Beyond the Law: Ethical Voids and Actor-Network Misalignments in UAS-Based Archaeology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52152/heranca.v9i1/1186Keywords:
Actor-Network Theory; Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS); Archaeological Ethics; Data Governance; Human-Nonhuman InteractionAbstract
This article employs actor-network theory to investigate the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in archaeology. This article aims to raise concerns about ethical issues that should be addressed when using UAS for archaeological research. This article contends that human and non-human actors can contribute to ethical issues such as ethics dumping, invasion of privacy, and cultural insensitivity and ignorance of the local community. The article examines the status quo of existing legal and ethical frameworks and contends that the current rules are outdated and insufficient to address ethical concerns. The laws primarily concern security, safety, and flight operations rather than context-specific for archaeology. A clear guide to data and UAS ethics for archaeology should be addressed. Although they emphasize how human archaeologists should behave as professionals with ethics, they fail to address the technological aspect, which has created biases and raised ethical concerns. Understanding this relational network and power dynamics through ANT, the article suggests that to address the ethical concerns, both human and non-human actors should be considered, and the law and code of conduct should apply to both.
Downloads
References
Abdelmajeed, A. Y. A., & Juszczak, R. (2024). Challenges and limitations of remote sensing applications in northern peatlands: Present and future prospects. Remote Sensing, 16(3), 591.
Abdullah, Q. A. (2009). Mapping matters. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 75(8), 917.
Anderson, K. (2023). Autonomous archaeological authority: The future of drone use and privacy laws in cultural heritage preservation. Journal of Air Law and Commerce, 88, 635–672.
Atik, M. E., Arkali, M., & Atik, S. O. (2025). Impact of UAV-derived RTK/PPK products on geometric correction of VHR satellite imagery. Drones, 9(4), 291.
Beté, T. de S., Storópoli, J. E., Ramos, H. R., Conti, D. de M., Quaresma, C. C., & Oliveira, E. A. de A. Q. (2021). Comparative analysis of unmanned aircraft regulations for the development of startups. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 16(2), 41–52.
Boullier, D. (2018). Médialab stories: How to align actor network theory and digital methods. Big Data & Society, 5(2), 1–13.
Brown, K. C. (2021). Drone law: Legal research basics and sources. Michigan Bar Journal, 100(7), 54–55.
Campana, S. (2017). Drones in archaeology: State-of-the-art and future perspectives. Archaeological Prospection, 24(4), 275–296.
Casella, V., Chiabrando, F., Franzini, M., & Manzino, A. M. (2020). Accuracy assessment of a UAV block by different software packages, processing schemes and validation strategies. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 9(3), 164.
Chai, R., & Li, H. (2019). A study on legislation for protection of cultural relics in China: Origin, content and model. Chinese Studies, 8(3), 132–147.
Cleere, H. (1997). European Association of Archaeologists: Code of practice. Fornvännen, 92, 239–241.
Cleere, H. (2014). European Convention on the Protection of Archaeological Heritage (1992). In C. Smith (Ed.), Encyclopedia of global archaeology (pp. 2638–2644). Springer.
Council of Europe. (1992). European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised) (ETS No. 143).
Council of Europe. (n.d.). Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 143: European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised). Retrieved June 6, 2025.
Fernandez-Diaz, J. C., Cohen, A. S., González, A. M., & Fisher, C. T. (2018). Shifting perspectives and ethical concerns in the era of remote sensing technologies. The SAA Archaeological Record, 18(2), 8–15.
Frid, M., & Frid, V. (2024). A case study of the integration of ground-based and drone-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for an archaeological survey in Hulata (Israel): Advancements, challenges, and applications. Applied Sciences, 14(10), 4280.
Garcia, M. O., Gava, R., Tonelli, D. F., & Brito, V. G. P. (2018). Actor-network theory: Opening the black box of the reasons for the involvement of researchers in the technology transfer process. Journal of Innovation Management, 6(4), 49–72.
Gohari, A., Ahmad, A. B., Rabiu, L., Rahim, R. B. A., Supa'at, A. S. M., Elamin, N. I. M., ... & Muqaibel, A. H. (2024). A systematic review of the UAV technology usage in ASEAN. IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology, 5, 1036–1058.
Ishikawa, H. (2017). Post-WWII Japanese archaeology and the founding of the Japanese Archaeological Association in 1948 (K. Sasaki, Trans.). Japanese Journal of Archaeology, 4, 165–170.
Karim, M. R., Haque, M. A., Ahmed, S., Reza, M. N., Lee, K.-D., Kang, Y. H., & Chung, S.-O. (2025). Effects of sensor speed and height on proximal canopy reflectance data variation for rice vegetation monitoring. Agronomy, 15(3), 618.
Kim, I.-G. (2019). A comparative study on the UAV flying regulations of Korea and Japan. Journal of Convergence and Consilience, 2(2), 1–15.
Kurtpınar, E. (2024). Privacy’s sky-high battle: The use of unmanned aircraft systems for law enforcement in the European Union. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 110(99).
Latour, B. (1999). On recalling ANT. The Sociological Review, 47(1_suppl), 15–25.
Lee, S. (2011). Challenges for establishing a code of ethics in Korea: Dilemmas of a late runner. AIC Objects Specialty Group Postprints, 18, 45–52.
Liu, X., Lian, X., Yang, W., Wang, F., Han, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Accuracy assessment of a UAV direct georeferencing method and impact of the configuration of ground control points. Drones, 6(2), 30.
MacEwen, P. (2023). The ethics of drones. Canadian Journal of Practical Philosophy, 9(1), Article 8453.
Marwick, B., Pham, T. S., & Ko, M. S. (2020). Over-research and ethics dumping in international archaeology. SPAFA Journal, 4.
McNie, E. C. (2005). Archaeological ethics. In C. Mitcham (Ed.), Encyclopedia of science, technology, and ethics (Vol. 1, pp. 93–97). Macmillan Reference USA.
McTegg, S. J., Tarsha Kurdi, F., Simmons, S., & Gharineiat, Z. (2022). Comparative approach of unmanned aerial vehicle restrictions in controlled airspaces. Remote Sensing, 14(4), 822.
Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, & State Secretariat of Civil Aviation. (2025, February 14). Inter-Ministerial Prakas No. 1644 on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones).
O’Keefe, P. J. (1993). The European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage. Antiquity, 67(255), 406–413.
Pal, D. (2024). Legal framework on heritage protection in India. Gdańsk Journal of East Asian Studies, 25, 157–172.
Pruski, K., Marwick, B., Potter, E., Hampton, R., & Wang, L.-Y. (2021). Views on the nine principles of archaeological ethics from the 2020 SAA ethics survey. The SAA Archaeological Record, 21(2), 29–39.
Quamar, M. M., Al-Ramadan, B., Khan, K., Shafiullah, M., & El Ferik, S. (2023). Advancements and applications of drone-integrated geographic information system technology—A review. Remote Sensing, 15(20), 5039.
Robinson, C. J., Urzedo, D., Macdonald, J. M., Ligtermoet, E., Penton, C. E., Lourie, H., & Hoskins, A. (2023). Place-based data justice practices for collaborative conservation research: A critical review. Biological Conservation, 288, 110346.
Rodríguez-Puerta, F., Barrera, C., García, B., Pérez-Rodríguez, F., & García-Pedrero, A. M. (2022). Mapping tree canopy in urban environments using point clouds from airborne laser scanning and street level imagery. Sensors, 22(9), 3269.
Ros, S. (2024). Can archaeology be a form of colonialism? Exploring the implications of the Actor-Network Theory. Herança, 7(2), 152–161.
Ros, S. (2025). Re-imagining aerial digital archaeology in Cambodia: An implication from Actor-Network Theory. Herança, 8(1), 63–75.
Sanger, M. C., & Barnett, K. (2021). Remote sensing and Indigenous communities: Challenges and opportunities. Advances in Archaeological Practice, 9(3), 194–201.
Schroeder, D., Chatfield, K., Singh, M., Chennells, R., & Herissone-Kelly, P. (2019). Ethics dumping and the need for a global code of conduct. In D. Schroeder, K. Chatfield, M. Singh, R. Chennells, & P. Herissone-Kelly (Eds.), Equitable research partnerships (pp. 1–8). Springer.
Seifert, E., Seifert, S., Vogt, H., Drew, D., van Aardt, J., Kunneke, A., & Seifert, T. (2019). Influence of drone altitude, image overlap, and optical sensor resolution on multi-view reconstruction of forest images. Remote Sensing, 11(10), 1252.
Sylaiou, S., Tsifodimou, Z.-E., Evangelidis, K., Stamou, A., Tavantzis, I., Skondras, A., & Stylianidis, E. (2025). Redefining archaeological research: Digital tools, challenges, and integration in advancing methods. Applied Sciences, 15(5), 2495.
Themistocleous, K. (2020). The use of UAVs for cultural heritage and archaeology. In D. Hadjimitsis, K. Themistocleous, H. Agapiou, & D. Michaelides (Eds.), Remote sensing for archaeology and cultural landscapes (pp. 287–304). Springer.
Truxal, S., & Scott, B. I. (2024). The regulation of unmanned aircraft systems in the European Union. In J. Hartmann, B. I. Scott, S. Truxal, A. Bertolini, & A. Masutti (Eds.), Civil regulation of autonomous unmanned aircraft systems in Europe (pp. 31–63). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Tsiamis, N., Efthymiou, L., & Tsagarakis, K. P. (2019). A comparative analysis of the legislation evolution for drone use in OECD countries. Drones, 3(4), 75.
Uvais, N. A. (2022). Research ethical committees and ethics dumping. Current Medicine Research and Practice, 12(6), 291–292.
Vaynman, J., & Volpe, T. A. (2023). Dual use deception: How technology shapes cooperation in international relations. International Organization, 77(3), 599–632.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Herança
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
8.png)
