The use of computers in archaeology is entering a new phase of unparalleled development, moving on from a specialist methodology on the margins to a powerful practical and analytical tool used across all areas of archaeological interest. With a thorough examination of the ways in which both everyday and cutting-edge technologies can be used to inform and enhance traditional methods, this book brings together ideology from the academic world and pragmatic, concrete examples to show how fieldwork, theory and technology fit together today as never before.
Covering a history of the rise of computer use in archaeology as well as a thorough assessment of a number of high profile examples such as the Ferrybridge Chariot, this book shows how new technologies have been implemented into both theory and method as an integral part of the archaeological process.
With contributions from renowned experts, experienced professionals and emerging names in the field, this unique, forward-thinking book brings together previously disparate aspects of archaeology in a new holistic approach to the study of the past. A companion website is also available to allow further study of the images included.
PART I Where we've been and where we are going Introduction: archaeological theory and digital pasts 1 Digital archaeology: a historical context PART II Data collection 2 Archaeological survey in a digital world 3 Drowning in data? Digital data in a British contracting unit PART III Quantification made easy 4 You, me and IT: the application of simple quantitative techniques in the examination of gender, identity and social reproduction in the Early to Middle Iron Age of northeastern France PART IV Modelling the past 5 Jouma's tent: Bedouin and digital archaeology 6 Digital archaeology and the scalar structure of pastoral landscapes: modeling mobile societies of prehistoric Central Asia 7 What you see is what you get? Visualscapes, visual genesis and hierarchy PART V Virtual worlds 8 'Digital gardening': an approach to simulating elements of palaeovegetation and some implications for the interpretation of prehistoric sites and landscapes 9 At the edges of the lens: photography, graphical constructions and cinematography PART VI Disseminating the data 190 10 Electronic publication in archaeology 11 Computers, learning and teaching in archaeology: life past and present on the screen 12 What's another word for thesaurus? Data standards and classifying the Past PART VII Conclusion
