Armchair archaeologist
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0:02 - 0:06Sarah Parcak: A hundred years ago,
archaeology was for the rich, -
0:06 - 0:08fifty years ago it was for men.
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0:08 - 0:12But we are expanding it to the world.
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0:12 - 0:15I wish for us to discover
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0:15 - 0:19the millions of unknown
archaeological sites around the world. -
0:19 - 0:24By creating a 21st-century army
of global explorers, -
0:24 - 0:26we'll find and protect
the world's hidden heritage. -
0:28 - 0:31So how are we going to do this?
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0:31 - 0:33[Great Big Story
in partnership with TED] -
0:33 - 0:36Narrator: They had a big idea
to change the world. -
0:37 - 0:39But they couldn't do it alone.
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0:39 - 0:43(Voices overlapping)
So, my wish ... My wish ... I wish ... -
0:43 - 0:45And now, here's my wish ...
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0:45 - 0:47[Torchbearers]
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0:47 - 0:50[Ideas in action]
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0:53 - 0:54SP: I am an archaeologist,
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0:54 - 0:59and I specialize in using satellite
imagery to map ancient landscapes. -
1:00 - 1:02The really fun title is space archaeology.
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1:02 - 1:05You of course want to record
maybe how thick something is, -
1:05 - 1:08which you can't measure from space,
whether that's soil or snow. -
1:08 - 1:11When I won the prize, I had to present
this completely crazy wish. -
1:12 - 1:16I had to present the case
for archaeology to the world. -
1:16 - 1:18Why does it matter, so what?
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1:19 - 1:22The reality is, there aren't
enough of us scientists, -
1:22 - 1:25we've got to give more people
opportunities to become explorers. -
1:30 - 1:34GlobalXplorer is an online
crowdsourcing platform -
1:34 - 1:38that allows anyone in the world
to help map ancient sites -
1:38 - 1:40by looking at satellite imagery.
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1:40 - 1:43And it's this idea
that everyone in the world -
1:43 - 1:45can make a contribution to science.
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1:46 - 1:47It can be anyone.
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1:47 - 1:49(Music)
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1:53 - 1:56Doris Jones: I'm Doris Jones,
I'm 90 years old, I live alone -
1:56 - 1:58except for my two kitties.
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1:58 - 2:00And I need something to do.
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2:00 - 2:03I play games, I like sudoku.
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2:04 - 2:07And I play mahjong with friends on Friday.
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2:07 - 2:10(Music)
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2:10 - 2:12And I'm an armchair archaeologist.
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2:17 - 2:20Why don't you want to work? Down.
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2:21 - 2:22Down, let's work.
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2:23 - 2:25SP: Doris is one of our top contributors;
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2:25 - 2:27she's a space archaeologist.
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2:27 - 2:30She's looked at many,
many thousands of tiles. -
2:31 - 2:33People like her are just
a gift to GlobalXplorer. -
2:33 - 2:36DJ: Right now,
I'm looking at a tile, but ... -
2:36 - 2:40Well, it has a wall, probably for animals.
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2:40 - 2:44But it has a number
of what look more like trails and roads. -
2:46 - 2:48I'll go to the next one.
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2:48 - 2:51SP: All you have to do
is look at an image and look carefully, -
2:51 - 2:55and you see that there
could potentially be a new site there. -
2:58 - 3:02Doris just has this passion and energy,
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3:02 - 3:04an excitement for exploration.
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3:04 - 3:08She's able to give back
and really contribute in a meaningful way. -
3:08 - 3:10(Skype dial tone)
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3:13 - 3:14SP: Doris!
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3:14 - 3:15DJ: Hi.
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3:15 - 3:19SP: I'm actually crying right now,
because I'm overwhelmed with emotion. -
3:19 - 3:21DJ: Well, thank you.
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3:21 - 3:23SP: I just had to see your face
and say, "Thank you." -
3:23 - 3:25DJ: I really admire what you're doing.
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3:25 - 3:28And I really enjoy the program.
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3:28 - 3:32SP: When did your love for archaeology
and paleontology and science start? -
3:32 - 3:38DJ: Well, in the middle 50s
my husband and I were in the backyard -
3:38 - 3:39digging a garden.
-
3:39 - 3:42It was late fall, and we were getting
ready for next spring. -
3:42 - 3:46And I saw a strange-looking
white rock on the ground. -
3:47 - 3:50I picked it up and he said,
"Let me see that." -
3:50 - 3:52I showed it to him
and he said, "You know what this is?" -
3:52 - 3:54I told him I didn't.
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3:54 - 3:56He said, "This is a fossil."
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3:56 - 4:00And we took out to the creek
and started looking for fossils. -
4:00 - 4:02From then on, there was no turning back.
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4:03 - 4:05SP: That's wonderful.
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4:05 - 4:08DJ: So then I collected for years.
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4:10 - 4:13And after all those years,
of course I've got all those memories. -
4:15 - 4:17But that's a type of thing ...
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4:17 - 4:19It's not just hunting the fossils
but the experiences. -
4:20 - 4:24And you just learn
and really live and enjoy. -
4:24 - 4:27And I think the fun is in the hunt.
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4:27 - 4:29You know, it's like ...
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4:29 - 4:30Well, like the rainbow --
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4:31 - 4:33at the end of the rainbow
is a pot of gold. -
4:33 - 4:36So GlobalXplorer was kind of my rainbow.
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4:39 - 4:41And even at my age
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4:41 - 4:45I can continue to hunt
for lost civilizations. -
4:46 - 4:49SP: I want to tell you
about some of the incredible things -
4:49 - 4:51that happened as a result
of your discoveries. -
4:51 - 4:54We're now beginning
to take thousands of features -
4:54 - 4:56that people like you have found
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4:56 - 5:00and we're sharing them
with archaeologists who work in Peru. -
5:02 - 5:05They're beginning to confirm
the things the crowd has found. -
5:05 - 5:07So, in other words, the platform works.
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5:09 - 5:12Ultimately, this technology
is helping us to rewrite our history. -
5:12 - 5:14DJ: We need to know our history.
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5:14 - 5:17We're all one peoples.
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5:17 - 5:20It's all our history, we're all here
on this little ball of dirt. -
5:21 - 5:24SP: I believe we have barely
scratched the surface -
5:24 - 5:26in terms of what's left to discover.
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5:27 - 5:30And the greatest story ever told
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5:30 - 5:33is the story of our shared human journey.
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5:33 - 5:36But the only way that
we're going to be able to write it -
5:36 - 5:39is if we do it together.
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5:47 - 5:50[Become a GlobalXplorer
GlobalXplorer.org]
- Title:
- Armchair archaeologist
- Speaker:
- Sarah Parcak
- Description:
-
Sarah Parcak hoped the power of the crowd could help accelerate archaeological discovery. See how 90-year-old Doris Mae Jones heard her call -- and jumped in to search more than 50,000 tiles in Expedition Peru. With cat assistants.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED Series
- Duration:
- 05:50
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for Armchair archaeologist |