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Over the last few decades, a revolution took place in our ability to observe and "explore" our home planet using spaceborne and airborne remote sensing instruments. This revolution resulted from the new capability of observing on a large, regional and global, scale surface patterns and features, and from using multispectral instruments to observe surface signatures not visible to the human eye, and to penetrate below the surface cover using microwave radiation. Over the last decade, this new technology is being brought to bear in the field of archaeology. As nicely and comprehensively described in this book, remote sensing techniques are bringing new powerful tools to help archaeologists in their quest of discovery and exploration. Even though this field is still in its infancy, the different articles in this book give us a glimpse of the things to come and the great potential of remote sensing in archaeology. The editors have brought an excellent sampling of authors that illustrate how remote sensing techniques are being used in the real world of arc- ological exploration. A number of chapters illustrate how spaceborne and airborne remote sensing instruments are being used to decipher surface morphological features in arid (Egypt, Arabia), semi-arid (Greece, Ethiopia, Italy), as well as tropical regions (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cambodia) to help in archeological and paleontological exploration. They illustrate the use of surface-cover penetration with radars, high-resolution multispectral imaging on a regional basis, as well as topographic signatures acquired with spaceborne and airborne sensors.
List of contents
Foreword.- Acknowledgements .- Introduction.- Radar and Satellite Images.- Imaging Radar in Archaeological Investigations: An Image-Processing Perspective.- Radar Images and Geoarchaeology of the Eastern Sahara.- Southern Arabian Desert Trade Routes, Frankincense, Myrrh, and the Ubar Legend.- The Use of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) in Archaeological Investigations and Cultural Heritage Preservation.- Detection and Identification of Archaeological Sites and Features Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Data Collected from Airborne Platforms.- Putting Us on the Map: Remote Sensing Investigation of the Ancient Maya Landscape.- Creating and Perpetuating Social Memory across the Ancient Costa Rican Landscape.- Spaceborne and Airborne Radar at Angkor: Introducing New Technology to the Ancient Site.- Aerial Photography and Fractals.- Remote Sensing, Fractals, and Cultural Landscapes: An Ethnographic Prolegomenon Using U2 Imagery.- Geographic Information Systems.- Understanding Archaeological Landscapes: Steps Towards an Improved Integration of Survey Methods in the Reconstruction of Subsurface Sites in South Tuscany.- Remote Sensing and GIS Analysis of a Maya City and Its Landscape: Holmul, Guatemala.- Remote Sensing and GIS Use in the Archaeological Analysis of the Central Mesopotamian Plain.- Geophysical Prospecting and Analytical Presentations.- Ground-Penetrating Radar for Archaeological Mapping.- Integrating Multiple Geophysical Datasets.- Ground-Penetrating Radar Advances in Subsurface Imaging for Archaeology.- Landscape Archaeology and Remote Sensing of a Spanish-Conquest Town: Ciudad Vieja, El Salvador.- Urban Structure at Tiwanaku: Geophysical Investigations in the Andean Altiplano.- Geophysical Archaeology in the Lower Amazon: A Research Strategy.- Maritime Setting Applications.- Archaeological Oceanography.- Precision Navigation and Remote Sensing for Underwater Archaeology.- Cultural Resources and Heritage Management.- Applications of Remote Sensing to the Understanding and Management of Cultural-Heritage Sites
Summary
Over the last few decades, a revolution took place in our ability to observe and “explore” our home planet using spaceborne and airborne remote sensing instruments. This revolution resulted from the new capability of observing on a large, regional and global, scale surface patterns and features, and from using multispectral instruments to observe surface signatures not visible to the human eye, and to penetrate below the surface cover using microwave radiation. Over the last decade, this new technology is being brought to bear in the field of archaeology. As nicely and comprehensively described in this book, remote sensing techniques are bringing new powerful tools to help archaeologists in their quest of discovery and exploration. Even though this field is still in its infancy, the different articles in this book give us a glimpse of the things to come and the great potential of remote sensing in archaeology. The editors have brought an excellent sampling of authors that illustrate how remote sensing techniques are being used in the real world of arc- ological exploration. A number of chapters illustrate how spaceborne and airborne remote sensing instruments are being used to decipher surface morphological features in arid (Egypt, Arabia), semi-arid (Greece, Ethiopia, Italy), as well as tropical regions (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cambodia) to help in archeological and paleontological exploration. They illustrate the use of surface-cover penetration with radars, high-resolution multispectral imaging on a regional basis, as well as topographic signatures acquired with spaceborne and airborne sensors.
Report
"This book provides an excellent and diverse overview of the emerging capability of remote sensing archaeology and is a very valuable and important text for archaeologists in their quest to use advanced technology to help in their studies of exploration, and for remote sensing technologists and scientists by giving them a good understanding of the challenges that archaeologistsfind in their endeavors. The editors are to be applauded for bringing together such an excellent collection of authors and articles to cover this important emerging field." (Charles Elachi, Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA), Pasadena, California)
