Sarah Parcak: Help discover ancient ruins -- before it's too late
Sarah Parcak: Ayuda a descubrir ruinas antiguas, antes de que sea demasiado tarde
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.
what my favorite discovery is.
mi descubrimiento favorito.
en mi primera excavación.
unexpected, wonderful things.
cosas inesperadas y maravillosas.
archaeological partnership.
arqueológica increíble.
in front of our favorite pair statue
frente a nuestras estatuas favoritas
Rahotep and Nofret,
Rahotep y Nofret,
to spend the rest of this life with me,
pasar el resto de esta vida conmigo,
in front of two people
delante de dos personas
to be together for eternity.
una eternidad.
because when we look at them,
porque al mirarlos,
no ha cambiado.
is as powerful as love,
es tan poderosa como el amor,
seductive mistress imaginable.
la amante más seductora imaginable.
have devoted their lives
han dedicado sus vidas
pueda cambiar la historia.
I worked at a site
trabajé un sitio
called Mendes, dating to 4,200 years ago,
llamado Mendes, de hace 4200 años,
by emerald green rice paddies,
arrozales verde esmeralda,
left by whoever made the vessel.
que alguien dejó en ella.
me di cuenta de que
we are in the midst of the great past.
como en medio del gran pasado.
in front of the Pyramids of Giza,
frente a las pirámides de Giza,
person in the world.
más afortunada del mundo.
and everything that is possible.
y a su mundo de posibilidades.
their brilliance as human --
el esplendor humano...
por extraterrestres.
is get up close and personal,
by the tools that built them.
las herramientas de construcción.
was built one stone at a time
de a una piedra a la vez
that stand the test of time;
resistieron el paso del tiempo
jokes from Mesopotamia
de la Mesopotamia
cursing each other
a otros vecinos
from 3,300 years ago in Luxor:
de hace 3300 años en Luxor,
who cut class to go drinking.
que escapan de clase para ir a beber.
incredible architecture,
a selfie in stone --
una selfie en piedra,
rocked serious bling.
memory preservers
la memoria cultural
and the thousands of cultures
y de las miles de culturas
and a leap of faith
y un voto de confianza
resucitar a los muertos.
incredible discoveries, including:
cosas increíbles como:
ever discovered --
descubiertas --
of medical implements found
instrumentos médicos encontrados
used to treat syphilis.
usado para tratar la sífilis.
incredibly important discoveries
important thing we do as archaeologists
que hacemos los arqueólogos
personas en el pasado
what the world would be like today
human beings in this way?
los seres humanos de esta forma?
is a WorldView-3 satellite image,
from 400 miles in space
desde 650 km en el espacio
and process them using algorithms,
y las proceso con algoritmos,
in the light spectrum
en el espectro lumínico
under the ground
de Arqueología Espacial,
al sur de El Cairo.
just south of Cairo.
using algorithms --
en el espacio -
and unexcavated,
to see it in thousands of years.
que la ven en miles de años.
scratched the surface
una idea superficial
than one-1000th of one percent
de una milésima del 1 %
the thousands of other sites
pales in comparison
nos queda por descubrir.
all around the world
of undiscovered archaeological sites
arqueológicos desconocidos
of our existence.
de nuestra existencia.
to archaeological sites,
en sitios arqueológicos,
at sites so rampant,
rampantes en sitios
modern human lives,
vidas humanas modernas
to destroy cultural identity as well.
de destruir la identidad cultural también.
have done the same throughout history.
lo hicieron a lo largo de la historia.
from the looting of sites,
del saqueo de sitios,
purchased on the market today
comprado en el mercado hoy
90 percent of it pieces
ya le falta el 90 % de las piezas
beyond recognition.
totalmente irreconocible.
que se borra.
of looting going on:
de saqueos en curso:
elementos criminales como Daesh,
by those that are desperate for money.
de gente desesperada por dinero.
to feed our families;
alimentar a nuestra familia.
the unethical traffickers
a los traficantes poco éticos
or even completely nonexistent laws.
o completamente inexistentes.
on a global scale and it's increasing,
a escala mundial y va en aumento,
any tools to stop it.
herramientas para detenerlo.
looking at looting in Egypt.
sobre el saqueo en Egipto.
of looting across Egypt
and site destruction at 267 sites,
y destrucción de sitios en 267 casos,
fosos de saqueo.
de saqueo aquí marcados.
from 2009, 2011, 2012 --
desde 2009, 2011, 2012...
contrary to popular opinion,
a la opinión popular
in Egypt in 2011 after the Arab Spring,
Egipto en 2011 tras la Primavera Árabe,
an economic issue.
un tema económico.
para detener el problema,
by looting by 2040.
afectados por saqueo para 2040.
en un punto de inflexión.
and all the technologies
las herramientas y las tecnologías
suficientemente rápido.
can surprise you with its resilience.
puede sorprender por su resiliencia.
el Ministerio de Antigüedades de Egipto
with Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities
of Egypt between 2,000 and 1,750 BC.
de Egipto entre 2000 y 1750 a.C.
Egypt's Renaissance period.
de renacimiento del antiguo Egipto.
and environmental challenges,
y desafíos ambientales,
of art, architecture and literature.
de arte, arquitectura y literatura.
to study in Egypt,
para estudiar en Egipto
about how we can survive and thrive
cómo podemos sobrevivir y prosperar
countless looting pits.
ingentes fosos de saqueo.
of people buried there
enterradas allí
at the court of Pharaoh.
en la corte del faraón.
you see dozens of looting pits.
vemos decenas de fosos de saqueo
of many high-ranking officials
de muchos altos funcionarios
for you what was taken.
full of coffins, jewelry
llenos de ataúdes, joyería,
approached me and said,
se acercó a mí y dijo:
but I didn't think we'd find anything.
pensé que no encontraríamos nada.
had stolen everything.
habían robado todo.
were the most incredible reliefs.
it's just stunning.
es simplemente estupenda.
inscripciones gravadas.
del propietario de la tumba.
"Overseer of the Army,"
"Superintendente del Ejército",
podríamos encontrar su nombre.
their name last for eternity
el nombre perdurara por la eternidad
de la tumba: Intef.
here, in hieroglyphs.
en jeroglíficos.
from 3,900 years ago.
de alguien de hace 3900 años.
with my Egyptian colleagues,
con mis colegas egipcios,
of shared discovery.
de descubrimiento compartido.
was right and true.
era correcto y verdadero.
increíble, casi intacta.
false door, mostly intact.
and his inscriptions.
y sus inscripciones.
I had assumed about looted sites
suponía de los sitios saqueados
together with 70 Egyptians
trabajamos con 70 egipcios,
hatred and ignorance
a protest for peace.
como una manifestación de paz.
that don't look like you,
que no se nos parecen,
como nosotros,
of archaeological discovery
de descubrimiento arqueológico
isn't about what you find.
con lo que encontramos.
demostramos como posible.
you end up finding long-lost family --
una familia perdida hace mucho,
compartimos genes,
al libro de la vida.
just North of Luxor, called Guft.
una aldea al norte de Luxor.
tradition in Egyptology.
tradición en la egiptología.
and work crew organization.
los equipos de trabajo.
operaciones y financiero.
when I was a young graduate student
cuando era una joven licenciada
who couldn't speak much English,
que no hablaba bien inglés,
con seis horas de diferencia.
but forever connected
pero ligados para siempre
trabajaríamos juntos
not everything can be explained.
que no todo tiene explicación.
I will always love you.
siempre te amaré.
excavación en Egipto,
Professor William Kelley Simpson,
profesor William Kelly Simpson,
este verano.
for someone else."
is partial payback, plus interest --
es un reembolso más intereses...
generosity and kindness.
de un gran ser humano.
of unknown archaeological sites
sitios arqueológicos desconocidos
of global explorers,
de exploradores mundiales,
the world's hidden heritage,
la herencia oculta del mundo,
to humankind's collective resilience
y la creatividad colectiva
with the TED Prize money
vamos a construir
en línea, de colaboración pública,
citizen science platform
to engage with discovering
participe en el descubrimiento
space archaeologists around the world.
arqueólogos espaciales en el mundo.
and protect them.
y a protegerlos.
create a username --
crear un nombre de usuario...
is already taken.
and you'll start work.
GPS data or mapping data for sites.
ni cartografía de los sitios.
like human patient data,
datos médicos confidenciales,
20 x 20 meters or 30 x 30 meters,
20 x 20 m , o 30 x 30 m,
mediante algoritmos
using algorithms
site damage or site looting?
o el saqueo de un sitio?
going to be rich examples
to help guide you.
will be shared with vetted authorities,
compartidos con autoridades certificadas,
a new global alarm system
sistema de alarma mundial
we share your discoveries
compartan sus descubrimientos
as they begin to excavate them,
conforme empiecen a excavarlos,
and social media.
y medios sociales.
archaeology was for the rich.
era para los ricos.
of archaeological discovery,
el descubrimiento arqueológico,
the tomb of King Tut.
la tumba del rey Tut.
occupied by the billions of people
de millones de personas
the big questions about who we are
preguntas sobre quiénes somos
do not lie in pyramids or palaces,
no está en pirámides o palacios,
of those that came before us.
de quienes nos precedieron.
is worth saving
rescatar el pasado
salvarnos a nosotros.
viaje humano compartido.
to be able to write it
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Parcak - Satellite archaeologist + TED Prize winnerLike 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.
Sarah Parcak | Speaker | TED.com