It seems that everyone, even archaeologists, is in some way getting involved with Big Data. Yet, there are some that have been behind the curve and are only recently beginning to realize the giant benefits that await by taking advantage of the latest technology in data acquisition and analysis.
One of these lagging fields is archaeology. Long focused on getting down and dirty with the standard tools of the trade, the trowel, the pick, and the humble brush, archaeology has long resisted the encroachment of modern technology into the study of the past. To be fair, it’s easy to understand why. Much the joy of archeology, or many other professions, lies in the discovery. Of using those humble tools to chip away at the earth, unveiling relics of the past, sometimes discovering not just a new bit of pottery, but a whole civilization that could completely upend the field. Archeology itself is focused primarily on the past, on older, simpler ways of life devoid of modern convenience. It’s easy to see how it could feel like cheating or even disrespectful to make use of drones, satellites, sonar and other instruments to do the work.
While understandable, these attitudes have kept the field from advancing as far as it could. Thankfully, that is beginning to change. This was brought to the attention of many during a study of the Spanish conquest of the Incas in Peru, or rather the period after. As often happens when a land is conquered, the Incas were forced to resettle. A task the Spanish initially found very difficult to manage, given the vast territory of the Inca Empire. How it was they managed the task is a question archaeologists and anthropologists have been asking for some time. Thanks to the efforts of Steven Wernke, Parker VanValkenburgh, and Akira Saito, an answer has been found. Studying satellite images of the area, the researchers noticed that the Spanish bases that managed the resettlement followed right along the Inca roadways. In short, the Spanish, despite their vastly superior technology relative to the Incas still had to rely on their infrastructure to manage the empire.
Does this discovery mean that machines and algorithms will be replacing people in dusty cargo shorts painstakingly brushing dirt away from ancient idols? No, of course not. We are nowhere near that level of capability yet and may well never be. What it does mean is that as archeologists begin to comb through databases of satellite photos, drone footage, and geological data, they will be better equipped to recognize certain patterns faster which could help them better understand the site they are at or even help to figure out where to dig in the first place.
So, how can TARTLE be of service here? While our users don’t yet have access to satellite photos, there are many users around the world with drones who would be more than willing to share that information. Rather than having to spend time and money getting one themselves and learning how to use it, archaeologists could simply search our data marketplace for footage from the area they are interested in and offer to purchase that data. This could greatly increase the efficiency of identifying a potential dig site.
What of archaeologists themselves? As is the case with many scientific fields, there is a fair amount of gatekeeping that goes on, especially when it comes to shutting out new theories that challenge the established wisdom. Yet, some of the biggest advances in understanding the world came from questioning that very wisdom. What if archeologists, anthropologists, and scientists of all kinds had an anonymous forum in which to share information and ideas? One where they could speculate openly without fear of having their reputations shredded by the gatekeepers? TARTLE could be exactly that ‘safe space’. What sort of advancements could we experience then? How would our understanding of the past and the world around us grow? How could that help shape the future?
What’s your data worth? Sign up and join the TARTLE Marketplace with this link here.
