) in forested areas. Although archaeologists have used remote techniques such as aerial photography since at least World War II, nearly all archaeological projects today incorporate some sort of advanced geospatial data, equipment, or analysis. These might include combinations of a geographic information system (GIS), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), geophysical sensing, satellite or airborne imagery, or airborne and terrestrial lidar, among many others. The incorporation of these tools has led to significant scientific observations at the global scale. They have transformed the way that we collect data as well as identify areas for further investigation or that are at risk of looting, deforestation, or other threats, and they contribute to debates about the Anthropocene, citizen science, and democratizing research (e.g., Chase et al. 2012; Chen et al. 2017; Evans et al. 2013; Fisher et al. 2017; Khan et al. 2017).
Recommended Citation
2018 Fernandez-Diaz, J.C., Cohen, A.S., González, A., Fisher, C.T. Shifting Perspectives and Ethical Concerns in the Era of Remote Sensing Technologies. SAA Archaeological Record 18(2):8-15.
