Xenoarchaeology
Xenoarchaeology is a hypothetical form of archaeology concerned with the physical remains of past (but not necessarily extinct) alien cultures. These may be found on planets or satellites, in space, the asteroid belt, planetary orbit or Lagrangian points.
Xenoarchaeology is currently only hypothetical science that exists mainly in science fiction works and is not practiced by mainstream archaeologists. Although some fringe theories of alien archaeology exist, and several attempts at observing extraterrestrial structures at common Lagrangian points in our solar system have been made, most serious archaeological work has been in refutation of it.
Etymology
The name derives from Greek xenos (ξένος) which means 'stranger, alien', and archaeology 'study of ancients'.
Xenoarchaeology is sometimes called exoarchaeology, although some would argue that the prefix exo- would be more correctly applied to the study of human activities in a space environment.[1]
Other names for xenoarchaeology, or specialised fields of interest, include Probe SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), extraterrestrial archaeology, space archaeology, SETA (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Artefacts), Dysonian SETI, Planetary SETI, SETT (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Technology), SETV (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Visitation),[2] extraterrestrial anthropology, areoarchaeology and selenoarchaeology.[3]
Justification
It is arguably the case that, due to the immense distances between stars, any evidence we discover of extraterrestrial intelligence, whether it be an artifact or an electromagnetic signal, may come from a long-vanished civilization. Thus the entire SETI project can be seen as a form of archaeology.[4][5][6]
The study of alien cultures might offer us glimpses into our own species' past or future development.[7][8]
Vicky Walsh argued for the existence of "exo-artefacts" using the principle of mediocrity and the Drake equation. She proposed that a theoretical and speculative field of archaeology be established in order to test outlandish claims, and to prepare for a time when undeniably extraterrestrial artefacts needed to be analysed.
"If it is possible to construct an abstract archaeology that can be tested and refined on earth and then applied to areas beyond our planet, then the claims for ETI remains on the moon and Mars may really be evaluated in light of established archaeological theory and analysis"[9].
Greg Fewer has argued that archaeological techniques should be used to evaluate alleged UFO landing or crash sites, such as Roswell [10]
History
The origins of the field have been traced[11] to theories about a hypothetical Martian civilization based on observations of what were perceived as canals on Mars. These theories, of which Percival Lowell was the most famous exponent, were apparently inspired by a mistranslation of a quote by Giovanni Schiaparelli.
The 1997 Theoretical Archaeology Group conference featured a session on "archaeology and science fiction".
The 2004 annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association featured a session Anthropology, Archaeology and Interstellar Communication[12].
Planetary SETI
Planetary SETI is concerned with the search for extraterrestrial structures on the surface of bodies in the Solar system. Claims for evidence of extraterrestrial artifacts can be divided into three groups - the Moon, Mars, and the other planets and their satellites.[3]
Examples of sites of interest include the "bridge" sighted in the Mare Crisium in 1953, and the "Blair Cuspids" sighted in 1966. In 2006, Ian Crawford proposed that a search for alien artifacts be conducted on the Moon.[13]
Percival Lowell's mistaken identification of Martian canals was an early attempt to detect and study an alien culture from its supposed physical remains.
The Society for Planetary SETI Research is a loose organization of researchers interested in this field. The organization does not endorse any particular conclusions drawn by its members on particular sites.[14]
Probe SETI, or SETA
A great deal of research and writing has been done, and some searches conducted for extraterrestrial probes in the solar system.[15] This followed the work of Ronald N. Bracewell.
Robert Freitas [16] [17] [18], Christopher Rose and Gregory Wright have argued that interstellar probes can be a more energy efficient means of communication than electromagnetic broadcasts [19].
If so, a solarcentric Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts (SETA) [20] would seem to be favored over the more traditional radio or optical searches.
On the basis that the Earth-Moon or Sun-Earth libration orbits might constitute convenient parking places for automated extraterrestrial probes, unsuccessful searches were conducted by Freitas and Valdes [21][22]
Dysonian SETI
In a 1960 paper, Freeman Dyson proposed the idea of a Dyson sphere, a type of extraterrestrial artifact able to be searched for and studied at interstellar distances. Following that paper, several searches have been conducted.[23]
In a 2005 paper, Luc Arnold proposed a means of detecting smaller, though still mega-scale, artifacts from their distinctive light curve signature.[24] (see Astroengineering).
Fringe theories
At the fringes of scientific respectability, there is a lively subculture of enthusiasts who study purported structures on the Moon or Mars. The controversial "structures" (such as the Face on Mars) are not accepted as more than natural features by most scientists.
The palaeocontact or ancient astronaut theories, espoused by Erich von Däniken and others, are further examples of fringe theories. These claim that the Earth was visited in prehistoric times by extraterrestrial beings.
Science fiction
Xenoarchaeological themes are common in science fiction. Works about the exploration of enigmatic extraterrestrial artefacts have been satirically categorized as Big Dumb Object stories.
Some of the more prominent examples of xenoarchaeological fiction include Arthur C. Clarke's novel Rendezvous With Rama, H. Beam Piper's short story Omnilingual, and Charles Sheffield's Heritage Universe series.
Jack McDevitt's science fiction novels often revolve around human or alien historical and archaeological mysteries.
Novels
- Gateway by Fred Pohl
- 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
- Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
- Wasteland Of Flint by Thomas Harlan
- House of Reeds by Thomas Harlan
- Broken Angels by Richard Morgan
- Strata by Terry Pratchett
- Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
- Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
- The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt
- The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt
- The Hercules Text by Jack McDevitt
- The novels in the Heritage Universe by Charles Sheffield
- The Past of Forever (Children of the Stars, Book 4) by Juanita Coulson
- Saga of Seven Suns (Most notably Book 1: Hidden Empire) by Kevin J. Anderson
- Heritage Trilogy by Ian Douglas
Short stories
- "Omnilingual" by H. Beam Piper
- "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke
- "At the Mountains of Madness"" by H. P. Lovecraft
- "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis" by Clark Ashton Smith
Computer and video games
- Alien Legacy
- Star Trek: A Final Unity
- RAMA (based on Clarke's novel)
- Freelancer
- FreeSpace
- Wing Commander: Privateer
- The Dig
- Doom 3
- Halo 3
- Civilization: Call to Power
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Although the Star Wars saga doesn't take place in our Galaxy or the human timeframe; the game's main concept is discovering traces of an ancient stellar empire of unknown aliens that existed before the Galactic Republic)
- In the game "Mass Effect" uncovering mysteries related to an extinct race known as the Protheans figures prominently in the plot and one of the characters you get in your party is a xenoarchaeologist.
- Resistance
- Starcraft
Movies
Television
- Babylon 5
- Star Trek
- Stargate
- Doctor Who
- Stargate SG-1 and its spinoff Stargate Atlantis
See also
References
- ^ Freitas, Robert. "Naming Extraterrestrial Life"., retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Darling, David. "SETA (Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts)"., retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ a b Matthews, Keith, 2002, Archaeology and the Extraterrestrial, in Miles Russell (ed), Digging Holes in Popular Culture, Bournemouth University School of Conservation Sciences Occasional Paper 7, Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp. 129-60
- ^ "They're Dead, Jim!". SETI League., retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ "Future Archaeology". Astrobiology Magazine. October 5, 2006.
- ^ Tarter, Jill (July 9, 2004). "Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence - A Necessarily Long-Term Strategy"., retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Kershaw, Carolyne (1996). "Letters - Star Trek digging". British Archaeology (15).
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ignored (help), retrieved October 7, 2006. - ^ Thomas, Charles (1996). "Diggers at the final frontier". British Archaeology (11).
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: Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help), retrieved October 7, 2006. - ^ Walsh, Vicky, 2002, The case for exo-archaeology, in Miles Russell (ed), Digging Holes in Popular Culture, Bournemouth University School of Conservation Sciences Occasional Paper 7, Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp. 121-8.
- ^ Fewer, G. Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence: an archaeological approach to verifying evidence for extraterrestrial exploration on Earth, http://www.nidsci.org/pdf/fewer.pdf, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Sutton, Mark Q. & Yohe, Robert M., II 2003, Archaeology: The Science of the Human Past, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, p. 73
- ^ http://www.seti.org/site/pp.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=617353, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Groshong, Kimm (16 May 2006). "Looking for aliens on the Moon". New Scientist., retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ "Society for Planetary SETI Research"., retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Stride, S. "Probing for ETI's Probes in the Solar System"., retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Freitas, R., Interstellar Probes: a New Approach to SETI, http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/InterstellarProbesJBIS1980.htm, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Freitas, R., Debunking the Myths of Interstellar Probes, http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/ProbeMyths1983.htm, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Freitas, R., The Case for Interstellar Probes, http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/TheCaseForInterstellarProbes1983.htm, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Rose, C. & Wright, G., Inscribed Matter as an Energy-Efficient Means of Communication with an Extraterrestrial Civilization, http://www.winlab.rutgers.edu/~crose/papers/nature.pdf, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Freitas, R., The Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts (SETA), http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/SETAJBISNov1983.htm, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Freitas, R. & Valdes, F., A Search for Natural or Artificial Objects Located at the Earth-Moon Libration Points, http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/SearchIcarus1980.htm, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Valdes, F. & Freitas, R., A Search for Objects near the Earth-Moon Lagrangian Points, http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/SearchIcarus1983.htm, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Carrigan, D., Other Dyson Sphere searches, http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/Infrared_Astronomy/Other_searches.htm, retrieved October 7, 2006.
- ^ Arnold, L., Transit Lightcurve Signatures of Artificial Objects, http://arxiv.org/astro-ph/0503580, retrieved October 7, 2006.