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The aerial panopticon and the ethics of archaeological remote sensing in sacred cultural spaces
Author(s) -
Davis Dylan S.,
Buffa Danielle,
Rasolondrainy Tanambelo,
Creswell Ebony,
Anyanwu Chiamaka,
Ibirogba Abiola,
Randolph Clare,
Ouarghidi Abderrahim,
Phelps Leanne N.,
Lahiniriko François,
Chrisostome Zafy Maharesy,
Manahira George,
Douglass Kristina
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
archaeological prospection
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.785
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1099-0763
pISSN - 1075-2196
DOI - 10.1002/arp.1819
Subject(s) - panopticon , remote sensing , archaeology , power (physics) , sociology , geography , anthropology , physics , quantum mechanics , brother
Remote sensing technology has become a standard tool for archaeological prospecting. Yet the ethical guidelines associated with the use of these technologies are not well established and are even less‐often discussed in published literature. With a nearly unobstructed view of large geographic spaces, aerial and spaceborne remote sensing technology creates an asymmetrical power dynamic between observers and the observed. Here, we explore the power dynamics involved with aerial and spaceborne remote sensing, using Foucault's notion of power and the panopticon. In many other areas of archaeological practice, such power imbalances have been actively confronted by collaborative approaches and community engagement, but remote sensing archaeology has been largely absent from such interventions. We discuss how aerial and spaceborne imagery is perceived by local communities in southwest Madagascar and advocate for a more collaborative approach to remote sensing archaeology that includes local stakeholders and researchers in all levels of data acquisition, analysis, and dissemination.