Unmanned Aerial Systems and an Archaeology of Accessibility

Archaeology is in the midst of a technological revolution, particularly for data collection, first championed by light detection and ranging (lidar) in the early 2000s and now with widespread applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS)-deployed remote sensing. While the importance of remote sensing for data collection and heritage conservation is known, less work has acknowledged the implications of remote sensing for field safety, particularly for disabled researchers. UAS offer a unique opportunity to explore circumstances that may affect mobility in the field and how advances in archaeological science can transform fieldwork by improving accessibility for disabled archaeologists. I argue that UAS can—and should—be improved to promote accessibility in archaeological fieldwork, due to their promotion of field safety, increased planning of daily tasks, and broader applications to community-engaged research. These interventions should be applied to the larger field of archaeology to improve labor management for researchers in all sectors of practice.