Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future: The Potential of Digital Archaeology

FAIN: HD-51851-14

Creighton University (Omaha, NE 68178-0133)
Erin Walcek Averett (Project Director: September 2013 to May 2017)

A two-day workshop hosted by the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts, on the uses of mobile tablet technologies in archaeological field work and interpretative analysis.

This project brings together pioneers in the field during a two-day workshop to discuss the use, creation, and implementation of mobile tablet technology to advance paperless archaeology. Session themes will facilitate presentation, demonstration, and discussion on how archaeologists around the world use tablets or other digital tools in the field and lab and how best practices can be implemented across projects. The workshop will highlight the advantages and future of mobile computing and its challenges and limitations. The workshop will consist of formal paper sessions and opportunities for informal discussion of the issues and themes at moderated discussions, demonstrations, round tables, and speaker meals. The workshop's goal is to synthesize current practices and establish a blueprint for creating best practices and moving forward with mobile tablets in archaeology. The data generated will be made available through a website to promote ongoing discussion and information sharing.

Associated Products

Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future: The Potential of Digital Archaeology (Web Resource)
Title: Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future: The Potential of Digital Archaeology
Author: Erin Walcek Averett
Abstract: Website for a two-day, NEH-sponsored workshop brings together pioneers in archaeology and computing to discuss the use, creation, and implementation of mobile tablet technology to advance digital archaeology, i.e., fully digital recording systems to create born-digital data in the field. Session themes are aimed at facilitating presentation, demonstration, and discussion on how archaeologists around the world use tablets or other digital tools in the field and lab and how best practices can be implemented across projects. The workshop highlights the advantages and future of mobile computing and its challenges and limitations. The workshop consists of formal paper sessions and opportunities for informal discussion of the issues and themes at moderated discussions, demonstrations, round tables, and speaker meals. The workshop’s goal is to synthesize current practices and establish a blueprint for creating best practices and moving forward with mobile tablets in archaeology.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: https://uwm.edu/mobilizing-the-past/

Mobilizing the Past: Day 1, Part 1 (Feb. 27, 2015) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Mobilizing the Past: Day 1, Part 1 (Feb. 27, 2015)
Author: Wentwork Institute of Technology
Abstract: Video of presentations from the first day of the workshop- part 1.
Date: 2/27/2015
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90trbnBOsIQ

Mobilizing the Past: Day 1, Part 2 (Feb. 27, 2015) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Mobilizing the Past: Day 1, Part 2 (Feb. 27, 2015)
Author: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Abstract: Video of presentations from the first day of the workshop- part 2.
Date: 2/27/2015
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXWT5-BXkeY

Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 1 (Feb. 28, 2015) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 1 (Feb. 28, 2015)
Author: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Abstract: Video of presentations from the second day of the workshop- part 1.
Date: 2/28/2015
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksyZN6pWY8k

Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 2 (Feb. 28th, 2015) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 2 (Feb. 28th, 2015)
Author: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Abstract: Video of presentations from the second day of the workshop- part 2.
Date: 2/28/2105
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNGyMkwlD14

Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 3 (Feb. 28, 2015) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 3 (Feb. 28, 2015)
Author: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Abstract: Video of presentations from the second day of the workshop- part 3.
Date: 2/28/2015
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9eKci6VLXw&t=2s

Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 4 (Feb. 28th, 2015) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Mobilizing the Past: Day 2, Part 4 (Feb. 28th, 2015)
Author: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Abstract: Video of presentations from the second day of the workshop- part 4.
Date: 2/28/2015
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0quAKZd7JEs

Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future (Book)
Title: Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future
Editor: Erin Walcek Averett
Editor: Jody Michael Gordon
Editor: Derek B. Counts
Abstract: Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological field practice. The detailed case studies present in this volume range from drones in the Andes to iPads at Pompeii, digital workflows in the American Southwest, and examples of how bespoke, DIY, and commercial software provide solutions and craft novel challenges for field archaeologists. The range of projects and contexts ensures that Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future is far more than a state-of-the-field manual or technical handbook. Instead, the contributors embrace the growing spirit of critique present in digital archaeology. This critical edge, backed by real projects, systems, and experiences, gives the book lasting value as both a glimpse into present practices as well as the anxieties and enthusiasm associated with the most recent generation of mobile digital tools. This book emerged from a workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities held in 2015 at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. The workshop brought together over 20 leading practitioners of digital archaeology in the U.S. for a weekend of conversation. The papers in this volume reflect the discussions at this workshop with significant additional content. Starting with an expansive introduction and concluding with a series of reflective papers, this volume illustrates how tablets, connectivity, sophisticated software, and powerful computers have transformed field practices and offer potential for a radically transformed discipline.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://thedigitalpress.org/mobilizing-the-past-for-a-digital-future/
Access Model: Open
Publisher: Digital Press at the University of North Dakota
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 978-062790137
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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