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5.1. Response: Living A Semi-Digital Kinda Life, Morag M. Kersel
5.1. Response: Living A Semi-Digital Kinda Life, Morag M. Kersel
Mobilizing the Past
The following observations draw on my personal experience as an archaeologist working in the Eastern Mediterranean who has dabbled in the digital world. In considering the papers in this volume, I reflect on what it means to “live a digital life” in field archaeology. I argue we are living a “semi-digital kinda life” (à la Third Eye Blind, the US rock band formed in the early 1990s) where many of us are part paper and part digital, which I contend is not a bad state of affairs. In assessing our half in/half out digital archaeology, I speculate that new technologies …
4.2. Click Here To Save The Past, Eric C. Kansa
4.2. Click Here To Save The Past, Eric C. Kansa
Mobilizing the Past
This chapter owes much to the trenchant criticism of Internet utopianism offered by Evgeny Morozov in his influential book, To Save Everything, Click Here (2014). As such, this essay reflects on some issues in the social and professional context of digital archaeology that rarely see public discussion. Digital archaeology is profoundly shaped by an institutional landscape that demands the commoditization, marketing, and branding of scholarship “as a service.” These forces make it extraordinarily difficult to sustain substantive and reflective intellectual engagement in our increasingly digitized discipline. As a strategy to overcome these issues, this contribution highlights why digital engagement requires …
3.2. Measure Twice, Cut Once: Cooperative Deployment Of A Generalized, Archaeology-Specific Field Data Collection System, Adela Sobotkova, Shawn A. Ross, Brian Ballsun-Stanton, Andrew Fairbairn, Jessica Thompson, Parker Vanvalkenburgh
3.2. Measure Twice, Cut Once: Cooperative Deployment Of A Generalized, Archaeology-Specific Field Data Collection System, Adela Sobotkova, Shawn A. Ross, Brian Ballsun-Stanton, Andrew Fairbairn, Jessica Thompson, Parker Vanvalkenburgh
Mobilizing the Past
The Federated Archaeological Information Management Systems (FAIMS) Project is an Australian, university-based initiative developing a generalized, open-source mobile data collection platform that can be customized for diverse archaeological activities. Three field directors report their experiences adapting FAIMS software to projects in Turkey, Malawi, and Peru, highlighting three themes: (1) the transition from paper to digital recording has upfront costs with backend pay-off, (2) the transition involves decisions and tradeoffs that archaeologists and technologists need to make together, and (3) digital recording has both short- and long-term benefits. In the short-term, project directors reported efficient acquisition of richer, more accurate, data. …
3.1. Cástulo In The 21st Century: A Test Site For A New Digital Information System, Marcelo Castro LóPez, Francisco Arias De Haro, Libertad Serrano Lara, Ana L. MartíNez Carrillo, Manuel Serrano Araque, Justin St. P. Walsh
3.1. Cástulo In The 21st Century: A Test Site For A New Digital Information System, Marcelo Castro LóPez, Francisco Arias De Haro, Libertad Serrano Lara, Ana L. MartíNez Carrillo, Manuel Serrano Araque, Justin St. P. Walsh
Mobilizing the Past
The site of Cástulo, located near Linares (in the province of Jaén, Andalusia, Spain), was continuously occupied from prehistory through the sixteenth century c.e. The site offers a rich archaeological history, and it is currently under study by the Institute for Iberian Archaeological Research’s interdisciplinary project, Forvm MMX. Wanting to incorporate traditional archaeological excavation and recording methods with new technology, the project created a new system of archaeological documentation, called Imilké. The system was created with several concepts in mind, including the immediate transmission of archaeological data from the site to a database and the ability to allow the simultaneous …
2.2. The Things We Can Do With Pictures: Image-Based Modeling And Archaeology, Brandon R. Olson
2.2. The Things We Can Do With Pictures: Image-Based Modeling And Archaeology, Brandon R. Olson
Mobilizing the Past
Since the wide-spread availability of cost efficient image-based modeling software emerged five years ago, the discipline of archaeology has seen a proliferation of all things digital. The implementation of 3D modeling specifically is well attested as evidenced initially by a wave of peer-reviewed studies testing the technology for archaeological purposes, which has then been followed by colloquia, conferences panels, workshops, and publications focusing on the technology’s analytical benefits. It remains evident that although digital archaeology is not a new development, it now has a heretofore unpresented degree of staying power. The intention here is to present a critical analysis of …
1.6. Digital Archaeology In The Rural Andes: Problems And Prospects, Matthew Sayre
1.6. Digital Archaeology In The Rural Andes: Problems And Prospects, Matthew Sayre
Mobilizing the Past
This chapter explores the social context of digital archaeology conducted in a developing nation, with an emphasis on the archaeological project at Chavín de Huántar, in Peru. One might argue that the relevance, audience, and benefits of digital archaeology are primarily designed for and associated with wealthy universities, but this chapter attempts to demonstrate that digital archaeology is relevant to a broader public and community audience than just academics in the global north. Digital methods are able to be both relevant and beneficial to local communities. These communities, however, are not always naturally included stakeholders in these conversations, and this …
1.5. Enhancing Archaeological Data Collection And Student Learning With A Mobile Relational Database, Rebecca Bria, Kathryn E. Detore
1.5. Enhancing Archaeological Data Collection And Student Learning With A Mobile Relational Database, Rebecca Bria, Kathryn E. Detore
Mobilizing the Past
In 2011, the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológico Regional Ancash (PIARA) inaugurated an archaeological field school that employed a comprehensive digital data collection protocol. Students learned to record data on iPads using our customized relational databases for excavation, human skeletal analysis, and artifact classification. The databases integrated digital media, such as vector drawings and annotated photos. In a final research project, the students used the tablet system to analyze excavation contexts and artifacts, visualize relationships between the data, conduct literature reviews, and present their findings. This chapter discusses how students develop a greater comprehension of archaeological concepts and stronger research skills …
1.1. Why Paperless: Technology And Changes In Archaeological Practice, 1996–2016, John Wallrodt
1.1. Why Paperless: Technology And Changes In Archaeological Practice, 1996–2016, John Wallrodt
Mobilizing the Past
The past 20 years have witnessed a slow march toward complete digitization of archaeological field data. In this paper, I assess the last two decades of academic archaeological fieldwork based on my experience with field projects in the Mediterranean, and propose a historical context for the adoption of paperless recording in the field. Drawing on the examples of the Troy excavations, the Pompeii Archeological Research Project: Porta Stabia, and the Kea Regional Archaeological Project, I review trends that include the commoditization of hardware, the early adoption of new hardware by specialists, the incorporation of specialist data into site-wide datasets, and …
0.2. Mobile Computing In Archaeology: Exploring And Interpreting Current Practices, Jody Michael Gordon, Erin Walcek Averett, Derek B. Counts
0.2. Mobile Computing In Archaeology: Exploring And Interpreting Current Practices, Jody Michael Gordon, Erin Walcek Averett, Derek B. Counts
Mobilizing the Past
Since 2010, a range of mobile and internet-connected tablet computing devices (e.g., iPads) have been integrated into archaeological practice, with projects experimenting with new approaches to documenting, interpreting, and publishing material culture. The rapid pace of this change has led to a tension in the discipline as archaeologists have begun to realize how creating and manipulating born-digital data could fundamentally alter archaeological knowledge production. We are thus at a critical time for archaeology as it moves from a paper-based discipline to an increasingly digital one. There is a growing sense that the change is good, but that it must be …
Mobilizing The Past For A Digital Future : The Potential Of Digital Archaeology, Erin Walcek Averett, Jody Michael Gordon, Derek B. Counts
Mobilizing The Past For A Digital Future : The Potential Of Digital Archaeology, Erin Walcek Averett, Jody Michael Gordon, Derek B. Counts
Mobilizing the Past
Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological field practice. The detailed case studies present in this volume range from drones in the Andes to iPads at Pompeii, digital workflows in the American Southwest, and examples of how bespoke, DIY, and commercial software provide solutions and craft novel challenges for field archaeologists. The range of projects and contexts ensures that Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future is far more than a state-of-the-field manual or technical handbook. Instead, the contributors embrace the growing spirit of critique present …