Neural network helped archaeologists find huge geoglyphs in Peru
Japanese archaeologists have successfully adapted artificial intelligence to search for geoglyphs - huge images drawn on the surface of the Nazca Plateau in southern Peru.
Presumably, the age of the “drawings” reaches several thousand years. The outlines of many of them erased in a semi-desert climate and difficult to discern from the satellite human eye, so the helpers harnessed artificial intelligence.
Neural network analyzed pieces of satellite images with a resolution of 112 × 112 pixels, each of which corresponded to a real area of 120 m². The AI lab output was supervised by archaeologists, culling and double-checking false positives. The process took six months and ended up being a huge success.
Over the past century, only 430 “rock” images have been discovered. In the last six months, three hundred. Of these, the neural network itself identified almost 180 geoglyphs, and the rest nearby scientists noticed themselves while looking at the findings of the neural network.
Scientists intend to improve the algorithm for analyzing images and go on a search again.