From radiocarbon dating in the 1940s to remote sensing techniques (RST) in the 1960s, archaeologists have long been early users of technology. Now, experts can use robots to explore ancient cities underwater. Imaging technologies can show the true colors of ancient statues, and protein analysis tells us what diseases ancient people had. Here are three more of the main tech tools used in archaeology.
LiDAR
Ancient sites and buildings may be hidden under trees, water, soil and other things, making them difficult to find for archaeologists. However, with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), archaeologists can scan different areas and find previously hidden sites. It works by sending laser pulses and receiving data from the surface below. The data can then help produce a 3D image of a buried city. In the early 2010s, archaeologists used LiDAR to find a lost Mayan city of which there used to be little evidence.
Virtual reality
Rebuilding ancient sites is an important part of archaeology. But it's never an easy job, as the original materials are hard to find, and rebuilding may also cause harm to the site. VR technology helps to bring old sites back to life. For example, British archaeologist Morgan rebuilt a Neolithic site in Turkey with VR. She collected data from the site and "rebuilt" the site brick by brick on a computer. Then by wearing a VR headset, she "walked around" the site. "It allowed me to look at the site in ways I've never done before," she told Slate, an online magazine.
Artificial intelligence
There are many mysterious words on the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty that lake a lot of time for archaeologists to understand. AI can help with this. By quickly analyzing a huge amount of data, AI can find patterns and learn to "read" these words.
