This volume debuts the new scope of Remote Sensing, which was first
defined as the analysis of data collected by sensors that were not in
physical contact with the objects under investigation (using cameras,
scanners, and radar systems operating from spaceborne or airborne
platforms). A wider characterization is now possible: Remote Sensing can
be any non-destructive approach to viewing the buried and nominally
invisible evidence of past activity. Spaceborne and airborne sensors,
now supplemented by laser scanning, are united using ground-based
geophysical instruments and undersea remote sensing, as well as other
non-invasive techniques such as surface collection or field-walking
survey. Now, any method that enables observation of evidence on or
beneath the surface of the earth, without impact on the surviving
stratigraphy, is legitimately within the realm of Remote Sensing. The
new interfaces and senses engaged in Remote Sensing appear throughout
the book. On a philosophical level, this is about the landscapes and
built environments that reveal history through place and time. It is
about new perspectives-the views of history possible with Remote Sensing
and fostered in part by immersive, interactive 3D and 4D environments
discussed in this volume. These perspectives are both the result and the
implementation of technological, cultural, and epistemological advances
in record keeping, interpretation, and conceptualization. Methodology
presented here builds on the current ease and speed in collecting data
sets on the scale of the object, site, locality, and landscape. As this
volume shows, many disciplines surrounding archaeology and related
cultural studies are currently involved in Remote Sensing, and its
relevance will only increase as the methodology expands.
