Do you think it is possible for an archaeologist to sit at one corner of the world and study ancient artifacts found in a distant land without even visiting that place?

Researchers believe, with technology, it is possible to do so; as technology has the ability to break the “interpretative monopoly” of scholars whose theories prevail particularly because others lack access to certain artifacts or remains. This can only be executed with the help of three-dimensional models that will revolutionize archaeology and paleontology. It allows virtual bones, artifacts and whole excavation sites to be shared and studied without risk of damage.

"In future, it is highly likely that these sorts of methods will be the standard thing you do to record an archaeological site," said Andrew Bevan, an archaeologist at University College London.

Benjamin Ducke from German Archaeological Institute in Berlin, who used a drone equipped with a video camera to create a 3D map of a large pre-Columbian settlement in Mexico in a couple of days, agreed that the technology has the potential to preserve sites that are disappearing. "We can expect to see entire collections of hundreds of thousands of objects digitally available," Ducke added.

The report was published in the journal Nature.