Can Archeologists utilize AI to dig deeper and solve the mysteries of the past?

Excavating ancient temples and ancient tombs full of gold and powerful weapons is the fantasy of all the archeologists. But searching for them across stretching landscapes is tedious, laborious and time-consuming. The use of AI in archeology has been gaining ground in recent years due to its ability to take on tasks which are tedious, laborious, time-consuming, repetitive or difficult.

Introduction: What is Archeology?

Archeology is the study of the human past through the material culture left behind. Archeologists uncover and examine material evidence of past human life and culture. This process typically involves creating a horizontal excavation in the earth, revealing buried materials. Researchers are always looking for new ways to help them dig deeper into history.

How can AI be utilized?

Archeologists use AI in a variety of ways. For example:

• Archeologists are increasingly turning to robots, drones to conduct large-scale surveys in remote areas, sites that were previously inaccessible. To explore sites, satellites and drones serve as the eye of skyscrapers to dig the hidden wealth. OBIA (object-based image analysis) has been developed by teaching the algorithm the shape and texture of the mounds, so it could identify potential sites from LIDAR (3D scanning technology) data that is analyzed.

• AI and computer algorithms are being used to analyze satellite image data and automate the process of finding archeological sites.

• AI methods can understand chemicals and understand the chemical structure of ceramics, pottery, and other artifacts. It can help in analyzing the places where the raw materials were produced, past trading networks, and how far they were transported.

• Using AI neural networks like CNN we can learn how various languages may have evolved in different parts of the world.

ArchAI, founded by Iris Kramer,a startup company uses deep learning and AI to automatically detect archaeology on earth observation data to de-risk the construction industry .

Recent discoveries made with the help of AI:

Last year there were more than 65 archeological papers published that made use of machine learning in some fashion, and that number will likely only continue to grow in the future.

• Researchers at the University of Southampton identify and track down the world's oldest rock paintings and their geographical coordinates, which are found in remote parts of Africa. (with the help of ML, AI , satellite imagery)

• Researchers at the ICAC reconstructed more than 20,000 km of paleo-rivers in the Indus Valley Civilization which falls in Pakistan and India. With the use of ML to analyze satellite imagery many other unknown sites of Bronze Age Cultures.

• A team of Mexican archeologist persons from the Philipps University of Marburg found pieces of Obsidian stone glass in Xalasco in western Mexico and classified obsidian workpieces into separate groups based on the origin of raw materials This research suggested inhabitants of this pre-Columbian site had a certain exchange of material from others regions but most of the material is mined from the near sites.(Portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to examine the chemical composition of the workpieces and classifies with the help of AI)

• Last year inscriptions on damaged Greek artifacts made of ceramics were recreated with the help of a deep neural network  called PYTHIA developed by Google DeepMind. Damaged text was the input and the character sequences were predicted as the output.

• Two Israeli Universities restored broken words written in Akkadian language, an extinct language spoken in Mesopotamian empires of Babylon and Assyria some 2500 years before Christ and up to 600 BC.

• Chinese scientists applied CNN to find out about another ancient language found on turtle shells and ox bones. It classified the bone morphology in order to piece together fragments   that had inscriptions showing evidence of the earliest recorded Chinese history.

Conclusion:

 “AI in archeology has been increasing substantially over the past few years,” said Dylan Davis, a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Penn State University. “One of the major uses of AI in archeology is for the detection of new archeological sites.”

Using machine learning, we can identify burial sites, classify ancient pottery fragments, locate shipwrecks and identify historical sites. It can also translate ancient languages and find artifacts. AI will provide the key to unlocking artifacts and information that we can't reach without sending human archeologists to dig for years. It will transform the way people think about history and their ancestors and help us understand how ancient people lived.

Do you think that as technology advances, one day machines will be used to excavate sites from satellite data alone?

Sources:

Archaeologists Use AI to 'Dig Deeper' | by Natasha Matta | Geek Culture | Medium

The New Indiana Jones? AI. Here's How It's Overhauling Archaeology

Artificial Intelligence in Archaeology: Can it be the Next Indiana Jones?

Use of AI in Archaeology and its Impact. | Futurism