Space archaeology is a little known field among the general public, consisting of researchers looking into the earliest evidence of human life on Earth. Now the influential Ted Foundation, most well-known for its Ted Talks, has granted a $1 million prize to an archaeologist for her studies using space satellites to track ancient civilizations.

Sarah Parcak is a National Geographic Fellow who has been working for years on space archaeology, according to CNN. Her work relies on satellites originally designed for military uses, which she has adapted for use in detecting evidence of lost civilizations hidden beneath the Earth’s surface.

In addition to supporting her ongoing research, Parcak notes that the Ted funding will go crucial activities intended to protect ancient sites from looters, an increasing problem especially in the Middle East where she focuses much of her work. For example, since the Arab Spring movement, looting in Egypt has increased by as much as 1,000 percent. The advent of Islamic state terrorism and diminishing tourism has also impacted archaeologists’ efforts.

Satellite images help Parcak uncover anomalies on the Earth’s surface that suggest underground evidence of ancient peoples. Her team’s work astonished other archaeologists in 2011, when they announced they had uncovered 17 new pyramids, 1,000 tombs and 3,100 previously unknown ancient settlements. The next year, she announced amazing new findings from the Roman Empire, including a new amphitheater and a possible location of the Portus Lighthouse.

The satellites can view Earth with high-resolution cameras that are able to take infrared and thermal images. Orbiting 500 kilometers above Earth, they can exactly locate objects that are less than a meter around. Using infrared light that has a longer wavelength than natural lighting, the satellite images can even convey information hidden beneath the surface.

In addition to satellites, Parcak says that archaeologists must be able to analyze DNA samples, understand chemical analyses, interpret the meaning of human remains, and even conduct computer programming and processing. She emphasizes in her work with school groups that the field relies on a broad base of scientific knowledge and tools.