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ECOmmerce: Leveraging Electronic Commerce for Global Ecological Benefit

Archaeology via Google Earth

Yet another very interesting article in The Economist, dated September 6th – 12th, 2008 - Technology Quarterly section on page eighteen: Armchair Archaeology. This article illustrates another example of how the fusion of e-commerce and the environment – speaking in broad terms - can come together in unique ways. The article describes how archaeology is benefiting from the use of Google Earth http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl to further archaeological research in remote and, some times, very dangerous parts of the world. The Economist can be found online at http://www.economist.com/.

Although archaeologists have used satellite imagery for decades, the technology was out of reach for most researchers due to prohibitive cost and the need for highly specialized skill to working with raw satellite images. Now, fast forward to today’s use of free satellite imagery from Google Earth and imagine – no pun intended - the potential. A digital door has been thrown wide open to explore sites by amateur armchair archaeologists, archaeological expeditions previously restricted due to war torn areas, and archaeologists wanting to reduce planning time and costs for the preparation of future field work.

What Is Already Underway?

A planned Afghanistan survey near the Minaret of JAM had to be abandoned due to continuing conflict in the region. Although initially thwarted, David Thomas, a graduate student at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and the project team called Archaeological Sites of Afghanistan in Google Earth (ASAGE) decided to use computer mice, rather than shovels and trowels to do the work. This was a wise choice if the project team wanted to complete work any time soon. Listen to what Mr. Thomas had to say: “Realistically it is not possible for a Western field archaeologist to work in that area, and I can’t imagine it will be for the next 20 years.” Thanks to Google Earth the ASAGE project team did not have to wait for 20 years to begin their work. This approach offers a way to immediately move forward with their work, provides a safe environment to conduct their study, and significantly reduces costs.

Here is somewhat of an aside to the main message of this article, yet well worth your precious time. Imagines of Afghan archaeological sites can be viewed at
http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi. Enjoy!

But, Does This Really Work?

So, without boots on the ground – as they say – does this type of archaeological work really work? Mr. Thomas’s team, at the World Archaeological Congress in Dublin last July, produced detailed plan of the surrounding sites that revealed the positions of residences, canals, and walled gardens. The bottom-line of this work is that the project team hopes to hand off their work to Afghan archaeologists to enable them to protect some of the sites. Indeed, this is a nice achievement for the team, especially considering their high in the sky work.

Here is one last perspective. This perspective is offered by Dr. Ur, an anthropologist at Harvard University, on using Google Earth in his investigation of Tell Brak, a site in north-east Syria. He states it this way, “If you were to press your nose against an Impressionist painting, you would see color and maybe elements of form, but it’s not until you pull back that these would turn into a bridge or water lilies.

Going Forward

Once again, I am most interested in hearing your thoughts on how we can create a future that furthers commerce in innovative ways and is environmentally sustainable.


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