The study shared in a journal on PNAS website showed AI assistance in discovering new geoglyphs in the Nazca desert. AI has helped archeologists discover 303 unknown huge land symbols, doubling the amount of known geoglyphs. 

These giant symbols known as geoglyphs included birds, spiders, plants, wielding knives, and humans with headdresses, including decapitated heads.

The location of these geoglyphs was 50 kilometers from Peru’s south coast. These symbols are dated to the beginning of the 20th century. However, they have survived without any damage from floods or growing crops. Moreover, the land hardly has a population.

Japanese team develops AI model for geoglyph detection

Masato Sakai, a professor of archaeology at Yamagata University in Japan, headed the research. His team used high-resolution imagery of 430 previously mapped Nazca geoglyphs to train an object detection AI model. The AI-supported analysis greatly facilitated the identification of potential geoglyph sites by scanning the 629 square kilometers of the desert.

“The use of AI in research has allowed us to map the distribution of geoglyphs more quickly and accurately.” 

Masato Sakai 

However, there are several issues since the AI model was trained on only six images, while other similar models usually require thousands of images. The team then categorized these suggestions to come up with a list of 1,309 high-potential candidate sites.

After conducting a series of surveys, the team conducted field checks and used drones to confirm 303 geoglyphs between September 2022 and February 2023. Among the new finds, the AI model identified 178, and 125 were identified through the manual survey.

The significance of the Nazca geoglyphs is still unknown; however, scholars think that the carvings indicate the sacred territory of the Nazca culture. The study found that larger geoglyphs depicting animals were placed along straight lines, and therefore, these places were probably used for rituals. 

Other, smaller, and more detailed geoglyphs, those of humans and animals, were placed on long paths. This might suggest that they were intended to be viewed from a closer distance. According to the team’s findings, the meaning of the geoglyphs could be determined by how they are grouped. 

AI transforms archaeological discovery process

The use of AI in archaeology has significantly changed the way discoveries are made since it has greatly minimized manual work. Sakai’s team applied an AI model that generated a vast number of possible sites, of which only 1 in 36 was deemed viable. 

Also, a recent Chinese study shows the ever-increasing application of AI in archaeology. A research team from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and Renmin University applied AI to study the oracle bones, an early form of writing, to determine whether the writers were left or right-handed.

The researchers used a deep-learning technique called Bone2Vec to analyze digital replicas of oracle bones created 3,000 years ago. 

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