Becoming Archaeological
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.v2i1.27089Keywords:
archaeology theory, digital archaeology, digital preservation, life-histories, serious gamesAbstract
This contribution to the forum on the relationship of “media archaeology” to the practice of “archaeology” reiterates the idea that an uncritical acceptance by “media archaeologists” of what archaeologists actually do has led to unnecessary limitations on the potential value of ‘media archaeology’. The authors suggest that the concept of use lives and life histories of people, places and things that has been a recognized part of archaeological practice for almost 40 years would make an important contribution to understanding the variability in life expectancy of media objects (especially those of a digital nature) and the process by which their use-lives may be prolonged (even for many centuries) or ended intentionally or unintentionally.
References
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____. 2012. “Making Sense of Transience: Anticipatory History.” Cultural Geographies 19(1): 31–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1474474010397599
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Gifford-Gonzalez, D. 2011. “Just Methodology? A Review of Archaeology’s Debts to Michael Schiffer.” In Assessing Michael Schiffer and his Behavioral Archaeology, edited by J.J. Reid and M. Skibo, 299–308. Special issue of Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 18(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-011-9113-4
Harrison, R. 2009. “Excavating Second Life: Cyber-Archaeologies, Heritage and Virtual Communities.” Journal of Material Culture 14(1): 75–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1359183508100009
Komorowski, N. n.d. “A History Of Storage Cost.” Available online: http://www.mkomo.com/cost-per-gigabyte-update
Leavy, B. n.d. “Virtual Songlines – Harbor Journey.” Available online: https://vimeo.com/81783754
McGuire, R. and M. Schiffer. 1983. “A Theory of Architectural Design.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 2(3): 277–303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0278-4165(83)90002-8
Morgan, C. 2009. “(Re)Building Çatalhöyük: Changing Virtual Reality in Archaeology.” Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 5(3): 468–487. http://link.springer.com/journal/11759. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11759-009-9113-0
____. 2010. “A Death-knell for OKAPI Island?” Middle Savagery. 20 October, 2010. Available online: https://middlesavagery.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/a-death-knell-for-okapi-island/
Reid, T.J. and J. Skibo, eds. 2011. Assessing Michael Schiffer and his Behavioral Archaeology. Special issue of Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 18(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-011-9113-4
Richards, J. 2002. “Digital Preservation and Access.” European Journal of Archaeology 5(3) 343–366. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/eja.2002.5.3.343
____. n.d. “Preservation and Digital Archiving.” Available online: http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/advice/preservation
Schiffer, M. 1976. Behavioral Archeology. New York: Academic Press.
____. 1987. Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
____. 2011. Studying Technological Change: A Behavioral Approach. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Stevanovic, M. 1997. “The Age of Clay: The Social Dynamics of House Destruction.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 16(4): 334–395. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jaar.1997.0310
Tringham, R.1978. “Experimentation, Ethnoarchaeology and the Leapfrogs in Archaeological Methodology.” In Explorations in Ethnoarchaeology, edited by R. Gould, 169–199. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1328.0805
____. 1990. “Conclusion: Selevac in the Wider Context of European Prehistory.” In Selevac: A Neolithic village in Yugoslavia, edited by R. Tringham and D. Krstic, 567–616. Monumenta Archaeologica 15. Los Angeles: UCLA Institute of Archaeology Press.
____. 1994. “Engendered Places in Prehistory.” Gender, Place, and Culture 1(2): 169–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09663699408721209
____. 2012. “Households through a Digital Lens.” In New Perspectives on Household Archaeology, edited by B. Parker and C. Foster, 81–120. Winona Lake, IL: Eisenbrauns.
____. 2015. “Creating Narratives of the Past as Recombinant Histories.” In Subjects and Narratives in Archaeology, edited by R. M. Van Dyke and R. Bernbeck, 41–75. Denver: University Press of Colorado.
____. n.d. 1. “Okapi Island in Second Life.” Available online: http://www.ruthtringham.com/Ruth_Tringham/Okapi_Island.html
____. n.d. 2. “A tour of Okapi Island.” Available online: http://vimeo.com/88005214
____. n.d. 3. “Dead Women Do Tell Tales.” Available online: http://www.ruthtringham.com/Ruth_Tringham/Dead_Women_Do_Tell_Tales.html
____. and M. Stevanovic, eds. 2012. Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük,
Turkey. Çatalhöyük Volume 11. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Publications, UCLA.
US Library of Congress. n.d. “Sustainability of Digital Formats: Formats, Evaluation Factors, and Relationships.” Available online: http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/intro/format_eval_rel.shtml
Ashley, M. 2010. “Deep Thinking in Shallow Time: Sharing Humanity’s History in the Petabyte Age.” Virtual Archaeology Review 1(1): 9–12. Available online: http://varjournal.es/doc/varj01_001_27.pdf
Bollacker, K. 2010. “Avoiding a Digital Dark Age.” American Scientist 98(2): 106–110. Available online: http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/num2/2010/3/avoiding-a-digital-dark-age/1
Brand, S. 1994. How Buildings Learn. New York: Viking Press.
Cameron, C. and S. Tomka, eds. 1993 Abandonment of Settlements and Regions: Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Approaches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511735240
Champion, E. 2011. Playing with the Past. London: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-501-9
____. n.d. “Peopled Virtual Heritage (Worlds).” Erik Champion: Interactive History and Digital Culture 21 January. Available online: https://erikchampion.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/peopled-virtual-heritage-worlds/
Colwell-Chanthaphonh, C. and T. J. Ferguson. 2006 “Rethinking Abandonment in Archaeological Contexts.” SAA Archaeological Record 6(1) 37–41. Available online: http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/SAA/Publications/thesaaarchrec/jan06.pdf
DeSilvey, C. 2006. “Observed Decay: Telling Stories with Mutable Things.” Journal of Material Culture 11(3): 318–338. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1359183506068808
____. 2012. “Making Sense of Transience: Anticipatory History.” Cultural Geographies 19(1): 31–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1474474010397599
Digital Curation Centre. n.d. Curation Reference Manual. Available online: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/curation-reference-manual
Gifford-Gonzalez, D. 2011. “Just Methodology? A Review of Archaeology’s Debts to Michael Schiffer.” In Assessing Michael Schiffer and his Behavioral Archaeology, edited by J.J. Reid and M. Skibo, 299–308. Special issue of Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 18(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-011-9113-4
Harrison, R. 2009. “Excavating Second Life: Cyber-Archaeologies, Heritage and Virtual Communities.” Journal of Material Culture 14(1): 75–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1359183508100009
Komorowski, N. n.d. “A History Of Storage Cost.” Available online: http://www.mkomo.com/cost-per-gigabyte-update
Leavy, B. n.d. “Virtual Songlines – Harbor Journey.” Available online: https://vimeo.com/81783754
McGuire, R. and M. Schiffer. 1983. “A Theory of Architectural Design.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 2(3): 277–303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0278-4165(83)90002-8
Morgan, C. 2009. “(Re)Building Çatalhöyük: Changing Virtual Reality in Archaeology.” Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 5(3): 468–487. http://link.springer.com/journal/11759. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11759-009-9113-0
____. 2010. “A Death-knell for OKAPI Island?” Middle Savagery. 20 October, 2010. Available online: https://middlesavagery.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/a-death-knell-for-okapi-island/
Reid, T.J. and J. Skibo, eds. 2011. Assessing Michael Schiffer and his Behavioral Archaeology. Special issue of Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 18(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-011-9113-4
Richards, J. 2002. “Digital Preservation and Access.” European Journal of Archaeology 5(3) 343–366. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/eja.2002.5.3.343
____. n.d. “Preservation and Digital Archiving.” Available online: http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/advice/preservation
Schiffer, M. 1976. Behavioral Archeology. New York: Academic Press.
____. 1987. Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
____. 2011. Studying Technological Change: A Behavioral Approach. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Stevanovic, M. 1997. “The Age of Clay: The Social Dynamics of House Destruction.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 16(4): 334–395. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jaar.1997.0310
Tringham, R.1978. “Experimentation, Ethnoarchaeology and the Leapfrogs in Archaeological Methodology.” In Explorations in Ethnoarchaeology, edited by R. Gould, 169–199. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1328.0805
____. 1990. “Conclusion: Selevac in the Wider Context of European Prehistory.” In Selevac: A Neolithic village in Yugoslavia, edited by R. Tringham and D. Krstic, 567–616. Monumenta Archaeologica 15. Los Angeles: UCLA Institute of Archaeology Press.
____. 1994. “Engendered Places in Prehistory.” Gender, Place, and Culture 1(2): 169–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09663699408721209
____. 2012. “Households through a Digital Lens.” In New Perspectives on Household Archaeology, edited by B. Parker and C. Foster, 81–120. Winona Lake, IL: Eisenbrauns.
____. 2015. “Creating Narratives of the Past as Recombinant Histories.” In Subjects and Narratives in Archaeology, edited by R. M. Van Dyke and R. Bernbeck, 41–75. Denver: University Press of Colorado.
____. n.d. 1. “Okapi Island in Second Life.” Available online: http://www.ruthtringham.com/Ruth_Tringham/Okapi_Island.html
____. n.d. 2. “A tour of Okapi Island.” Available online: http://vimeo.com/88005214
____. n.d. 3. “Dead Women Do Tell Tales.” Available online: http://www.ruthtringham.com/Ruth_Tringham/Dead_Women_Do_Tell_Tales.html
____. and M. Stevanovic, eds. 2012. Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük,
Turkey. Çatalhöyük Volume 11. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Publications, UCLA.
US Library of Congress. n.d. “Sustainability of Digital Formats: Formats, Evaluation Factors, and Relationships.” Available online: http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/intro/format_eval_rel.shtml
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2015-09-02
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Tringham, R., & Ashley, M. (2015). Becoming Archaeological. Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2(1), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.v2i1.27089
