Choreographies of Making Archaeological Data

Isto Huvila,Olle Sköld

doi:10.1515/opar-2020-0212

Abstract

AbstractA lot of different concepts have been utilised to elucidate diverse aspects of archaeological practices and knowledge production. This article describes how the notion of choreography can complement the existing repertoire of concepts and be used to render visible the otherwise difficult to grasp physical and mental movements that make up archaeological work as a practical and scholarly exercise. The conceptual discussion in the article uses vignettes drawn from an observation study of an archaeological teaching excavation in Scandinavia to illustrate how the concepts of choreography, choreographing, and choreographer can be used to inquire into archaeological work and data production. In addition to how explicating physical, temporal, and ontological choreographies of archaeological work can help to understand how it unfolds, the present article suggests that a better understanding of theepistemic choreographiesof archaeological, scientific, and scholarly work can help to unpack and describe its inputs and outputs, the data it produces, what the work achieves, and how it is made in space and time.

Highlights

Choreography has gained traction especially after the turn of the millennium as a concept for explicating human–technology relations and the arrangement and change of practices in diverse contexts from science to healthcare (e.g. Coeckelbergh, 2019; Cussins, 1998; Law & Lien, 2013)
Drawing on an observation study of an archaeological teaching excavation in Scandinavia, this article inquires into how the concepts of choreography, choreographing, and choreographer can inform research in archaeological fieldwork practices and knowledge production, and how a better understanding of its epistemic choreographies can help to unpack and describe its inputs and outputs, the data it produces, what it achieves, and how it is made in the longue durée and vaste ampleur of its space-time
This article has inquired into how a better understanding of the choreographies of archaeological fieldwork can enhance the understanding of how archaeologists do their work in the field

Summary

Introduction

Choreography has gained traction especially after the turn of the millennium as a concept for explicating human–technology relations and the arrangement and change of practices in diverse contexts from science to healthcare (e.g. Coeckelbergh, 2019; Cussins, 1998; Law & Lien, 2013). Coeckelbergh, 2019; Cussins, 1998; Law & Lien, 2013), choreographer, and choreographing as explanatory concepts, it is not inconceivable to think that the notions can have comparable use in explicating the shifting grounds of archaeological practices, documentation, knowledge, and data making. Drawing on an observation study of an archaeological teaching excavation in Scandinavia, this article inquires into how the concepts of choreography, choreographing, and choreographer can inform research in archaeological fieldwork practices and knowledge production, and how a better understanding of its epistemic choreographies can help to unpack and describe its inputs and outputs, the data it produces, what it achieves, and how it is made in the longue durée and vaste ampleur of its space-time

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion