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Describing and Interpreting the Past - European and American Approaches to the Written Record of the Excavation

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Abstract

Sixty case studies of archaeological recording are presented with commentary from methodological and epistemological perspectives. Procedures and pro forma used by teams from around the world, working at sites in the US, Europe and the Near East are compared with an aim to further the development of recording theory and inspire new standards for field practices. For the first time in one volume, one hundred context (locus), feature and burial sheets are illustrated and explained against the background of archaeology’s historical development Reviewed in: 1. Antiquity 85 (328), 2011, 690-700 2. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2011.08.19 3. Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires, 2011, 253-4 4. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 27.1, Apr. 2012, 203-208; 5. Assemblage 12/2012 6. Atek Na (En la Tierra) 3, 2013, 293-297 7. Dolgozatok az Erdélyi Nemzeti Múzeum, VII, 2011-2012 [2013], 305-306. "[V]aluable collection and commentary of 60 different systems (all illustrated) used for recording on excavations in Europe, America, and the Near East." M. Hummler, Recording Fieldwork, in: M. Carver et al. (eds) Field Archaeology from Around the World, Springer, 2015, 63-69, quote at p. 67 Referenced in Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Springer 2014, entry: Recording in archaeology (M. Hummler), vol. 9, 6240-6245. Most recent citation in: A. Mickel, ”Reasons for Redundancy in Reflexivity: The Role of Diaries in Archaeological Epistemology”, Journal of Field Archaeology, 2015
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ĂTĂLI
P
AVEL
Describing and Interpreting the Past
European and American Approaches
to the Written Record of the Excavation
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! !,8+'  
B -8+'  
= A,8+'  
- >)   
C 9.<4/,  :
-D<'!'57870,&"4  $
D!;  $:
)70,+  $%
E!7!'5@&"4   
!7  
 
Introduction
<,7+ ,  , ''     F '0+  "4 
.,  + ) GH@+ ,4 )0. 
.,,7'8,,7,.,  ,'0  ,
,4,"40,+++,'0,)+7
)+'+')'4,,F.,.
.,9,,,,7,,++'
),+,0,,7+/7,,,7
, ,   )7 0     , , , I+  , 
0)=.,7H
!.,7,4))4,0.,47.
7,  , "4 ,7     ' @  ,'  
'7 )I ' "4    .7  , 
,7,,JK0I),',.,
,'  ' >0 L +  7  +   
,7 "0 , ., .I7 ., , B   ) ,4 
 +  )+ , ,7   , 0+  ,
"4  .  )+ , 0+  ,  ,  ,7+  )  )+
I7'+7.,,I I.+7
,0")7,>7.,04)+
7@+ 7 .  44. ,. 7+' 7
,A 9.; F,. ,+'  ,7,.,+ 0
'''''+.,,'),,
'.I ,7+, +7'0  , 47 , 7 
),,0)4),
, ,0 I 4 ,  ), 7 "4 
,  "' ,7 ',  , +   , , , 0)
 , 0,0, 07  , 7 .,    ,' 
0'7 '0 , " ,0 ) , '0  ,7+ 
 ,   '0   ,7+  , )  .)I  7
= @" , 4, 0 0  ')  )4  , 0 
,77,'0,,",07,.,,,,0
""'')7+'
 B  ! B'+ -+ B I+ - C &7+0  ,
58 '7 , 3,0 ,7,7, , ' '0  ,
47   0  ,   , 000 0 ' 4 0 7
');,'+'00.0),'0,44'
 0 ' -   .  + '0  )    ' 04
", -  00 JK ,). 0
0,,0  + '))  ,7
,'.,+74',7'0'0,+=
@"40' ,+ 7 '.I 7 ,.
,,7"4
, 7  0 '  , 0  0   0
'+),77,7,  +
'  )+' "+ 'G"4  )+' ' , .
M,4 I '0, ,N, 0'  7 , 7'
,,"4+.,,'0)+G
7+' 04+  , ) ) ,7
,4+).74,00,+)++7,7
7'"0,,7+,0
47 07 )+ , . ) 04)+ )
,  . ) ,  +') ,4 ,   0+ , ' '
4 ) ,  ,'   '7 ., ,  ), '+ 
+4
 '  '+ "   ,   4+   0'
'0 , . ,7  00 , .  M0
0N   77  '0' ,  ., , ,+ 0 
,,+,,+7,07 ).,4.
7,,),'0'7,.00!
.,,+4+'+0+3&&0,
0100,.047,,I
 7 +'   ' ,7 "4 7 '  
<,F,'+00),)47
0,"4/,.4"0,7.,
,  ,7, , '7+7 7  , .  "0   71
,7 0  , , '  , ,  , 0 ,
, 0 '  , +  ) + '0     ,
'7+ ,  0  ,7+ ,)+ ',  , ) '7 
.!+,','0,,0,
0)''+.   )I 0'+4,0)'
'+ )   , I7  "4 0 F 7 , 
')  01  4)  ,7+ 'G  , 4  ,
40'  0   "4  '0  ,
,7++7+'-',1''
,7,+)7 , 0  "4   M N 
'I70)),,7,L,+0)
, 4'  0)  , ,+  7 +'    04 
)I7,047<,7..+.,
,"41'-&0,,7
0 ,   " ,  , ) , 7  ) 
7 + . .+  ,   , +   /4L !
L  C >0L .7 8'0 7 ' .  00 )+ !,
,7 M! 8, < E) & 8 E !OON  $ ., B'
MP,'E1N84,7M947N.7'+'-
,58,/L"4 8'M%N ,
7,',,+'/ =1 , +.,,'
,   7  +   ')  '0 +'  ,
A7B1=
.,,,4)7+)+
 :
,+'@) @F- 8070
'  ,   , :   , , !,  . 'G  7
+',E)
<,04',;,7', ,0
   , , 4  , = @" '  , . 
. '  ,      , )'  
"4   7 ,   :  G ., ,7
4, , 40' ), )  , 0'
700",, >0'  5)<,7+.,,
@'E.,&0:,7',
70,  M58 "N )     '+    74 MN
.,,B1="4,E4.4070'
,,:,7,,'G.,,;,P+7+'
-,"70,  MJ"KN + 
,,7M7+07','774+N
.,, , 7,) 0,+ ,  .,,  ) 0 
+,7+4,,+,M7+.,
4,,+ ,N,"'+ .,
  )+ '4  ,  ,  "  ) + "0  
0,,07700"'0+
+,,7  , )00),
,04,,0 ,4.
,",7+04,40,+4'.,,
,  7+ + )  .' 0 ) ,+    
 )  74  < " ' ,  7+  7+ 0
7 7 0  ' M'  '    , .,
 ,7, , 0  N   7 M+  0 'N .,
"  ,  7+  7+ 0 4 ,  4+ , 0 
'M,0.N,'JK
+",)0,'0,7.,,'
J0K M, '7+N  J 4K M<' '7+N    7 
)+"4'0+,,)+4)
 "4 .,4 70,+  7  "4 07   
0'0
>7 , '    < "  )    , 
,7,          
       
 ! "#$
%-77.,,',+'7!"'0
., , "         =&  @) 
+Q,R+SI&'(E&/'"4&,
<7 /7 +'&   , /+IG4I +'&  , BR7
+'   , 54+  3 + "4   , -7
<,7>))*)+,)'
< '  , 7  0 '  "4  40 7 ,
.7!0',47#7777.,,
" , 7 , 7  1  0'0  F  ,
,7L  ,7,  '0 0 T '0+ .I7
.,77,)@40)7
%
,4  '0 4)1  , 0, 7,
7)7+7,0"40,!7,
",0',7.,4)+,''+
,7,44)0<,",
'I70040,','",
  , 0  ',7+ ,  .+  74 '7  '
)77"
8,",)7).,,'1
70,+.,,)"0,=@"<70,'I,
),70,')'+,,,
7, '1,7I.7'I70)', 
).,,,)+)'0"'01,4,
  0   '1  , '   '0)+ ).  '
'07'07'+.,7
, " ,   . ., , ' 0+  ,
I.7 '7 '')  ,'   ,7, F+  .I ., .
' 00' , ' ",7      G
'7,"444;)'''),
"47'4+77+'0+40
!+7",74,,7'4,,
,00,,"4),''FI+0'
,7,  0  0) A 0)  4 7 , '07 
)'0),0"4,0+0)
A0)+'.),'"
0  , '  0  ,7  ! 0 '
0 ,   ' ,. , 0 ' ) 7 ,0 
,. .4A,, ,  ,7
0 4 0),   '   7+ 0 4
0  , 4  M  "'0  ,    EI N ,
 .  '0 0 ')  7 +' ,  ,
= "4  . , @)  G Q,R+SI , </P ) 
,<7"4'7,,7,
<,7  .  , 7, )   , 7  " ,
@,,7'+,,7'I
   I I   7 )+ '1  0 
+01 -  .   " , ) , ,7  4+
,),'I7)B7 ) 77
7,+<+'0+7
,')    ,, ')' ,' )   , 
'+ ) 04 87 ,7 ., 00.I , 4 ) ,
 ), 7 - ,  ,,   .I , , 
,7   ) , 80   , ' , .,  04  
4.,'7')0'0.)+0+7)+
,   ', 0)''),+)077
.'I,01''+,,'7
4' '0 <   .+ M= N, ,
70',0,7770;.,.4
7+'.,,,7
U
 
,  4+   '07 0 '   "4 < 
' ' 7+'M, " ,,) 71
N  4 0),  , ,7,  '+ .+ ,+   JK  ,
"4,0"'+I.7,'0'
 , 0)+ 4)  07  , .   , "4 
0+7'0)+,7,-
+ ,  ,  , 0 '  , ,4 ) 04+ 0), 
0'',70,,,F
0'.,,,).+4)04+'.,,.,
, I 0'   ')  "4   ' 0) ,  , 
'- , 0'0 ., .,,,,4. '+
F,4'+),,7+704
, 4'  , )   7  7 0 
J  4K .,, '+ )    . 0G I7   F 7
+'   ), "4 ,  I7  '04' M0+ 
3& &0N, ,0 7, .+'I +
,.,,44"4,7, ,,L.,,,,
'.I.,,,++1.)007.+0
,7'0+00,7,"4
,.+.,,,0',0+..'
   + 4 44.  ,. "4 ,4 )   
@+0',,L.
'704,00)8'0'0)+
0 "4  + 0  0   , )4 '  0 -
,,,,,0,)0,0.,,,7+
,07>)70,)77+
,7+,4 )  ' 00) '+ .,, ., +<
7 ')  . I. "4 . ., ) '  , "  ,
0,''+''+"0,".,,,+
0), , 7 0,0,+ =.4 -    +7 , '
,7 ., ,4 .I ., "  , .   , .7 07
',',',',+,.,07.
',0,'

I. WHY RECORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIOS
<7 ''0 ,, ) ,7+,7,
 0  , '  ,7  .I "4  
<,7+ 00  )  ., '4    ,  ) 
., 4)+ 7  , '  '     
.,,  ,I+ , 70, ,)+, F  
'L   + 74  <,7+  0+ , + 0 , 7,
I.7)++7)G+;,,#,)G+
0).)4.,',,F
,.'0'4',47
  , .,  ''+ )  , 04   7 ,
=.  , ) H ,   ,7+  ) 71  ,
.7'0
A  , 0 ., 4+ 7 + 00   M 
N,7+,,+',,, 
.,"4,40'#,7,.+'-,,)G
+,+.+,,'',7+,,
) I .,  ,   ., ,   , 47 ''+  ,
0  0   4' ., '  ,  '  
'')
;,',M+'N"4.',
   +  0  7 , ' ' 0,  
'4 . ' )74.,+"4 7,7 
.,,", , ,7+, ,.,,JI 
I.7K  0) F   0 7      
,0, 0, -' ,+ , '0
 ,  ,7 "4  I. ) ,0  
.70+,B4,',,+7,),0
 7 , 7,  ) 0,0 '  .# , +   )
+ 44 , 0  I.7 )  , F+,, 
 , ,0   . , 0  , 4+ 04  .+ 
,0
,)'JK,7+,
,   '   , ' )  + ) 7 .
 
847,7+, ., '', 4.,, 4) .,  '0
/,1M:$N.,>'MN
M$N.,FJ.,+"4K.,&4')L=+J)L
,K0I),J741,,0'K

 7 . ' ,   0 4.  ,7+ '
0+ ' 7 , 7' '    , 
,7+   ,)7  ' -4 ,7 ,'4 ., 
) .  7 7    '+  ,0  'I , ) ,
0.)7)+,.,+
<   .,+ "4  '  ) 7' ,   ., ,
7',,7+,4770,
J7K747",4,07
 "4  + 74 #J"4 ,,  .I 7 , ,K
M;7,  :N !'+ )+ 7 -   , .  .
',),,"40,),+
  ,  '  , 0 , 7 ,' <
"4,,7),,7+,,))
),70,'400,I'47
 00 , ) , )G   +   ,  )  , . 
,7+,,.44'07'),:
, .    7  .  , < ) ' 
04 )+ , ) 0 )+ ,7   '0  ) ,
7,0),77,..,7
<I,0)+7,,"44
47 , 0  .   ,  I,  , . 4
F,,,4,J04)+K
,!,M0,0
'VN')J04)++KM>'NA)4+,+,
7   '7  7,  ) ',  ,+ ,4 )
,",',,)07,7
0))04+')'I00)',.
' 0 4     )   ,  ) 0,++ +
/7,.,'I,,7'0').,
,7,,,''0
37"4,40,0)+'
,7@,I,..,7"4
 ),   ,+ ,4 "0  0 .,+.
,+  , I.7 ,  7  . ) )  4 '
I.7 ., 0 ,F ' , H , ., 0,0,+ 
,7+.77EM)N',.
,,0,'''0,,7
 '0 - . ,I  , 0  '+   . 0' 
7  , 0   0 ' , 0 + ,7+  
0+  0,' -   E & IL , ,. , ,7
  ),0,+ 04 1  ,04  "
4+   , 0 '  ' +') - , )
).,.'+,47,7+
0
 
 7 +B <,7+ 7 ' , , B4' ' 94
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"40,4.,'))),',,7
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,,9.074J,7KM!
N . , ) I ,  .  )     + 
.)4,70I.7'+
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4J.,K.,,)04+4<,7
').,7','7,),'I7,)
),0)00'+'7/74.,
)G40+.,.J,7KM.,+7,,L,,N)
.,'7.,,'I.,.,7-,
 ,7+   4  + 4 /7  
'  I07 ,  0  , '  4 + 0) 4 
"4,4,70,++",04
0'0+,,),
'   7 <7 . ,4  , , ' 7 
,7+0),, ',70)., 
0   0 F ., 4  4 '  0)  ''
0+,4,70),,,4774'M
+N,"4, ,7,00,44
 , . ) '0) .,   7 +' 9 ''+ 
'',,.,'7''+',.I'
+'0,70,.,,)70
,7+'/7,4,7,,.+
47,.+.7)'0).,
7,'')7,'00
0+ 7,+0+''+7
')''+''+.,7+0 '
.,,     074 7  ,  .  ) '0+
))7+,00.,..,74
B4 E M)N  , 00 ,7 .7  0
04 0'7 ,4 , 7 7  J4K ,7+ ,
'     7 ., ,7 + 0  ,
7"),+,",+70,'-,
 
$
+,'I ,.  ' J04 )+ KH')+  .I
0,70,'7'',.+),7,,
',.II+0.,77,'+.+
 ,    ,'  , +. 0 , 4) 7 ) 1 7 ,
'0  , ,.I   '0 ., ,      ,L , 8'  ,  ) 
)"')+0.,'+4

4. ,7  , ' ,7, , 77' ., ,' A
I.7,.,,')
.4).,
 4+  , 0 . , "4   0) ) , 
,"0'M,0N,,,7
, +  , J,  K )+ 007 , , ., 0 
04.7)000,.'I0+'7,
, 7    , 0+ + '0 .,   .I  
'170,)7,,40+)'0,,
 M ,  + @)7 :N -   &, M%$N $ ,  ,
.),)+,,7')70+,')
 .,  , 0 +0  .I7 ., ,  M+N
/7  07
 E 4 0 .,  ,4 '   4 ,
'0      " , I  I G ) ,+
,4),'.+,')7,'
0440M<.N
/7. ,  0' '0 A .,
 '0)+ , , ., 7 0 3'0)+  F ) 
"4+.,,,)',)+,),)+
' ,  4 ;   ,I  ., ., . +
,4'I).,.,..,4',"4
= , F' , , ,7,+ 04 4  ,7+ ,4 
)I) )G4M)  ,, +' , )G4+4)N
0,'I,1'7+,0
70,  M58N '0+  , ,+  77  , '  +
,7  0  , 58 +   ., , ) ,  ,'
<,7  )  J', ,K + 07 ). W  %W
!+ ,+ '' 0  0  )F  ,+   , 
J+,++'K,,014)+;
I."+.,,,7'+)+,+' 07
  0 '  ,  M      
"N))+,'00+
,).
B 0       .+ ,4 .+ )  I 
,7+;,70+0'I70),4
+ .I 5 , 4 . 7  ), ' , 0, .7 
,   ) ,  0   '+   - ,    .
 

-    , .   ,   = BO M 8,00 % :N  .,'
JL7'0OK00+'M"') 4+"N7
), ,>'31M8,00 %N.,'7JO0
'K

8'),'@X: $M.,,',,7+,+.N),
J4 )K   J).K  ''7<')4"0 <,"'0#
, )+ , 07 '+F1  0 0 ).
 ''   '' .,  ' 00  0,+ '  Y  ' -
0 ++   ,  .,, .  )) ). , 7   I +   ,
7
$
4+   00 , 0' ' .,,   0),  ,
0..A,0)+11'
, 0)+ 7 ) , +),I
7@+0)",)4+070
.,')+,.,,,700
7+4 ,  ,' - , ,, ,
' M7 , "  ,N  4)  0 ,
,7+ "0 , ' ' , 
0+ - .  )  ,  '0 , , '  
7+0,+,),),0.,,.),
  '0    4) , ,  ,47 ,
'  .7 ,  0 '+ ,0 .7 , 0 ,
7I07,
87',0'+,77..I))
 ,I .,, , ,7L  .   '+ 4 ,
40;,+74,,,7
. "4 + ,  ., ,+ ,4 ) .I7 + ) ,+
.  ,   , ,+0,  ,   ,
'7  ,   + 77 , ,  , ,
0'47'0J,.L7K.,
, )7 '7 ,   ,7,  , "4 '7, '7 ,
0)'-,.4.',,7L'
.' ,4 7 70 ,.,7 M,0 4N/7 
')+ 0+ ).)G4+ )G4+ ' 0+
7  .7 .  '  0007   , , -    
,' 4 ., 0   )+ ,77 0  
4.,,,70.,,,77/7"4
000 .  ,   , "4   ,. , 7 
40I0'<'+.,,0
,77    7 7 ,  , '
,0F7,7+
... Huvila, 2012), and document analysis (e.g. Pavel, 2010). ...
... Even if there are certain tendencies to frame archaeological work especially in management (Huvila, 2019c) and outreach (Andreassen & Pierroux, 2013) contexts as a tameable process, in the research literature, it is more typical to describe archaeology as a craft (Edgeworth, 2011;Shanks & McGuire, 1996), assemblage, or for instance, meshwork (Cobb & Croucher, 2020;Hamilakis & Jones, 2017) that unfolds as a situated, messy and unpredictable melange of individual and collective thinking and bodily hands-on doing. The work itself, its procedures, documentation methods, and what is documented vary a lot from one project and excavation to another not only due to diverging traditions and legislation between different countries and regions (Carver, Gaydarska, & Monton-Subias, 2015;Pavel, 2010) but also due to differences between particular excavations, projects, and groups of archaeologists. Rescue excavations differ from research-driven fieldwork. ...
... Archaeological information and documentation materialise in many physical forms, and the different genres of information stem from and integrate into a similarly broad spectrum of archaeological practices (see e.g. Huvila, 2019a;Mickel, 2015;Pavel, 2010). Multiple researchers have emphasised the embodied nature of archaeological information and knowing and debated to which extent archaeologist's bodily experiences can be treated as analogous to those of the people of the past (Hodder, 1999;Thomas, 2004). ...
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A 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 the epistemic choreographies of 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.
... The principles laid down by Harris are considered sound and the four laws of archaeological stratigraphy have been widely adopted (Barker 1977;Spence 1990;Carver 2009;Roskams 2001), although not necessarily universally, among archaeologists (Pavel 2010). In defining the essential stratigraphic relationship between two archaeological stratigraphic units, the principles of archaeological stratigraphy set out the relative positions of two related stratigraphic units in spacetime. ...
... Hence proforma recording sheets or data-entry forms for database entry are commonly used ( Figure 6). This is reflected in the huge range of recording manuals and methodologies that are available, often as unpublished project or organisational documentation, exemplified by the MoLA Archaeological Site Manual (Spence 1990; but also see Joukowsky 1980 or the range of recording systems discussed in Pavel 2010 andMasur et al. 2013). Our consultation further suggested that during post-excavation, while the outcomes of the work need to be agreed across a team, the process for working on the post-excavation of each site is usually carried out, or at least largely managed, by one individual. ...
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Stratigraphic data and relationships form the backbone of all the related archaeological records from each excavated site and are essential for integrated analysis, wider synthesis and accessible archiving of the growing body of archaeological data and reports generated through the commercial archaeological sector in the UK and internationally. The stratigraphic record, usually in the form of a stratigraphic matrix, with associated relationships and data, acts as a primary, if not the primary 'evidence' for how, and in what order, the site was excavated. As such the stratigraphic matrix can be the key mechanism that enables anyone less familiar with the site, to re-visit and re-use the excavation records, understand what data is most relevant for addressing certain research questions, or problems encountered, and piece together the underlying details of how the excavator(s) arrived at their interpretations. However such records are often only held on paper or as scanned image copies (as PDFs) of matrix diagrams that cannot easily be re-used with all the associated data. This article presents outcomes from The Matrix project (AHRC AH/T002093/1) that address the current problems caused by the lack of standardized approaches to digital archiving of archaeological data using the case study of stratigraphic and phasing data.
... Synthetic and interdisciplinary research using "big" archaeological data will also require data to be integrated and managed at a scope, scale, and rate consistent with the level at which data are now collected (Altschul 2016b;Doelle et al. 2016;Halford 2019;Huggett 2020a). Yet, the bewildering variety of systems that archaeologists use to record and manage data are rarely designed to anticipate other practitioners' research questions or how future projects or management approaches may reuse data (Kansa and Kansa 2021;Pavel 2010). This problem is further complicated because archaeological data collection methods often extract from or destroy nonrenewable resources, rendering data collection from the same context nonrepeatable (Lipe 1974(Lipe , 2009Pavel 2010Pavel , 2012cf. ...
... Yet, the bewildering variety of systems that archaeologists use to record and manage data are rarely designed to anticipate other practitioners' research questions or how future projects or management approaches may reuse data (Kansa and Kansa 2021;Pavel 2010). This problem is further complicated because archaeological data collection methods often extract from or destroy nonrenewable resources, rendering data collection from the same context nonrepeatable (Lipe 1974(Lipe , 2009Pavel 2010Pavel , 2012cf. Roosevelt et al. 2015). ...
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Most archaeological investigations in the United States and other countries must comply with preservation laws, especially if they are on government property or supported by government funding. Academic and cultural resource management (CRM) studies have explored various social, temporal, and environmental contexts and produce an ever-increasing volume of archaeological data. More and more data are born digital, and many legacy data are digitized. There is a building effort to synthesize and integrate data at a massive scale and create new data standards and management systems. Taxpayer dollars often fund archaeological studies that are intended, in spirit, to promote historic preservation and provide public benefits. However, the resulting data are difficult to access and interoperationalize, and they are rarely collected and managed with their long-term security, accessibility, and ethical reuse in mind. Momentum is building toward open data and open science as well as Indigenous data sovereignty and governance. The field of archaeology is reaching a critical point where consideration of diverse constituencies, concerns, and requirements is needed to plan data collection and management approaches moving forward. This theme issue focuses on challenges and opportunities in archaeological data collection and management in academic and CRM contexts.
... The number and variety of organizations demonstrate the complexity of the infrastructure(s) that have been built to handle digital data in archaeology. For example, individual researchers (academic researchers, students, and various university departments), cultural resource management (CRM) firms, and smaller-sized governmental repositories regularly use in-house, custom-built Microsoft Access or FileMaker Pro databases or Excel spreadsheets to collect and store information (Kansa and Kansa 2021;Pavel 2010). The expectation and ability to share those data with other parties varies widely depending on resources and funding. ...
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Overview Archaeology in the United States is caught in a “curation crisis” (Childs 1995; Childs and Warner 2019; Marquardt et al. 1982; SAA Advisory Committee on Curation 2003; Trimble and Marino 2003) and a “digital data crisis” (or “deluge”) more specifically (Bevan 2015; Clarke 2015; Kansa and Kansa 2021; Katsianis et al. 2022; Kersel 2015; McManamon et al. 2017:239–240; Rivers Cofield et al. 2024). Recent estimates suggest that, collectively, over 1.4 billion dollars are spent annually to support archaeological work that is mandated by federal law (SRI Foundation 2020). Although substantial efforts are underway to generate and provide mechanisms for managing, curating, and sharing the resultant digital data, we suggest that a critical step that has yet to be taken is to describe and visualize the components, connections, and causal dynamics of the US digital data system as it currently functions. Here, we specifically apply a “systems thinking” approach to produce such a high-level model of this system. We argue that understanding and visualizing this system will help us all “think bigger” (Heilen and Manney 2023); identify sources of knowledge, opportunities for critical analysis, collaboration, and capacity building; and increase much-needed archaeological digital literacy (Kansa and Kansa 2022). We conceptualize this as bringing “equilibrium” to the system, and in this article, we make several suggestions on how to bring this about. These insights can enable practitioners to better understand their roles in and contributions to the overall system and to evaluate efforts to improve data sharing, management, and curation practices not only within their organizations and departments but beyond.
... Methods and recording forms are often revised to meet the needs of individual excavations, regions, or cultural resource management (CRM) companies. Pavel (2010) analyzed various recording forms to evaluate how archaeologists structure data. Masur and coworkers (2014) similarly compared data recorded with forms to assess how archaeological data from different sites can be compared using a shared ontology. ...
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Archaeologists frequently use written guidelines such as site manuals, recording forms, and digital prompts during excavations to create usable data within and across projects. Most written guidelines emphasize creating either standardized datasets or narrative summaries; however, previous research has demonstrated that the resulting datasets are often difficult to (re)use. Our study analyzed observations and interviews conducted with four archaeological excavation teams, as well as interviews with archaeological data reusers, to evaluate how archaeologists use and implement written guidelines. These excavation team and reuser experiences suggest that archaeologists need more specific best practices to create and implement written guidelines that improve the quality and usability of archaeological data. We present recommendations to improve written guidelines that focus on a project's methods, end-of-season documentation, and naming practices. We also present a Written Guidelines Checklist to help project directors improve their written guidelines before, during, and after fieldwork as part of a collaborative process. Ideally, these best practices for written guidelines will make it easier for team members and future reusers to incorporate their own and others’ archaeological data into their research.
... The same interest intermittently ocurred in early twentieth-century Continental Europe. A notable example is the recording forms and small-finds cards developed by French archaeologists Ferdinand Scheurer and Anatole Lablotier (1914) to document the hundreds of excavated graves at the Merovingian cemetery of Bourogne (Belfort) and repurposed in Edouard's Salin's (1946) Manual of Excavations (see Pavel 2010;2011). In the United States, the influence of George Reisner's Harvard excavations at Samaria, Palestine (1908-10), with their detailed recording of archaeological stratigraphy, are credited with leading to the standardized, pre-printed site record forms used by Robert Heizer (1949;discussed by Pavel 2011: 262). ...
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Archaeological theory is a fluid and fractured field that is an arena of lively debate. This Handbook will guide students and practitioners through this field in a novel way, connecting ideas in different schools of thought through the key problems upon which they focus. Major themes are tackled in review papers by experts in those areas, while the schools of thought that archaeologists frequently draw upon are also given extended treatment by specialists in neighbouring fields. Another innovative aspect of this Handbook is the attention given to archaeological theory outside of the Anglo-American debate which has tended to dominate publications on the subject.
... Djindjian, 2004), even narrower standardisation and interoperability of information requires an in-depth understanding of how archaeological discourse unfolds and how it has had a strong tendency to resist settling for using shared concepts and terms (e.g. Pavel, 2010;Oikarinen & Kortelainen, 2013). So far, there is still relatively little empirical and theoretical work both from historical and contemporary perspectives on how archaeological materiality is translated into words (Lucas, 2019) and other conveyers of information. ...
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Archaeology is a profoundly social and collaborative enterprise. Even if it is a discipline of things, archaeology is also a discipline of discourses of things. The making of new archaeological information and knowledge both leans on and weaves a conversation of the past that is fundamentally as social as it is material. These conversations traverse an immense spectrum of archaeological practices and contexts far beyond archaeology itself. This chapter provides an overview of how discourses are produced in archaeology, their characteristics and contemporary facets, and how studying the social production of archaeological discourse(s) is helpful for understanding archaeology and archaeological knowledge. Discourse refers not only to talking or writing about archaeology but documenting, communicating and conveying archaeology, archaeological information and knowledge in diverse means, and by doing that, influencing archaeological practices and the production of archaeological knowledge. The chapter starts by asking where contemporary archaeological discourse is produced and continue to inquiring into who participates and who are left out, how to analyse and explain archaeological discourses, what characterises them, and finally, why understanding the social production of archaeological discourse can be useful for archaeologists and non-archaeologists.
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The study analyses multidisciplinary approaches in the reconstruction of the different construction phases of a Roman masonry bridge, implemented through the application of archaeological stratigraphic method and 3D reconstruction. The case study, a bridge in Canosa di Puglia over the Ofanto river (Italy), is today a masonry structure with five arches of similar dimensions. However, historical sources report a three-arched monument, built in the second century CE as part of the vast imperial construction project of the Via Traiana, of which only the piers, the abutments and the foundations are left. Despite numerous restorations, the large central arch collapsed in 1751 and the bridge was rebuilt in a very different shape, losing all evidence of its Roman monumentality. By cross-referencing data collected from historical documents, on-site surveys, photogrammetric processing and metrological analysis, the research aimed to reconstruct three-dimensionally the diachronic evolution of the monument.
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