Archaeological Practice Research Articles

Research review. Navigating the digital limes: Transformative practices and challenges in Classical and Mediterranean archaeology

This paper examines the profound impact of digital technology on Classical and Mediterranean archaeology, with a focus on digital field recording and infrastructures. Using the “Skeuomorphism of Practice” framework, it traces the integration of technology into our existing methodologies. The Swedish Pompeii Project is used as a case study to illustrate the adoption of 3D models into traditional archaeological practices. While highlighting the benefits, the paper also addresses the tensions between traditional and digital methods. As archaeological practices increasingly generate digital data, the role of infrastructures as collaborative hubs is emphasized. The study questions the adequacy of current pedagogy in preparing students for the digital and technological landscapes and argues for continued critical reflection on the impact of technology.

Crafting Digital Experiences: Embedding Human-Centred and Participatory Design into Archaeological Practice

As digital archaeology has grown as a field of practice, so has the number of digital resources developed for specialists and non-specialists alike. However, the creation of such outputs has not always been accompanied and informed by design theory and practices. Design – used in its broadest definition as a process of conceptual making - is an integral, if often implicit, part of archaeological practices and it is through design that we develop and share our work – from data collection and analysis to interpretation and dissemination – and engage with our stakeholders. Engaging with core design practices offers meaningful opportunities for generating new forms of archaeological knowledge production and sharing, as well as creating digitally mediated experiences that are not guided by our own assumptions about our stakeholders’ needs and can really affect people’s engagement with the past. In this paper, I investigate the benefits of embedding Human-Centred and Participatory Design into the archaeology and heritage sectors to create more critically engaged digital encounters with the past.

Review of An Evening of Film at Siobhan Davies Studios, London 19/10/2023

A review of three films by Siobhan Davies, All This Can Happen (2012), The Running Tongue (2015) and Transparent (2022), and discussion of her shift from live performance to working with the still image and film. Davies’s work is described as a kind of archaeological practice with long-form choreographic projects which are underpinned by a ‘poetics of responsibility’. Offering a reservoir of images and relations and allowing for innumerable different viewing experiences, they invite audiences to see for themselves and to grasp what embodied liveness is within each instant.

Discoveries, nations, and archaeological explorations: The scientific colonization of Tarapacá, Atacama desert

The discovery of the “ruins” of Guatacondo, in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, made the news in 1963. It was the pinnacle of a process of scientific colonization of this territory that had begun in the 19th century and connected multiple experts with the desert and its history. This paper explores the context of discovery of an archaeological site in the Atacama to show how archaeology—as a field of knowledge and a scientific practice—emerged in the interstices of projects of colonial expansion and capitalist modernization, often merging public and private interests. Weaving together histories of scientific explorations, museum operations, and extractivist enterprises, it highlights deep connections between geopolitics and ideology with the seemingly apolitical and objective nature of archaeology. Starting with the peripheral figure of Emil de Bruyne—an engineer employed by one of the biggest mining operations in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile—we explore the role of different actors within a network of well-connected people whose personal histories, intellectual backgrounds, and personal positions gave shape to the practice of archaeology in this part of the Atacama Desert.

On the Value of Informal Communication in Archaeological Data Work

Abstract Archaeological data simultaneously serve as formal documentary evidence that supports and legitimizes chains of analytical inference and as communicative media that bind together scholarly activities distributed across time, place, and social circumstance. This contributes to a sense of “epistemic anxiety,” whereby archaeologists require that data be objective and decisive to support computational analysis but also intuitively understand data to be subjective and situated based on their own experiences as participants in an archaeological community of practice. In this article, I present observations of and elicitations about archaeological practices relating to the constitution and transformation of data in three cases in order to articulate this tension and document how archaeologists cope with it. I found that archaeologists rely on a wide variety of situated representations of archaeological experiences – which are either not recorded at all or occupy entirely separate and unpublished data streams – to make sense of more formal records. This undervalued information is crucial for ensuring that relatively local, bounded, and private collaborative ties may be extended beyond the scope of a project and, therefore, should be given more attention as we continue to develop open data infrastructures.

GRAVES’ CONCERNS: THE 1841–2 XANTHOS EXPEDITION

The expeditions removing and excavating antiquities at the site of Xanthos in Lycia (1841–4) have been highlighted by scholars as setting a new precedent for whole-sale collection from a single site, and the support – through the national museum and the Royal Navy – of the British government for archaeological endeavours. Questions remain, however, regarding the failure of the first mission to remove the antiquities. According to the current narrative, the blame rests on the navy officer assigned to support Charles Fellows. Based on archival research, this article presents the concerns that Commander Thomas Graves had with the undertaking. His perspective sheds new light on how ill-planned the initial attempts were, and consequently how much was learned. The obstacles encountered in the first Xanthos expedition spurred developments in archaeological practice, introduced by people of non-academic professions.

Crafting crossroads in Zagori (north-west Greece): Ottoman-era archaeology through a workshop in vernacular architecture

Abstract Reconstruction of a nineteenth-century cobbled pathway in the village of Aristi provides valuable insights into the material culture and settlement archaeology of Ottoman-era Greece. The authors argue that such small-scale pairing of restoration and archaeological practices in ‘traditional’ settlements could enhance our understanding of Ottoman archaeology without undermining the lived experience of such places.

The Authenticity Problem: Authenticity as a Methodological Trap in People-Centred Research on Working-Class Football Supporting Communities

AbstractThis paper seeks to make a methodological contribution to archaeological praxis of working-class communities, by illuminating how archaeologists engaged in oral history-based research with working-class communities may encounter authenticity as a methodological challenge. Drawing on my PhD research on football as cultural heritage, I will outline the authenticity problem I encountered in the field: the enforcement of hierarchies of authenticity by working-class football supporters in response to their experiences of marginalisation in the sport. In turn, I will not only show how these hierarchies of authenticity present obstacles to researchers looking to build relationships of trust with their subjects, but also indicate some solutions to this authenticity problem. Specifically, I will show how it is often useful to “fall into the trap of authenticity” as a researcher and use the interview setting to discursively construct yourself as authentic on your subject communities’ own terms.

Historical Depictions, Archaeological Practices, and the Construct of Cultural Heritage in Commercial Video Games: The Role of These Games in Raising Awareness

Abstract Concerns regarding the historical accuracy, archaeological practices, and representation of cultural heritage (CH) in commercial video games (VGs) have fueled unending debates about their educational value. However, beyond offering interactive and engaging narratives, it is argued that these games play a vital role in CH. This work delves into the complexities inherent in representing history, archaeology, and CH within commercial VGs. It examines the portrayal of CH as a construct within these games, underscores the importance of collaborative efforts – between game developers, heritage professionals, and members of the communities represented – in their development, and highlights instances where commercial VGs can foster CH awareness. While many commercial VGs touch upon history and archaeology or embody diverse cultures as the platform for their narratives, the focus is placed on Shadow of the Tomb Raider to illustrate the many points found in this work because the game is said to ethically come close to representing the effects of archaeology on local populations and descendants of ancient people. The aim is to catalyze discussions among educators, researchers, game developers, heritage experts, and other stakeholders about the role of commercial VGs in enhancing learning and promoting consciousness about matters vital to cultural identities.

Heritage and identity: returning to ancestral pathways of the Siraya indigenous archaeology

ABSTRACTIn recent years, Taiwan's Indigenous community has been actively demanding the repatriation and reburial of ancestral remains, seeking historical justice for colonial wrongs, asserting the community's rights to traditional territories, and pushing for recognition of their long‐standing existence and legal status as Indigenous peoples. In 2022, archeologists consulted and cooperated with the Siraya people, proposing “The Siraya Indigenous Archaeological Action Plan.” The aim is to re‐balance the power relations between archeologists and Indigenous peoples, seek a diversity of voices and methods, and put the social practice of archaeology at the trowel's edge into practice. The action plan was carried out within the Siraya Soulangh abandoned settlement, with the Siraya people joining the investigation and excavation work, physically touching important parts of their ancestral cultural heritage. Other efforts include reviving the traditional Siraya systems of the male age‐set organization and the national assembly, consolidating the ethnic identity of the contemporary Siraya people, and sustaining their societal and cultural systems. These endeavors have helped fill the huge historical gap left by colonizers, empowering the Siraya people to claim ownership over the abandoned settlement cultural heritage that has a direct cultural connection with their community, push for recognition of their long‐standing and continuous existence in Taiwan, and acquire legal status as Indigenous peoples.

Dynamically documenting archaeological excavations based on 3D modeling: a case study of the excavation of the #3 fossil of hominin cranium from Yunxian, Hubei, China

Documenting tangible cultural heritage using 3D modeling techniques is gradually becoming an indispensable component of archaeological practice. The 3D modeling techniques based on photogrammetry and LiDAR scanning enable high-accuracy and high-realistic reconstruction of archaeological sites, and have been proven a powerful tool for documenting archaeological excavations. However, dynamically documenting an ongoing excavation using these techniques is still considered tedious, time-consuming, expensive, and dependent on expertise. Moreover, the application of 3D modeling techniques in archaeological excavations still faces some technical challenges, such as modeling with multi-source and multi-scale data, fusing local models at different times into a whole, achieving fast modeling while GPU workstations are not available in the field, and evaluating the quality of 3D models. As a result, there are still very few archaeological teams deeply engaged in dynamic documentation with 3D modeling techniques, and traditional drawing sketches and taking photographs still dominate. In these senses, documenting the archaeological excavation at the Yunxian Man site (located in Hubei, China) is an invaluable opportunity for exploration and practice. Archaeologists determined to conduct dynamically documenting at the beginning of the 6th excavation project for the site, and established a rotation system to reconcile physical excavation with digital preservation. Through repeated practice and communication, we proposed a workflow and pursued several new methods to enhance the feasibility of dynamically documenting, and obtained 4D models of the ongoing archaeological excavations. In 2022, the Yunxian Man site unearthed the most intact fossil of hominin cranium from about one million years ago in the Eurasian continent, preserving important and scarce anatomical features of early humans in Asia. As the original taphonomic context of the fossil corroded away during physical excavations, the digital documentation consisting of 4D models serves as permanent original data source in subsequent archaeological research. Moreover, we obtained cross-scale 3D models from geographical environment to archaeological site, excavation area, and cultural remains, and all of these 3D models are in an actual, unified coordinate framework. Thus, we can contribute to multidisciplinary cross-collaborative research through data sharing. Considering that digital documentations serve a great value in archaeological research, this paper focuses on sharing the workflow and methods to facilitate digital preservation for more archaeological projects.

Current Themes in the Archaeology of East Africa

East Africa boasts one of the longest histories of humankind. From hominid origins to the present, people have roamed, interacted with one another, and influenced the environment in innumerable ways. To teach about the archaeology of East Africa is to engage with the deepest history of humankind, from Hominin evolution to historical archaeology and the archaeology of listening. Each topic has developed its own peculiar and complex analytical methodologies that require varied resources and degrees of intensity and investment in training and mentoring. This review discusses advances made over the past two decades in the research and dissemination of archaeological knowledge about East Africa. Beyond the major issues that stimulate scientific research and debates, what debates have been settled? Which emerging threats must East African archaeologists overcome to ensure a sustained practice of archaeology in the future?

Prehistoric Human Occupation in The Central Part of Burkina Faso

From the outset, prehistoric research in Burkina Faso focused on the northern, eastern and western parts of the country. The central part that interests us in the present study was considered to be exclusively dominated by material traces from the Iron Age. This central part, located around the capital Ouagadougou, is characterized geophysically by its flat relief and is drained by the Massili, the main tributary of the Nakambé. The country’s security context, marked by terrorism, has made it one of the safest areas for the practice of field archaeology. As part of our resilience-based archaeology, we have uncovered hundreds of Iron Age and prehistoric sites on granitic outcrops. All the sites identified face a variety of problems, mainly linked to the consequences of uncontrolled urbanization and land development, which have transformed prehistoric sites, particularly into quarries. The urgency of the situation led us to carry out a rescue archaeology surface collection at three of the sites. Techno-morphological analysis of the hundred or so artefacts collected indicates the characteristics of three material cultures: Acheulean, Mousterian and Laminar. In a general context where prehistoric research is in its infancy, these new data redefine our understanding of the country’s prehistory and lay the foundations for understanding human dynamics throughout the Nakambé watershed.

Survey Techniques and Landscape Archaeology on the Banks of the Ancient Lacus Ligustinus (Southern Spain)

ABSTRACT The use of complementary techniques in this paper contributes to a better understanding of the long-term evolution of the riparian landscape on the southern banks of the lacus Ligustinus (current Guadalquivir marshlands) through the knowledge of related human settlements. The techniques used included field-transect surveys, malacology, anthracology, radiocarbon dating, and magnetometry. Deep plowing at the archaeological site of Haza de Santa Catalina revealed vestiges of different time periods. Comprehensive datasets based on best archaeological practices were collected to explore holistic ecological perspectives and changes over time. Here, we focus specifically on the transition between the 4th and 3rd millennia (Neolithic) and the 1st millennium b.c. (Iron Age–Early Roman period) in western Andalusia. In addition, the theoretical frameworks related to the concepts of riparia and emptyscape are expanded with the knowledge gained in the archaeological fieldwork.

La centralidad de los abordajes educativos en los trabajos colaborativos de la arqueología con comunidades tradicionales en la Amazonía brasileña (2017-2022)

This article explores the significance of educational approaches in collaborative archaeology projects with traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon. From 2017 to 2022, we worked with riverside populations in Sustainable Use Conservation Units along the mid-Solimões River in Amazonas. Through this collaboration, we identified a local system of mutual aid among families, which relates to the communities’ pursuit of autonomy since the 1980s. The research was conducted through a technical-scientific cooperation agreement between the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at the University of São Paulo (MAE-USP) and the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development (IDSM), with financial support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation from 2017 to 2019. All work was approved by the IDSM Ethics and Research Committee. Our goal was to engage schools, teachers, and students with archaeology by developing educational activities. We used heritage education methodologies and active listening techniques, informed by archaeological ethnography and oral history, to incorporate local knowledge into our research. The study involved collaboration with community leaders, artisans, teachers, and elders. This context calls for collaborative archaeological practices that seek mutual benefits and deepen the understanding of material culture and historical timelines. Educational initiatives play a crucial role in scientific work, fostering balanced exchanges between archaeological and community perspectives, additionally contributing to the production of more differences based on the notion of kinship.

Reflexiones sobre metodologías colaborativas: proyecto de investigación para el retorno de los ancestros a territorio atacameño lickanantay (2021-2024)

Extractivist archaeological practices have been carried out in the Atacama Lickanantay territory, Antofagasta region, northern Chile, ever since the 19th century, excluding or denying the voice and/or participation of members of the local indigenous community. However, the beginning of the 21st century saw a change in this sense bringing new experiences of collaboration between Atacameños and archaeologists. Our goal is to reflect on the definitions and applications of collaborative methodologies in archaeological projects, through discussion focusing on the global, through the national and finally the local, from where we approach a particular collaborative project. The research, conducted between early 2021 and mid 2024, studies the history of the collection and patrimonialization of indigenous bodies in the Atacameño Lickanantay territory, and socializes this information among the local communities. Based on this work, we conclude that all research in the territory must involve and be authorized by the Atacameño communities. Also, we consider that the Atacameños should stop being the object of research and instead become researchers who lead or collaborate in the studies within their communities and in their territory. The originality of this paper lies precisely in the fact that it brings a global discussion of contemporary archaeology to a concrete case.

Polska szkoła archeologii śródziemnomorskiej w audycjach Polskiego Radia (1971–1980). Nowe źródła w studiach nad historią dyscypliny i jej społeczną recepcją

The article provides an overview of radio programs dedicated to Mediterranean archaeology broadcast on Polish Radio during the 1970s and 1980s. This analysis represents the first such endeavor in Polish literature and aligns with the public archaeology trend, which examines the political, cultural, and economic dimensions of archaeological practice and its societal reception. By exploring this category of sources, the text offers a historical perspective on radio broadcasts, presenting them as a novel and previously untapped resource for studying the history of archaeology. Drawing from these sources, the article discusses the dissemination of knowledge concerning the activities of Polish researchers, the media portrayal of the archaeological profession, and the unique phenomenon of the Polish School of Mediterranean Archaeology in the context of Polish scientific history. It delves into the distinctive features and historical background surrounding its establishment. Additionally, attention is given to Kazimierz Michałowski, the visionary behind this initiative, and the strategies he employed to promote public awareness of the research conducted within the Polish School of Mediterranean Archaeology.

Reviving Aquileia's late antique walls: A comprehensive Extended Matrix workflow case study

This contribution aims to provide an overview of a virtual reconstruction case study, focusing on the late antique walls of Aquileia M2, applying the Extended Matrix methodology and its associated workflow. Specifically, we will consider virtual reconstructions in archaeological practice and address their scientific challenges. The report will address the issue of their scientific mapping, briefly touching on existing methods before delving into the details of the Extended Matrix, the chosen methodology for the project. The theoretical foundations and open-source computer tools enabling its comprehensive application will be described. Finally, the focus will be on an illustrative case study of the complete workflow: reconstructing a portion of Aquileia's defensive wall, M2. Following essential historical-archaeological contextualization, the research results leading to the reconstruction hypothesis will be presented, along with some steps to achieve the final model, its visualization through a web app, and potential future development scenarios.

The Invention of Iran: From ‘Iranianness’ to ‘Persianness’

ABSTRACT The intellectual ‘invention of Iran’ is a potent image that owes its birth to the Orientalist practice of archaeology and historiography from the mid-19th to the latter 20th century: an intellectual enterprise that originated from the myth of Aryan race theory, the hypothesis of Aryan migration to the Indian subcontinent, and the subsequent positioning of Persian ethnie to be the sole author of Iran’s ‘glorious national past’. This Eurocentric narration has given rise to ‘Persianness’ as an ethnoracial form of supremacy akin to the role of Whiteness in Europe and the US. In this article, I not only examine the epistemic foundations of Iranian nationalism but, more importantly, show how the enduring legacy of the Orientalist interpretation of Iran’s past animates the work of contemporary Persian scholars and elites. I argue that the historical construction of Persianness as a privileged identity has essentialised seeing, thinking, knowing, and speaking like a Persian and thereby presented it as a natural order of things. This raciolinguistic invention sustains a habitus that perceives and treats the non-Persian histories and memories only through the lens of Persianness – in which they are by definition less-than.

ETHEL ANN BURTON-BROWN WITH BONI IN THE FORUM, 1898–1904

This essay has two objectives. First, it acknowledges and situates the contribution of Ethel Ann Burton-Brown (1868–1927) to the history of the archaeology of the Roman Forum as it was excavated between 1898 and 1905 under the direction of Giacomo Boni (1859–1925). Her English-language handbook on the discoveries, now overlooked in literature on Boni, showcased her education at Girton College, her experience with traditional cultures such as those of northern India, and her understanding of established and newly-emerging methods of classical archaeology. Unlike Esther van Deman and Eugénie Sellers Strong, who embraced careers in archaeology just years after Burton-Brown's publication, she did not pursue working in the discipline because of her personal situation. Secondly, it investigates the manner in which Burton-Brown received Boni's presentation of the excavations. Trained as an architect and experienced in architectural restoration, Boni brought innovative scientific methods to the task of uncovering Rome's archaic past. He did so while deliberately distancing himself from those scholars before him who applied traditional academic approaches, i.e., those reliant on classical literature, to archaeological practice. In large part, Burton-Brown's handbook echoes the descriptions and analyses of Boni's finds in the Roman Forum. However, a closer reading of her text reveals that her personal experiences shaped some of her explanations of the archaeological past in ways that differed from Boni's. In addition, their respective nationalities, British versus Italian, shade how they each value Rome's early history.