Accelerating the discovery of new Nasca geoglyphs using deep learning

Researchers have successfully uncovered four previously unknown Nasca geoglyphs—depicting a humanoid, legs, fish, and bird—using deep learning (DL) techniques on high-resolution aerial imagery. This breakthrough, verified through on-site surveys, demonstrates that DL can accelerate geoglyph discovery by approximately 21 times compared to manual inspection alone. The study addresses the challenges posed by limited ground truth data and variability in geoglyph design, offering a novel pipeline for integrating AI with archaeological fieldwork. These findings not only expand our knowledge of the Nasca Pampa UNESCO World Heritage Site but also establish a new paradigm for combining artificial intelligence with traditional survey methods.

Sakai, M., Lai, Y., Olano Canales, J., Hayashi, M., & Nomura, K. (2023). Accelerating the discovery of new Nasca geoglyphs using deep learning. Journal of Archaeological Science, 155, 105777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105777