{"id":577,"date":"2016-05-11T10:54:30","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T14:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualitychannelseries\/?p=577"},"modified":"2016-05-11T18:19:03","modified_gmt":"2016-05-11T22:19:03","slug":"forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html","title":{"rendered":"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Chichen<\/a>
Chichen Itza, Mexico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

So you\u2019ve fantasized about being the next Indiana Jones bullwhipping your way through the sinister caverns of Easter Island?\u00a0Well now\u2019s your chance \u2013\u00a0sans<\/i>, that is, the Hollywood villains and special affects. Oh, and the $25 million paycheck for breaking a little sweat.<\/p>\n

Sarah Parcak is a space archaeologist. She uses satellite imagery to track plundered ancient burial sites and find pyramids\u00a0buried under<\/a>\u00a0Egyptian cities. Now, she\u2019d like to make us all space archaeologists . .<\/p>\n

How?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through a digital platform called\u00a0Global Xplorer<\/a>, which will utilize crowdsourcing and satellite images to uncover and protect obscure archaeological sites around the world. Parcak is the\u00a02016 TED Prize winner<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and she plans to use her $1 million prize to launch the project.<\/p>\n

Parcak\u00a0explained<\/a>\u00a0to NPR\u2019s Ari Shapiro how she plans to \u201cgame-ify\u201d archaeological research . .<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a super high tech version of Google Earth,\u201d she says. \u201cMy team and I are going to process lots of satellite imagery and they\u2019ll be put on this platform.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Users will be given a card from a deck that shows actual, processed satellite imagery of a plot of approximately 20 by 20 or 30 by 30 meters in size. Clues and keys by the side of the picture will help them distinguish between known sites, like pyramids, or a new site.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest problem we have when looking at satellite imagery is not the processing,\u201d she says. \u201cThe hardest part is actually eye fatigue. \u2026 Imagine hours and hours looking at satellite imagery. We miss things.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If enough users identify a site, Parcak and her team will examine the data, share certain specifics with academic archaeologists who may then go out and excavate the site.<\/p>\n

How cool! And the best part: we get to go . .<\/p>\n

Smartphone Archaeology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through applications like Periscope, Google Plus, Skype and Instagram, we get to follow them during our proverbial coffee breaks on \u2013 what else \u2013 our Smartphones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re answering the big questions about who we are and where we\u2019ve come from,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the fact that we can get the world to be a part of that is pretty exciting.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes! Now my SLANT readers will know that I\u2019ve ranted\u00a0here and there<\/a>\u00a0on the extravagant billions spent on such \u201cspacey\u201d projects as Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Galactic<\/strong>\u00a0Space tourism<\/a>\u00a0quest. Fine if you\u2019re an air-head who has $250,000 to spend floating around the stratosphere in your spiffy\u00a0space suit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But come on. A more integrated and illuminated human quest, it seems to me, is to delve more deeply into the ancient mysteries of our past. And I mean a past that stems seven million years from our beginnings in Africa, tracking evolution, bioregionalism, and the extraordinary creations of the human spirit, to the techno-crazed, disconnected, and divided species we appear to be today.<\/p>\n

This, along with a little myth busting, could be some of the (free) fruits and rewards that space archaeology has to offer its rookies in the near future.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on board. Bring it on Captain Parcak!<\/p>\n

Cover Photo: Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Expanding the human quest to understand our origins and ultimate destiny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2586,"featured_media":582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,102,42,43],"class_list":["post-577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-archaeology","tag-human-species","tag-satellite","tag-space"],"yoast_head":"\nForget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Expanding the human quest to understand our origins and ultimate destiny.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Expanding the human quest to understand our origins and ultimate destiny.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pit Stop for the Spiritually Bamboozled\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-11T14:54:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-05-11T22:19:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gerard A. Murphy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gerard A. Murphy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html\",\"name\":\"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-11T14:54:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-11T22:19:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#\/schema\/person\/aa5608648e5b0572a68caea83a994fe2\"},\"description\":\"Expanding the human quest to understand our origins and ultimate destiny.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/\",\"name\":\"Pit Stop for the Spiritually Bamboozled\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#\/schema\/person\/aa5608648e5b0572a68caea83a994fe2\",\"name\":\"Gerard A. Murphy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d179225d56f8a110fdf2c61df79c8a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d179225d56f8a110fdf2c61df79c8a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gerard A. Murphy\"},\"description\":\"Gerard A. Murphy is a former priest of the Catholic Diocese of Oakland, CA. He has an avid interest in evolutionary spirituality and cultural trends. His debut book, 'Do It Anyway: Deep Spirituality Meets Real Life' was published by Patheos Press in April 2017. It is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/author\/gmurphy\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home","description":"Expanding the human quest to understand our origins and ultimate destiny.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home","og_description":"Expanding the human quest to understand our origins and ultimate destiny.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html","og_site_name":"Pit Stop for the Spiritually Bamboozled","article_published_time":"2016-05-11T14:54:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-05-11T22:19:03+00:00","author":"Gerard A. Murphy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gerard A. Murphy","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html","name":"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-05-11T14:54:30+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-11T22:19:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#\/schema\/person\/aa5608648e5b0572a68caea83a994fe2"},"description":"Expanding the human quest to understand our origins and ultimate destiny.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/05\/forget-indiana-jones-become-a-space-archaeologist-from-home.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Forget Indiana Jones: Become a Space Archaeologist from Home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/","name":"Pit Stop for the Spiritually Bamboozled","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#\/schema\/person\/aa5608648e5b0572a68caea83a994fe2","name":"Gerard A. Murphy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d179225d56f8a110fdf2c61df79c8a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d179225d56f8a110fdf2c61df79c8a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Gerard A. Murphy"},"description":"Gerard A. Murphy is a former priest of the Catholic Diocese of Oakland, CA. He has an avid interest in evolutionary spirituality and cultural trends. His debut book, 'Do It Anyway: Deep Spirituality Meets Real Life' was published by Patheos Press in April 2017. It is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/author\/gmurphy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2586"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}