ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Parcak - Satellite archaeologist + TED Prize winner
Like a modern-day Indiana Jones, Sarah Parcak uses satellite images to locate lost ancient sites. The winner of the 2016 TED Prize, her wish is to protect the world’s shared cultural heritage.

Why you should listen

There may be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of undiscovered ancient sites across the globe. Sarah Parcak wants to locate them. As a space archaeologist, she analyzes high-resolution imagery collected by satellites in order to identify subtle changes to the Earth’s surface that might signal man-made features hidden from view. A TED Senior Fellow and a National Geographic Explorer, Parcak wrote the textbook on satellite archaeology and founded the Laboratory for Global Observation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her goal: to make the world's invisible history visible once again.

In Egypt, Parcak's techniques have helped locate 17 potential pyramids, and more than 3,100 potential forgotten settlements. She's also made discoveries in the Viking world (as seen in the PBS Nova special, Vikings Unearthed) and across the Roman Empire (as shown in the BBC documentary, Rome’s Lost Empire). Her methods also offer a new way to understand how ancient sites are being affected by looting and urban development. By satellite-mapping Egypt and comparing sites over time, Parcak has noted a 1,000 percent increase in looting since 2009. It’s likely that millions of dollars worth of artifacts are stolen each year. Parcak hopes that, through her work, unknown sites can be protected to preserve our rich, vibrant history.

As the winner of the 2016 TED Prize, Parcak asked the world to help in this important work. By building a citizen science platform for archaeology, GlobalXplorer.org, Parcak invites anyone with an internet connection to help find the next potential looting pit or unknown tomb. GlobalXplorer launched on January 30, 2017, with volunteers working together to map Peru. Other countries will follow, as the platform democratizes discovery and makes satellite-mapping rapid and cost-effective. 

 

More profile about the speaker
Sarah Parcak | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Sarah Parcak: Archaeology from space

Sarah Parcak: Arqueologia a partir do espaço.

Filmed:
1,129,965 views

Nesta pequena palestra, a TED Fellow Sarah Parcak introduz o campo de 'arqueologia a partir do espaço' - usando imagens de satélite para procurar pistas de cidades perdidas de antigas civilizações.
- Satellite archaeologist + TED Prize winner
Like a modern-day Indiana Jones, Sarah Parcak uses satellite images to locate lost ancient sites. The winner of the 2016 TED Prize, her wish is to protect the world’s shared cultural heritage. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

Quando eu era criança e morava no Maine,
00:16
When I was a child growing up in Maine,
0
486
2583
uma das minhas atividades favoritas
00:18
one of my favorite things to do
1
3069
1905
00:20
was to look for sand dollars on the seashores of Maine,
2
4974
3196
era procurar estrela do mar da praia nas praias do Maine,
por que meus pais diziam que isso me daria sorte.
00:24
because my parents told me it would bring me luck.
3
8170
2547
00:26
But you know, these shells, they're hard to find.
4
10717
2953
Mas, estas conchas são difíceis de encontrar
00:29
They're covered in sand. They're difficult to see.
5
13670
2522
Elas ficam cobertas de areia.
São difíceis de enxergar.
Todavia, com o tempo, aprendi a localizá-las.
00:32
However, overtime, I got used to looking for them.
6
16192
3923
Comecei a distinguir formas e padrões que me ajudaram
00:36
I started seeing shapes
7
20115
1709
00:37
and patterns that helped me to collect them.
8
21824
3506
a colecioná-las.
Isto se tornou uma paixão por descobrir coisas,
00:41
This grew into a passion for finding things,
9
25330
3611
00:44
a love for the past and archaeology.
10
28941
2645
num amor pelo passado e arqueologia.
00:47
And eventually when I started studying Egyptology,
11
31586
3172
E, finalmente, quando comecei a estudar egiptologia,
00:50
I realized that seeing with my naked eyes alone wasn't enough.
12
34758
4449
eu percebi que ver apenas a olhos nus
não era suficiente.
Porque, de repente, no Egito,
00:55
Because all of the sudden in Egypt
13
39207
2886
minha praia havia crescido de uma pequena praia no Maine
00:57
my beach had grown from a tiny beach in Maine
14
42093
3699
01:01
to one eight hundred miles long
15
45792
1982
para uma faixa de 1280km de extensão
01:03
next to the Nile,
16
47774
2084
ao longo do Nilo,
01:05
and my sand dollars had grown
17
49858
1783
e minhas estrelas do mar haviam crescido
01:07
to the size of cities.
18
51641
2314
para o tamanho das cidades.
01:09
This is really what brought me to using satellite imagery.
19
53955
3179
Fo isto que me levou a utilizar imagens de satélite.
Para tentar mapear o passado,
01:13
For trying to map the past, I knew that I had to see differently.
20
57134
4293
eu sabia que precisava ver de uma forma diferente.
Então, eu quero mostrar a vocês um exemplo
01:17
So I want to show you an example of how we see differently
21
61427
3668
de como podemos ver diferente usando o infravermelho.
01:20
using the infrared.
22
65095
1751
01:22
This is a site located in the eastern Egyptian delta
23
66846
3305
Este é um lugar a leste do delta do Egito
chamado Bendix.
01:26
called Bendix.
24
70151
1281
E o local é visivelmente marrom,
01:27
And the site visibly appears brown,
25
71432
2532
01:29
but when we use the infrared
26
73964
2033
mas quando usamos o infravermelho
01:31
and we process it, all of the sudden, using false color,
27
75997
4317
e processamos utilizando cor falsa,
o lugar toma uma coloração rosa choque.
01:36
the site appears as bright pink.
28
80314
2340
01:38
What you are seeing
29
82654
1557
O que vocês estão vendo
são as alterações químicas da paisagem
01:40
are the actual chemical changes to the landscape
30
84211
3149
causadas pelos materiais de construção
01:43
caused by the building materials and activities
31
87360
3199
01:46
of the ancient Egyptians.
32
90559
2252
e atividades dos egípcios antigos.
01:48
What I want to share with you today
33
92811
2618
O que quero compartilhar com vocês hoje
é como temos usado os dados obtidos por satélites
01:51
is how we've used satellite data
34
95429
2830
para encontrar uma cidade Egípcia antiga
01:54
to find an ancient Egyptian city,
35
98259
2515
01:56
called Itjtawy,
36
100774
1692
chamada Itjtawy,
perdida há milhares de anos.
01:58
missing for thousands of years.
37
102466
2203
02:00
Itjtawy was ancient Egypt's capital
38
104669
2988
Itjtawy foi a capital do Egito antigo
por mais de quatrocentos anos,
02:03
for over four hundred years,
39
107657
1918
02:05
at a period of time called the Middle Kingdom
40
109575
2181
num período denominado Reino Médio
02:07
about four thousand years ago.
41
111756
1768
a cerca de quatro mil anos atrás.
02:09
The site is located in the Faiyum of Egypt
42
113524
2935
A região está localizada em Faiyum, no Egito
e o local é realmente importante, pois no Reino Médio
02:12
and site is really important because in the Middle Kingdom
43
116459
2248
02:14
there was this great renaissance for ancient Egyptian art,
44
118707
3287
se deu a grande renascença da arte,
02:17
architecture and religion.
45
121994
2313
arquitetura e relígião egípcias.
Os egiptologos sempre souberam que o sítio Itjtawy
02:20
Egyptologists have always known the site of Itjtawy
46
124307
3091
localizáva-se em algum lugar próximo às pirâmides
02:23
was located somewhere near the pyramids
47
127398
3100
dos dois reis que a contruíram, dentro dos círculos vermelhos indicados aqui,
02:26
of the two kings who built it, indicated within the red circles here,
48
130498
3824
em algum lugar dessa grande planície inundada.
02:30
but somewhere within this massive flood plane.
49
134322
2396
02:32
This area is huge --
50
136718
1461
Essa área é imensa --
com 6,4km por 4,8km de perímetro.
02:34
it's four miles by three miles in size.
51
138179
2594
02:36
The Nile used to flow right next to the city of Itjtawy,
52
140773
3235
O Nilo margeava a cidade de Itjtawy,
02:39
and as it shifted and changed and moved over time to the east,
53
144008
3601
através do tempo, à medida que o leito do rio foi se deslocando para o leste,
02:43
it covered over the city.
54
147609
2032
ele cobriu a cidade.
02:45
So, how do you find a buried city
55
149641
3432
Então, como encontrar uma cidade sepultada
num terreno tão vasto?
02:48
in a vast landscape?
56
153073
2302
Procurá-la ao acaso seria o equivalente
02:51
Finding it randomly would be the equivalent
57
155375
2174
02:53
of locating a needle in a haystack,
58
157549
2027
a procurar uma agulha num palheiro,
02:55
blindfolded wearing baseball mitts.
59
159576
2857
com os olhos vendados, usando luvas de basebol.
O que fizemos, então, foi usar os dados topográficos da NASA
02:58
So what we did is we used NASA topography data
60
162433
3667
para mapear o terreno buscando leves alterações.
03:02
to map out the landscape, very subtle changes.
61
166100
2924
Começamos por encontrar o antigo leito do Nilo.
03:04
We started to be able to see where the Nile used to flow.
62
169024
3417
Mas pode-se ver com mais detalhes -- e ainda mais interessante --
03:08
But you can see in more detail -- and even more interesting --
63
172441
3065
03:11
this very slight raised area
64
175506
2687
esta área levemente elevada
dentro deste círculo aqui, onde achamos que pudesse estar
03:14
seen within the circle up here, which we thought could possibly be
65
178193
2378
03:16
the location of the city of Itjtawy.
66
180571
2437
localizada a citade de Itjtawy.
03:18
So we collaborated with the Egyptian scientists
67
183008
2523
Portanto, trabalhamos em colaboração com os cientistas egípcios
03:21
to do coring work, which you see here.
68
185531
2839
na prospecção que se vê aqui.
Quando eu digo prospecção, é como escavar camadas
de gêlo
03:24
When I say coring, it's like ice coring, but instead of
69
188370
2654
03:26
layers of climate change you're looking for layers of human occupation.
70
191024
3616
mas em vez de camadas de mudanças climáticas, o objetivo é encontrar traços de ocupação humana.
03:30
And five meters down,
71
194640
1801
E cinco metros abaixo,
sob uma grossa camada de lama,
03:32
underneath a thick layer of mud,
72
196441
2166
03:34
we found a dense layer of pottery.
73
198607
3326
encontramos uma camada densa de cerâmica artesanal.
03:37
What this shows is that at this possible location
74
201933
2698
O que isto demonstra é que esta é a possível localização
03:40
of Itjtawy, five meters down,
75
204631
1803
de Itjtawy, cinco metros abaixo da superfície
há traços de ocupação de várias centenas de anos
03:42
we have of layer of occupation for several hundred years
76
206434
3057
datado do Reino Médio, da exata era
03:45
dating to the Middle Kingdom, dating to the exact period of time
77
209491
2499
03:47
we think Itjtawy is.
78
211990
1774
a qual acreditamos ter existido Itjtawy.
03:49
We also found work stone --
79
213764
3234
Também encontramos trabalhos com pedras
tais como cornalina, quartzo e ágata, o que
indica
03:52
carnelian, quartz and agate that shows
80
216998
2333
que havia uma joalheria neste lugar.
03:55
that there was a jewelers workshop here.
81
219331
2034
Isto pode não parecer muito,
03:57
These might not look like much,
82
221365
1349
03:58
but when you think about the most common stones
83
222714
2552
mas quando pensamos nas pedras mais comuns
usadas nas jóias no Reino Médio,
04:01
used in jewelry from the Middle Kingdom,
84
225266
2768
estas eram as pedras utilizadas.
04:03
these are the stones that were used.
85
228034
2326
Temos, portanto, fortes traços de ocupação
04:06
So, we have a dense layer of occupation
86
230360
2472
04:08
dating to the Middle Kingdom at this site.
87
232832
1736
datando o Reino Médio neste sítio.
04:10
We also have evidence of an elite jewelers workshop,
88
234568
3121
Temos também evidência de uma joalheria de elite
04:13
showing that whatever was there was a very important city.
89
237689
3608
indicando que esta era uma cidade muito importante.
Não é Itjtawy ainda,
04:17
No Itjtawy was here yet,
90
241297
1764
mas voltaremos ao sítio
04:18
but we're going to be returning to the site
91
243061
2000
em breve para mapeá-lo.
04:20
in the near future to map it out.
92
245061
2130
E, ainda mais importante,
04:23
And even more importantly,
93
247191
2223
conseguimos recursos para treinar jovens egípcios
04:25
we have funding to train young Egyptians
94
249414
2300
04:27
in the use of satellite technology
95
251714
2084
no uso de tecnologia de satélite
04:29
so they can be the ones making great discoveries as well.
96
253798
3726
de forma a incluí-los nas grandes descobertas também.
04:33
So I wanted to end with my favorite quote
97
257524
3120
Assim, queria finalizar com a minha frase favorita
do Reino Médio --
04:36
from the Middle Kingdom --
98
260644
1686
inscrita na cidade de Itjtawy, provavelmente há quatro mil anos.
04:38
it was probably written at the city of Itjtawy four thousand years ago.
99
262330
4293
04:42
"Sharing knowledge is the greatest of all callings.
100
266623
3268
"Compartilhar o conhecimento é o maior de todos os apelos.
Não há nada comparável no mundo."
04:45
There's nothing like it in the land."
101
269891
1851
04:47
So as it turns out, TED was not founded in 1984 AD.
102
271742
6003
Daí , TED não foi fundado em 1984 DC.
04:53
(Laughter)
103
277745
2115
(Risos)
04:55
Making ideas actually started in 1984 BC
104
279860
5699
O burilar idéias que de fato começou em 1984 AC,
05:01
at a not-lost-for-long city, found from above.
105
285559
3262
numa cidade que não permanecerá perdida por muito tempo
localizada a partir do espaço,
05:04
It certainly puts finding seashells by the seashore in perspective.
106
288821
4190
realmente dá a dimensão do que seja procurar estrelas do mar.
Muito obrigada.
05:08
Thank you very much.
107
293011
1786
05:10
(Applause)
108
294797
1856
(Aplausos)
05:12
Thank you.
109
296653
1340
Obrigada.
05:13
(Applause)
110
297993
1500
(Aplausos)
Translated by Alessandra Areias
Reviewed by Wanderley Jesus

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Parcak - Satellite archaeologist + TED Prize winner
Like a modern-day Indiana Jones, Sarah Parcak uses satellite images to locate lost ancient sites. The winner of the 2016 TED Prize, her wish is to protect the world’s shared cultural heritage.

Why you should listen

There may be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of undiscovered ancient sites across the globe. Sarah Parcak wants to locate them. As a space archaeologist, she analyzes high-resolution imagery collected by satellites in order to identify subtle changes to the Earth’s surface that might signal man-made features hidden from view. A TED Senior Fellow and a National Geographic Explorer, Parcak wrote the textbook on satellite archaeology and founded the Laboratory for Global Observation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her goal: to make the world's invisible history visible once again.

In Egypt, Parcak's techniques have helped locate 17 potential pyramids, and more than 3,100 potential forgotten settlements. She's also made discoveries in the Viking world (as seen in the PBS Nova special, Vikings Unearthed) and across the Roman Empire (as shown in the BBC documentary, Rome’s Lost Empire). Her methods also offer a new way to understand how ancient sites are being affected by looting and urban development. By satellite-mapping Egypt and comparing sites over time, Parcak has noted a 1,000 percent increase in looting since 2009. It’s likely that millions of dollars worth of artifacts are stolen each year. Parcak hopes that, through her work, unknown sites can be protected to preserve our rich, vibrant history.

As the winner of the 2016 TED Prize, Parcak asked the world to help in this important work. By building a citizen science platform for archaeology, GlobalXplorer.org, Parcak invites anyone with an internet connection to help find the next potential looting pit or unknown tomb. GlobalXplorer launched on January 30, 2017, with volunteers working together to map Peru. Other countries will follow, as the platform democratizes discovery and makes satellite-mapping rapid and cost-effective. 

 

More profile about the speaker
Sarah Parcak | Speaker | TED.com