New Technologies and

Archaeological Training
Storyboard
By Joseph Godwin
Title/Captions: New Technologies and Archaeological
Training

Narration: For many people, including many aspiring

archaeologists, archaeology might seem like a
profession focused only on the past.

Images/Video Clips:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:00608--
Archaeologist-John-Winter-Crowfoot--Tyropoeon-Valley-
excavation-.jpg by Matson (G. Eric and Edith)
Photograph Collection (library of congress) [Public
domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Music: "Ave Marimba" by Kevin MacLeod

(incompetech.com). Free to Use and Share. Licensed
under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Notes: Title appears on screen for 4 to 5 seconds, with

music in background. Then, screen transitions to image,
while narration begins.

Introduction Part 1
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: However, in digging up and studying the

past, archaeologists use many new technologies. It is
important for any aspiring archaeologists to learn about
these tools and their applications.

Images/Video Clips:
https://unsplash.com/photos/x5i1zcMlPEg by Marlon
Lara on Unsplash. Free to Use and Share

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Slide 2 image transitions to Slide 3 image with

animation effect.

Introduction Part 2
Title/Captions: Same as narration.

Narration: So, what are some examples of these new

technologies, and how have they been applied in the
field?

Images/Video Clips:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4949
9982 by Dukesy68 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. Free to
Use and Share

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Title/caption spins onto screen along with

image.

Dramatic Question
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: One example of a new and exciting tool, that

has already seen great success, is LIDAR, a type of
laser-mapping.

Images/Video Clips: Google Earth zoom in on

Guatemala. http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Cut to view of earth from space in Google Earth,

with zoom in on area of Guatemala.

Example 1 Part 1
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: By sending billions of laser pulses from a low-flying plane and

measuring the response times of the lasers “bouncing back”, archaeologists
can create a 3D map of an area, which even detects ruins buried under
jungle cover.

Images/Video Clips: Video clip of LIDAR in use: University of Houston.

“Maya Civilization.” Online video clip. YouTube. 5 February 2018. Web.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1biRB4Dg1LA (from 0:45 to ~1:08)

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Transition to clip of LIDAR being used (no sound from video).

Example 1 Part 2
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: By using this tool in the jungles of Guatemala,

archaeologists from UH and other institutions were able to discover
tens of thousands of previously unknown structures built by the ancient
Maya, including massive pyramids.

Images/Video Clips: An overhead picture of a Maya city revealed with

LIDAR. (Picture pending)

Music: Same as above.

Notes: None.

Example 1 Part 3
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: In some cases, archaeologists had walked by these

structures on foot, without ever noticing them through the
vegetation! This shows the importance of LIDAR; it has changed
scholars’ understanding of a whole civilization and is certainly a
new tool that every aspiring archaeologist should know of.

Images/Video Clips: A picture of a Maya pyramid covered with

vegetation, followed by a transition to a picture of the same pyramid
revealed with LIDAR. Then the two pictures will be shown side by
side. (Picture(s) pending)

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Slide 7 image transitions to Slide 8 image with animation

effect.

Example 1 Part 4
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: Another instructive example of archaeologists applying

new technology to their work in the field can be found across the
world, in Egypt. There, archaeologists were able to discover
previously unknown aspects of a well-known structure: The Great
Pyramid of Giza.

Images/Video Clips: Google Earth zoom out from Guatemala, with

camera then travelling to Egypt.
http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/

Music: Same as above.

Notes: None.

Example 2 Part 1
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: Using various technologies, including muon

radiography, archaeologists discovered a large void existed near
the center of the pyramid. The purpose and contents of this room
are still unknown, but no human could access the room, without
irreversible damage being done to the pyramid. However, tech-
savvy archaeologists are already thinking of solutions.

Images/Video Clips:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11512943 by
Unknown author. Original source: Budge, E. A. Wallace. "The Nile:
Notes for Travelers in Egypt." (Harrison and Sons, London: 1902).
p. 286. Free to Use and Share

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Slow zoom in on picture.

Example 2 Part 2
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: A special drone, a miniature blimp, is being developed

to explore the pyramid. It will be able to squeeze in and out of small
openings and send recordings back to the outside.

Images/Video Clips:
https://members.loria.fr/JBMouret/pdf/press_release_exmia_eng.pdf
by Inria. Free to Use and Share

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Slide 10 image transitions to Slide 11 image with animation

effect.

Example 2 Part 3
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: These inventive solutions show how archaeologists

have learned to use technology in their work, learning new
information about structures that have been studied for centuries.

Images/Video Clips:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132080 by Alex
lbh - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0. Free to Use and Share

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Slide 11 image transitions to Slide 12 image with animation

effect.

Example 2 Part 4
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: Looking at these examples of new technologies being

used, one can clearly see how archaeology is a cutting-edge field.
Students of archaeology must learn to understand new technologies
as much as old ones.

Images/Video Clips:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65016493 by - ‫ابپتث‬
Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. Free to Use and Share

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Slide 12 image transitions to Slide 13 image with animation

effect.

Conclusions Part 1
Title/Captions: None.

Narration: It is my opinion that archaeological training

should include training on how to use these tools. And of
course, as archaeologists professionally develop, they
should and must learn to use the latest and greatest
technologies as they are developed. In this way,
archaeology will continue to be a cutting-edge field for a
very long time.

Images/Video Clips:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Stu
dents_in_a_computer_lab.jpg Free to Use and Share

Music: Same as above.

Notes: Slide 13 image transitions to Slide 14 image with

animation effect.

Conclusions Part 2
Credits:

Image 1: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:00608--Archaeologist-John-Winter-Crowfoot--Tyropoeon-Valley-excavation-.jpg
by Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection (library of congress) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Image 2: https://unsplash.com/photos/x5i1zcMlPEg by Marlon Lara on Unsplash. Free to Use and Share
Image 3: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49499982 by Dukesy68 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. Free to Use and
Share
Images 4/5/6: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/maya-laser-lidar-guatemala-pacunam/?user.testname=photogallery:c
by Wild Blue Media/National Geographic
Image 7: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11512943 by Unknown author. Original source: Budge, E. A.
Wallace. "The Nile: Notes for Travelers in Egypt." (Harrison and Sons, London: 1902). p. 286. Free to Use and Share
Image 8: https://members.loria.fr/JBMouret/pdf/press_release_exmia_eng.pdf by Inria. Free to Use and Share
Image 9: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132080 by Alex lbh - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0. Free to Use and
Share
Image 10: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65016493 by - ‫ابپتث‬Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. Free to Use and
Share
Image 11: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Students_in_a_computer_lab.jpg Free to Use and Share
Music: "Ave Marimba" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Free to Use and Share. Licensed under Creative Commons: By
Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Video Clip: University of Houston. “Maya Civilization.” Online video clip. YouTube. 5 February 2018. Web.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1biRB4Dg1LA
Other: http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/
Items cited according to suggested formats

Credits Slide/Scene