From direct experience, I'm glimpsing a possible
forthcoming chronic disorder
"Google
Earth™ Addiction" ;-)
Speaking seriously, Google's new interactive tool has become
a time sink in a productive and educational way. High resolution
image updates are providing surprising details. Anyone almost
everywhere can now count the megaliths
at Avebury, hike the Inca Trail,
and fly between monuments exploring the landscape. And the
whole globe is under control of our fingertips. |
|
The extreme desert of Peru is giving up even more than the green
Salisbury landscape. Faint wall marks appear in fields around Avebury.
From the huacas in Peru to the Southwest
desert, and elsewhere, you can count circles, barrows, walls, kivas,
or sunken plazas. The rooms and mounds at Casas Grandes are great
to see from aloft, especially in stark contast to the immediately
adjacent, old grainy view (top of following image).
Dusty outline maps from academic archaeology articles are coming
to life in full color. Tilting the view and spinning around to appreciate
the surrounding horizon provides the geographic context of previously
vague, remote ruins. And the placemarks often provide useful contextual
linking.
I've had a ton of new fun organizing several placemark files. More
links will follow, and I'll update existing files. Keeping up with
the new wave of educational IT advances may detract from incomplete
projects, but it is also proving rather irresistable. Enjoy the files,
send along your feedback, and watch for early signs of Google Earth™ addiction.
Google
Earth™ is a free download. User
Guide
Google
Earth and Archaeology | Teaching
with Google Earth
Google Earth and Geoscience Education: What
is Google Earth? | Excel › KML |
