Aerial Remote Sensing Techniques in Archeology

Today the term remote sensing is generally understood as a technique for the acquisition of environmental data by means of non-contact instruments operating in various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum from air and space platforms. The resultant information may be in the form of a pictorial record or digitized data on tape. In a larger context, however, remote sensing can be considered as a discipline in and of itself with its own peculiar methods, objectives and goals. In this connotation, it is more fully understood as "an entire system including data acquisition, data reduction, interpretation and explanation" (Gumerman and Lyons, 1971:126). The papers presented in this compilation were selected to expand upon this broader concept and to demonstrate some of the applications and limitations of such a system to archeological research. The organization of this volume was designed to provide a connected sequence of papers beginning with background information in a survey of electromagnetic sensing instruments currently employed in the field of remote sensing. Following this are an analysis of the overall potential of remote sensing for archeology, a selection of illustrative studies in widely different environmental settings including the sub-arctic, temperate, semi-arid, sub-tropical and marine zones, and finally a wrap-up discussion of research planning, theory, data sources, materials, and economics of remote sensing in archeology. Perhaps the most singular aspect of remote sensing is not the system as just mentioned but rather its perspective for inquiry comparable in its probing capabilities and revelations to that of the microscope or the telescope. Other scientific disciplines have historically utilized remote sensing's instrumental and perspective capabilities to a fuller extent in research than have the archeologists who until recently employed aerial photography, for instance, principally as a tool of exploration and discovery. Important as this usage has been and will continue to be, other remote sensing potentialities for measurement, interpretation and explanation are being pursued with interest and vigor in anthropological science (Vogt, 1969; Vogt, ed., 1974; Lyons et al, 1972). Basically, it is recognized that this expanded use is methodologically feasible since not all archeological data is buried or hidden in the ground and retrievable only with the spade and trowel. Rather, the physical re- cords of man's past activities and behavior are often still legible in alterations he left behind on the surface.如今，遥感（remote sensing）一词通常被理解为一种通过运行于电磁波谱（electromagnetic spectrum）不同波段、搭载于航空与航天平台的非接触式仪器，获取环境数据的技术。所得到的信息可表现为图像记录或磁带上的数字化数据。然而从更广义的语境来看，遥感本身可被视为一门拥有独特方法、研究对象与目标的独立学科。按照这一内涵，其完整定义可被理解为“涵盖数据获取、数据精简、解译与阐释的完整系统”（Gumerman与Lyons，1971：126）。本汇编所收录的论文，旨在拓展这一广义概念，并展示该系统在考古研究中的若干应用与局限。本论文集的编排逻辑为：首先系统梳理当前遥感领域所使用的电磁传感仪器的背景知识；随后分析遥感技术在考古学中的整体应用潜力；接着选取涵盖亚北极区、温带、半干旱区、亚热带与海洋区域等多样环境背景下的典型研究案例；最后对考古学中遥感技术的研究规划、理论基础、数据来源、研究材料与应用成本展开总结性讨论。 或许遥感技术最独特的意义，并非如前文所述的系统架构，而是其相较于显微镜与望远镜（telescope）的探究视角与探测能力。纵观历史，其他学科相较于考古学界，更充分地利用了遥感的仪器与视角优势——直到不久前，考古学者仍主要将航空摄影（aerial photography）作为勘探与发现的工具。尽管这一用途至关重要且将持续发挥作用，但人类学领域（Vogt，1969；Vogt主编，1974；Lyons等，1972）正以浓厚的兴趣与积极的态度，探索遥感技术在测量、解译与阐释方面的其他潜在价值。学界已基本达成共识：这种拓展性应用在方法论上是可行的，因为并非所有考古数据都埋藏于地下，且仅能通过铁锹与抹刀这类考古工具获取。相反，人类过往活动与行为的实物记录，往往仍清晰留存于其在地表留下的各类改造痕迹中。