Remote Sensing in Archaeology

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.