Digitally Enlightened or Still in the Dark? Establishing a Sector-Wide Approach to Enhancing Data Synthesis and Research Potential in British Environmental Archaeology and Beyond

Q2 Arts and Humanities
Tina Roushannafas, Polydora Baker, Gill Campbell, Emma Jenkins, Jen Parker Wooding, R. Pelling, M. Vander Linden, Fay Worley, Anwen Cooper
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

In a 2019 Internet Archaeology article, Elizabeth Pearson posed the question 'are we back in the Dark Ages?'. This question was made in reference to a developer-funded archaeology sector that was generating vast quantities of evidence and, particularly, in recent years, specialist environmental data, but was failing to mobilise this in a theoretical framework that generated meaningful advancement in terms of research. The introduction to the 2021 Internet Archaeology special issue on Digital Archiving in Archaeology (Richards et al. 2021) went on to address 'a digital resource that is now in jeopardy' – not only because of the risk of technical obsolescence, but also because of crucial limitations to its interoperability and discoverability. This article builds on these arguments and complements vital work underway on high-level, internationally focused data infrastructure initiatives (e.g. Wright and Richards 2018). We emphasise here the importance of parallel discussions at a community level, particularly with the people who routinely produce archaeological data, as key to enhancing data synthesis and research potential. Specifically, we report on two surveys conducted by the 'Rewilding' Later Prehistory project at Oxford Archaeology, in collaboration with Historic England and Bournemouth University, which originated in the 'Rewilding' project's concern with improving access to palaeoenvironmental data produced within Britain. Substantial amounts of zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical data remain buried in grey literature, limited-access publications and archive reports (not to mention floppy disks, CDs and microfiche), with no integrative means of searching for particular periods or categories of evidence. This lack of accessibility inhibits specialists from contextualising their findings, and was exemplified recently by the Archaeology on Furlough project tripling the known number of aurochs finds in Britain by trawling online records, journals and museum records (Wiseman 2020). The results of the surveys presented here, which targeted both environmental archaeologists specifically and the wider sector, demonstrate a significant appetite amongst archaeologists to improve data networks and for their work to contribute meaningfully to research agendas. Contextualised within a disciplinary landscape that is increasingly dynamic in its approach to tackling the openness and connectivity of 'big data', we argue that better data synthesis in environmental archaeology, and the developer-funded sector more broadly, can be more than just a mirage on the horizon, particularly once the people who produce the data are given an active voice in the matter.
数码化的启蒙还是仍在黑暗中?在英国环境考古学及其他领域建立部门方法,提高数据综合能力和研究潜力
伊丽莎白-皮尔森(Elizabeth Pearson)在 2019 年的一篇《互联网考古学》文章中提出了 "我们是否回到了黑暗时代 "的问题。这个问题是针对开发商资助的考古部门提出的,该部门正在产生大量证据,尤其是近年来产生的专业环境数据,但却未能在理论框架内调动这些证据,从而在研究方面取得有意义的进展。2021 年互联网考古专刊 "考古学数字存档"(Richards et al. 2021 年)的导言继续论述了 "目前岌岌可危的数字资源"--这不仅是因为技术过时的风险,还因为其互操作性和可发现性的关键限制。本文以这些论点为基础,补充了目前正在开展的以国际为重点的高级别数据基础设施倡议方面的重要工作(如 Wright 和 Richards,2018 年)。我们在此强调在社区层面开展平行讨论的重要性,尤其是与考古数据的日常生产者进行讨论,这是提高数据综合能力和研究潜力的关键。具体而言,我们报告了牛津考古所 "野化 "晚期史前项目与英格兰历史博物馆和伯恩茅斯大学合作开展的两项调查,这两项调查源于 "野化 "项目对改善英国境内古环境数据获取途径的关注。大量的动物考古学和植物考古学数据仍被埋藏在灰色文献、限制访问的出版物和档案报告(更不用说软盘、光盘和缩微胶片了)中,没有整合的方法来搜索特定时期或特定类别的证据。最近,"休假考古"(Archaeology on Furlough)项目通过搜索在线记录、期刊和博物馆记录,将英国已知的褐马鸡发现数量增加了两倍(Wiseman,2020 年)。本文介绍的调查既针对环境考古学家,也针对更广泛的考古领域,其结果表明考古学家非常希望改善数据网络,并希望他们的工作能为研究议程做出有意义的贡献。在解决 "大数据 "开放性和连通性问题的方法日趋活跃的学科背景下,我们认为,在环境考古学以及更广泛的开发商资助领域,更好的数据综合不仅仅是地平线上的海市蜃楼,尤其是当数据生产者在这一问题上有了积极的发言权之后。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Internet Archaeology
Internet Archaeology Arts and Humanities-Archeology (arts and humanities)
CiteScore
1.10
自引率
0.00%
发文量
9
审稿时长
16 weeks
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