Exploring The Uncharted Territories of Arabia

The Earth is constantly evolving. Mountains and shorelines erode, deserts and glaciers shift, continental plates move, ocean levels rise and fall, and natural calamities alter the planet's surface. For billions of years, these are the natural processes that have shaped the Earth's surface. Formerly unimportant species known as homo sapiens started modifying the natural world much more quickly to suit their requirements.

This is common for living things because all plants and animals will change their environment to suit their needs. Humans, on the other hand, were unique in that they not only actively attempted to control their environment but also succeeded in populating every livable surface habitat on the globe, from high mountains to low valleys, from Arctic tundra to equatorial deserts. The impact of these beings on the surface of the Earth became increasingly apparent as the human population increased and their social structures evolved. Humans have indeed evolved a special relationship with their surroundings as social, intelligent beings that like to exert control over them.

One of the most immediate concerns we face in the 21st century is understanding this unique link between humans and their environment, which archaeologists, geographers, and other researchers frequently refer to as "social landscapes." Technology advancements have changed how researchers identify these social landscapes, and this change will have a significant influence on the areas of archaeology, history, geography, environmental sciences, and other related disciplines.

It has gained a lot of attention in the media and in universities how ancient locations on Earth may be made visible. The majority of archaeological remains and features are hidden from view, whether they are buried underground by environmental processes like ancient river courses, old lakes, and field boundaries, covered over by modern towns, or covered by modern vegetation like forests covering settlements in many parts of the world. This is true even though the majority of archeology relies on the visual recognition of past remains.

The use of satellite remote sensing may not only make these concealed, or so-called "invisible," remnants apparent, but it can also position them in far wider contexts, displaying the intricacy of previous social landscapes.

What is satellite remote sensing, and how does it fit into the field of archaeology? The specialized use of satellite imaging (or aerial photographs) for archaeological surveys, which comprises looking for historic sites in a given region at various scales, is known as satellite remote sensing. Our focus is the use of satellite remote sensing in archaeology, but other applications of remote sensing, such as aerial photography, laser scanning of monuments, virtual reality, imagery analysis within geographic information systems (GIS), and satellite imagery analysis, are also important for archaeological investigations.

The detection of "anthropogenic" features in such a landscape is the focus of all types of remote sensing, including imagery analysis in GIS, geophysics, satellite remote sensing, and aerial photography. These features could include a structure like a building or a town, as well as a network of irrigation channels and roads.

In actuality, the word "remote sensing" refers to the remote observation of our environment, encompassing all varieties of photography, video, and other types of visualization. The ability to view a whole landscape at various resolutions and sizes on various satellite imaging databases, as well as the ability to record data outside of the visible spectrum, are further benefits of satellite remote sensing.

Remote sensors can analyze pictures to make previously invisible to the naked eye ancient ruins emerge with exceptional clarity, while also making distracting natural unseen or artificial objects on that landscape (such as trees or buildings) apparent. By reconstructing ancient landscapes in this way, satellite remote sensing helps us comprehend how such landscapes may have seemed to humans in the past.

How can archaeology be studied using satellite remote sensing from space? Only the visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum are visible to humans. Archaeologists have employed the infrared, thermal, and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, which extend well beyond the visible portions of the spectrum, to see through or beneath jungles, deserts, and contemporary detritus to discover ancient remains.

Recent discoveries of ancient Mayan sites in Guatemala, early water management techniques at Angkor Wat, and information on how sculptures from Easter Island were transported are just a few examples of recent archaeological discoveries made utilizing the electromagnetic spectrum.