GlobalXplorer to help map lost archaeology sites in India

Archaeologists have explored less than 10 percent of the earth’s surface, according to Birmingham’s Sarah Parcak, a space archaeologist who uses satellite images to locate lost cultural sites.

Many of these sites are threatened by factors like looting, armed conflict and environmental change.

That’s why Parcak, winner of the $1 million TED Prize in 2016, used the prize to start a new Birmingham-based nonprofit called GlobalXplorer.

“The world’s hidden heritage contains clues to humankind’s collective resilience and creativity,” Parcak said in 2017. “It’s up to all of us to protect this heritage.”

Parcak said GlobalXplorer would allow volunteers with internet access to help “discover and protect the millions of unknown archaeological sites across the globe” by examining satellite images. 

In 2017, 71,000 Xplorers examined 14.8 million images in Peru and mapped about 700 previously unknown archaeological sites, according to GlobalXplorer.

In 2019, GlobalXplorer is doing a new expedition in India. Two team members visited India in March as they worked toward a fall launch in the region.

In India, GlobalXplorer will work with an in-country partner, the Tata Trust, and with the National Geographic Society. 

Parcak is also an associate professor of anthropology at UAB.