It's no news that one of my biggest inspirations in life is National Geographic Society, as it as been probably the biggest source for this blog content. What are news though, is one of their latest projects that goes by the name of "Valley of the Khans". This particular project is a field expedition into remote areas of Mongolia that aims to identify the burial site of the legendary leader, Genghis Khan. However that is not all that there is to it. As always, NGS is a pioneer in our times when it comes to the use of technology towards sustainable development, and in this case, the project team, led by Dr.Albert Yu-Min Li, is trying to use a variety of new technologies that will allow them to exercise non-invasive archaeology, not only to detect the last address of Genghis Khan, but also to identify all possible archaeological interest locations in the region. That is what I fancy about this team, they are not only trying to find the golden goose of their careers by locating Genghis Khan's remains, they are actually trying to document a place that many people forget, and that was once, the largest and most peaceful empire in the world. That is to me world heritage and they certainly have my blessing for helping to discover it.
What caught my eye, was one the technologies they are putting tu use, and that is us, and I actually mean, all of us internet-savvy people. Apparently its called crowd-sourcing and its not new as a tool itself (i keep forgetting about marketing), but it is the first time it is being used in favour of archaeology. How does that work? In this case, all we are asked to do, is to examine satellite imagery and identify geographical references, such as ancient and modern structures, rivers or roads. At the same time, the project team collects the crowd-sourcing input, and evaluates the sites that are most likely to represent places of interest, while a field team heads to such places to investigate.
It is a ground-breaking idea, and it definitely educational one. Just think of all those, like me, that signed up as explorers of this imagery, and found themselves learning indirectly or actually wanting to learn more about the region and its history.
The project page is pretty easy to use, and there is a tutorial video to help you get started, so why not give at a go?
That is all for now, well done NGS.
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