新兴科技与考古学相遇

For the layperson, archaeology can seem like a lot of looking down—mostly while digging and sifting through layers of soil for fragments of the past or while examining an 放大后的伪像.

 

人类学专业 艾玛·普尔 ’24, however, has been doing a lot of looking up. 在无人机. 特别是那些 can augment “old-fashioned” archaeology lab work. 她也是这样发现自己的吗 looking at a roomful of people at the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference (MAAC) in Ocean City, MD, this past March as she presented a paper she co-authored.

她是怎么走上这条路的?

After completing her freshman year, 艾玛 spent last summer doing field work with WC’s 丹顿考古实地学校. At this colonial town site known as Barwick’s Ordinary, predated by an older Native American settlement, 艾玛 engaged in plenty of hands-on archaeology: site discovery techniques, surveying, excavation, and recording.

Having grown up on the Eastern Shore, she wishes she’d had opportunities for similar experiences through her primary and secondary school. “我们有公开的日子 site is open to the public – it’s great seeing kids come out and learn about the process 还有当地的历史，”她回忆道. “In [elementary and high] school we learned about national and regional history, and less about local history. 我没有那个，而且 我希望我知道.”

That wish is partly why she is so passionate about archaeology. “发生了什么事? centuries ago is still impacting this area economically and socially,” she says. “你 看到那些东西在挖掘. At Barwick’s Ordinary, we are finding Native American 工件. You can literally see how the culture and occupation has shifted over time.”

The following academic year, Associate Professor of 人类学 Julie Markin connected 艾玛和WC明矾 杰森·埃尔德19岁. Jason, who works for Applied Archaeology and History Associates of Annapolis, had used drone technology to create a 3D virtual reality tour for the Denton site. 通过 an independent study and internship, 艾玛 had been working on her own paper on how technology can be adapted to historic sites to further education and outreach.

The two decided to collaborate—Jason would describe the technology, and 艾玛 would 列出它的潜在应用. Their paper was accepted by MAAC, and 艾玛 and Jason gave a well-received talk about it.

“Drones can give people the experience of visiting a site without compromising its 完整性. You don’t want the site vandalized or disturbed,” says 艾玛.

It can also give nonlocal kids, for whom a visit to the Eastern Shore might be too far for a school trip, the chance to experience the Denton site. 安纳波利斯的孩子们可以 compare Anne Arundel and Caroline counties during the colonial era,” 艾玛 says. 她 also notes that historical societies or archaeological groups can use this type of technology for education or building bridges within the community.

This summer, 艾玛 will again be working at the field site in Denton, but this time 作为实验室主任. Ultimately, she hopes to attend graduate school in the United Kingdom and then return to the States to—no surprise—pursue field work or a career in forensic 人类学.