98913 - Digital archaeology (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to provide students with a background in the new techniques and methodologies of research that the digital age has made available to archaeology.

After a necessary introduction on the modalities of archaeological research (the excavation, the landscape, the laboratory), the first part of the course will discuss the main aspects of what can be called the "toolbox" of digital archaeology.

In the second part of the course, with the help of emblematic case studies and related publications, it will be seen how these tools are decisive for the advancement of knowledge in different areas of archaeological research.

By the end of the course, the student will have acquired a critical understanding of digital tools and methodologies for archaeological research and will be fully aware of the reasons for using a particular technology to answer a given archaeological question. He or she will have the knowledge necessary to propose study and documentation paths that draw on the most up-to-date digital methodologies and technologies.

Course contents

The course will discuss relevant aspects of digital archaeology, i.e., archaeological research conducted through methodologies and technologies derived from the digital revolution, with a critical perspective entrusted from time to time to the analysis of the most up-to-date scientific work.

In the first part of the course, the main basic elements of digital archaeology will be discussed:

- Data acquisition (surveying)

- Databases

- GIS

- Remote Sensing

- The Web

- Statistical packages

In the second part, some of the areas in which the elements discussed in the first part make a decisive contribution to the creation of new knowledge will be presented through case studies based on the most recent scientific literature or currently ongoing projects:

- Intra-site GIS, Landscape GIS and Legacy Data Management

- Open Data, Big Data

- Digital publication: online journals, WebGIS, multimedia publications of large excavation contexts

- The management of three-dimensional data

- BIM for archaeology

- Virtual Reality, immersive archaeology, gamification

- Reflexive archaeology

Readings/Bibliography

A specific bibliography will be provided at each lecture from the most recently published literature. The following titles serve as a general framing of the course topics

Berggren et alii, Revisiting reflexive archaeology at Çatalhöyük: Integrating digital and 3D technologies at the trowel's edge, Antiquity, 89(344), 2014, pp. 433-448

Bogdani J., Archeologia e tecnologie di rete: metodi strumenti e risorse digitali, Roma 2019.

Boyd et alii, Open Area, Open Data: Advances in Reflexive Archaeological Practice, Journal of Field Archaeology, 46:2, 2021, pp. 62-80

Dell’Unto N., Landeschi G., Archaeological 3D GIS, London and New York 2022

Forte M., Campana S., Digital Methods and Remote Sensing in Archaeology, Cham 2016

Kristiansen K., Towards a New Paradigm? The Third Science Revolution and its Possible Consequences in Archaeology, Current Swedish Archaeology, 22, 2014, pp. 11-34

Lock G., Using Computers in Archaeology Towards Virtual Pasts, London, 2003.

Opitz R., Mogetta M., Terrenato N., A Mid-Republican House from Gabii,, Ann Arbor 2016.

Patterson H., Witcher R., Di Giuseppe H., The Changing Landscapes of Rome’s Northern Interland. The British School at Rome’s Tiber Valley Project, Oxford 2020.

Wheatley D., Gillings M., Spatial Technology and Archaeology. The archaeological applications of GIS, London and New York, 2002.

Teaching methods

The structure of the course is organized with both face-to-face lectures and moments of discussion between the students and the teacher, in order to involve as much as possible the active participation of the students, prompting them to focus on different aspects of the scientific debate concerning Digital Archaeology. The course will consist of a one-hour seminar debate in which students will be asked to discuss the topics covered in the previous week's lectures, based on an article chosen from a dedicated bibliography, and a one-hour frontal lecture given by the teacher with the help of PowerPoint slides.

Assessment methods

Assessment of students will be based not only on the final exam (technical skills), but also on their active participation throughout the course, their understanding of the proposed papers, and their interaction with the class (soft skills).

The final exam will consist of:

- PowerPoint presentation on a specific topic (group work) followed by in-class discussion. Students will be evaluated for the quality of their project, the clarity of their PowerPoint, their oral presentation and their participation in the final critical discussion.

- Short scientific paper (individual work) based on one of the methodological approaches touched upon during the course. Students will be evaluated for quality of content, text structure and bibliography.

Students not taking the course will be required to write a paper on a topic agreed with the teacher and will be required to take an oral examination on a bibliography agreed with the teacher.

Teaching tools

Frontal lectures will have PowerPoint presentations.

During seminar discussions, based on pdf documents provided by the teacher the previous week, the teacher will serve as a moderator in a discussion designed to engage all students.

Office hours

See the website of Cristiano Putzolu