Australia is a continent of mysteries and treasures hidden beneath its red earth. However, with technology making its waves, we might be closer to uncovering some of these grand mysteries to the world. LiDAR is one of the technologies that has recently made great strides in discovering some of these ancient mysteries about Australia.
LiDAR Technology: Shedding Light on the Past
LiDAR is about remote sensing light pulses to measure distances. This technology has done tremendous work in discovering archeological sites and landscapes worldwide. Now, by combining GPS and IMU, LiDAR can create highly detailed 3D maps. This helps archeologists and scientists to see past the surface level on a grand scale to discover what lies beneath the surface.
The Discovery of the Gwion Gwion Rock Art
LiDAR has done tremendous work discovering Gwion Gwion rock art in Western Australia. This ancient artwork represents the Indigenous lives of our Australian ancestors dating back tens of thousands of years. One of the significant things about this discovery is that it includes certain depictions of humans and animal figures indicating the communication skills of hunter-gatherers in times when Australia faced its first civilizations.
This artwork dates back 17,000 to 24,000 years. Although it is a significant discovery as one of the oldest, it has been equally harder to grasp the full extent of it with how the landscape has changed over the years.
Unveiling the Hidden Masterpieces
Aerial LiDAR surveys have provided archeologists with highly detailed clear 3D maps uncovering the artwork looking past the exterior surface of rock and vegetation. As you can imagine, the results have been astounding.
These surveys captured thousands of rock art sites, uncovering the cultural depth and history of the region. This enabled researchers to analyze and evaluate conclusions to the years-old mysteries and give meaning to a fraction of Australia's origin story. Being able to understand this artwork in depth enabled these researchers to also understand the differences between each culture and the period they walked these lands in.
Preserving Australia’s Cultural Heritage
LiDAR does more than discover. With the highly detailed surveyed maps, archeologists get access to these artworks without affecting their natural preservation. Saving monuments of our history for future generations to witness is a big part of the archeological core. While we do preserve, we also get to monitor any changes to these findings over time.
The Future of LiDAR Technology in Australia
LiDAR technology is still in its infancy, although its potential is limitless. The ability to measure the variable distance of anything that the light pulses touch has way too many applications like environmental monitoring, urban planning, infrastructure development, etc.
As the technology continues to evolve, we will hear more about LiDAR technology changing lives on massive scales similar to these incredible discoveries.
The Gwion Gwion rock art is just the beginning. With LiDAR technology, who knows what other ancient wonders lie waiting to be discovered beneath Australia’s red earth?