АРХЕОЛОГІЧНА МЕТОДИКА ТА ІННОВАЦІЇ НА ПОСТРАДЯНСЬКОМУ ПРОСТОРІ ОЧИМА АРХЕОЛОГІВ

Abstract

The history of archaeological method and innovation during the post-war and contemporary periods has been studied not enough in the post-Soviet area. But this topic is actual because at that time achievements of the scientific-technical revolution have been implemented into archaeology. The aim of the article is to study the method of primary data processing (information collection at the time of excavation, an office study of artifacts and preparation of a report on the archaeological excavation) and innovation to this process in the Soviet and post-Soviet archaeology. The research is based on 7 interviews with archaeologists from Kyiv, Moscow and St. Petersburg which have been recorded by the author. On the respondents’ opinion for the last 15 years modern digital technique as digital cameras, GPS and laser tacheometers has been used in the post-Soviet area and non-invasive methods of archaeological research have spread at the last time. In the USSR field lists of artifacts were filled manually at the beginning then it was made by personal computers. An approach to anthropological materials selection has been changed since the Soviet time and cooperation with natural scientists has been widespread in the field. Since 1970s Soviet archaeologists have made attempts to create data bases. Initially matrix tables were used for this then it was realized by computers. These works were provided in Moscow and Kyiv but the progress was made only after appearance of modern PC. A special computer program has been developed for burial sites of the Bronze Age which is in use till now. In the Soviet time the quality of reports on the archaeological excavation depended on funding and other sources of researchers and research establishments. And the most difficult work was preparation of field drawings for final reports. PCs were in use for working with texts at the beginning and after some time for processing of graphic materials. It made the archaeologists’ work simpler. Today modern technologies help to fix artifacts better in the field and to process primary data. But there are problems with comparison of results because of different equipment status of scholars. Moreover, one respondent expresses an idea that computers have made work easier but they have not led to a revolutionary breakthrough directly in archaeology.