Power and/or Penury of Visualizations: Some Thoughts on Remote Sensing Data and Products in Archaeology

Abstract

Airborne and spaceborne remote sensing in archaeology generates at least two important issues for discussion: technology and visualization. Technology seems to open new cognitive perspectives for archaeology and keeps researchers increasingly fascinated in its capabilities (archaeological science being a case in point). Acquired data, especially via remote sensing methods, can be studied after processing and visualizing. The paper raises several issues related to the new cognitive situation of archaeologists facing the development of new technologies within remote sensing methods. These issues are discussed from ontological, epistemological, and discursive perspectives, supporting an exploration of the role of technology and visualization. The ontological perspective places the visualization of remote sensing data in the context of understanding Virtual Reality and Jean Baudrillard’s simulacra. The epistemological perspective generates questions related to visualization as mimesis, the issue of cultural neutrality, and the use of sophisticated classifications and analytical techniques. The level of discursiveness of visualization includes categories such as persuasion, standardization, and aesthetics. This discussion is framed in relation to Martin Heidegger’s understanding of technology and a dichotomy of naturalism versus antinaturalism.