Archaeology often calls to mind dusty dig sites in remote areas on Earth where ancient kingdoms once thrived. While Indiana Jones’ iconic figure has long held the Hollywood image of an archaeologist, the reality is, of course, more grounded in science. Modern archaeology harnesses drones, satellite imaging, hyperspectral imaging, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and virtual reality to advance the field and make new discoveries. Even within the field, the emergence of space archaeology is a relatively new venture focused on preserving humanity’s progress in space.
Image: NASA
Space archaeologist Sarah Parcak had long worked in archaeology before she turned to space. In her 2019 book, Archeology from Space, she reveals how the young field is advancing through the use of multispectral, high-resolution satellite imagery analysis. Parcak has given an award-winning TED talk on satellite archeology and used the prize money to create Global Xplorer, a citizen science project focused on analyzing satellite imagery of archaeological sites.
Parcak isn’t the only one interested in cataloging human activity in and around space. Alice Gorman and Justin Walsh partnered with astronaut Kayla Barron in 2022 to catalogue how objects and areas in the International Space Station were used over a period of 60 days. Gorman has also written the book Dr Space Junk Vs the Universe, where she considers how the objects we use in space and even the ones discarded by the industry tell us something about how humans interact with space.
Space archeology grew out of the ability to use emerging technology in satellite imagery to discover ancient sites on Earth. In the early 1990s, documentary filmmaker Nicholas Clapp partnered with NASA to use satellite imagery to search for the lost city of Ubar, rumored to be in Oman on the ancient frankincense trail. Eventually, the lost city was (likely) located through the use of satellite imagery. Read the full story of early space archaeology and the lost city of Ubar at “Peering Through the Sands of Time” at NASA Earth Observatory.
While it’s uncertain what the future holds for humans and space, we know our impact on this new frontier in archaeology will only grow, and we will need more space archaeologists to examine what that means for our past, present, and future in space.
Read more about space archaeology:
Archaeology From Space: Using Earth observation data to unearth our past.
Satellites are transforming how archaeologists study the past.
How Space Technology is Revolutionizing Archaeology.
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