In this essay, we examine the potentials and challenges of mobile computing for a core activity of archaeological laboratory research—the typological analysis of ceramics. We discuss the collaborative development, implementation, and evaluation of the PAZC Ceramics module in the FAIMS Mobile platform. Our deployment of the module yielded significant improvements in the efficiency of data collection, as well as reduced numbers of missing fields and higher user satisfaction scores. However, it did not improve data consistency between users and yielded a classificatory system that was somewhat more challenging to update than our previous mode of operation. These results underscore some of the trade-offs that may be entailed in employing mobile technologies for archaeological applications and highlight the ways in which specific media configurations impact the production of archaeological knowledge.

Different types of artifacts and building materials react in varying manners to heat exposure, and the analysis of their degrees and patterns of thermal alterations provide important clues to the intensity of fire to which they were subjected. Such data allow researchers to examine the presence or absence of a building fire, the quantity of fuel, and the intentional or accidental nature of the fire. This approach is particularly important in the tropical lowlands, where evidence of fire in the forms of charcoal and ash may not be well preserved. At the rapidly abandoned site of Aguateca, Guatemala, the amount of charcoal and ash was small, but the examination of numerous artifacts left in situ and of building materials identified clear evidence that many buildings were burned at the time of abandonment. Similar lines of evidence were also found in artifact-poor, gradually abandoned structures at Ceibal, Guatemala. These results suggest the possibility that the burning of structures at the time of abandonment may have been more common in the Maya Lowlands than generally thought.

Recent years have seen the rapid expansion of airborne and spaceborne remote-sensing products adopted by archaeologists for interpreting ancient landscapes and managing heritage resources. A growing and increasingly specialized literature attests to the promise and availability of commercial and publicly funded satellite imagery, as well as UAV-mounted sensors across a range of resolutions and price points. In the South Caucasus (including the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), a growing commitment to landscape approaches in archaeology is stimulating the adoption of satellite remote sensing as an important new tool for identifying and managing archaeological resources while tracing the impact of historic land-use alterations in survey areas. Nevertheless, budgetary challenges and a lack of training opportunities among international partners and heritage organizations outside of the funding streams of large academic institutions can lead to widening technological gulfs in the discipline that reinforce colonial relationships. Building on recent technical articles covering specific imagery datasets, this article aims to address this by providing a general review of free or low-cost remotely sensed datasets available to archaeologists, with the aim of broadening awareness of these important tools and their vocabularies, and illustrating them with recent published examples from the South Caucasus.

Digital tools are widely used in archaeology for excavation, research, and communication of results. Recently, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the use of these resources in the classroom. The use of digital games for teaching undergraduate archaeology courses has been explored by a number of educators, but the majority of instructors continue to see this medium as lacking any particular educational merit. To combat this conclusion, in this article, the author explores some of the ways that unmodified digital games can be integrated into undergraduate archaeology courses to inspire critical discussions. She discusses two main types of games—conceptual simulations and realist simulations—to show how these can help students better understand theoretical approaches to archaeological interpretation and to consider the most effective form of archaeological reconstructions for different audiences. The author highlights her own experiences teaching with Assassin's Creed: Origins to show the benefits and challenges of working with this medium, and she includes student responses to the use of digital games in discussions. An example of a student assignment and an example of a project prompt are provided as supplemental materials to further encourage the use of digital games in the classroom.

Archaeologists frequently use probability distributions and null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) to assess how well survey, excavation, or experimental data align with their hypotheses about the past. Bayesian inference is increasingly used as an alternative to NHST and, in archaeology, is most commonly applied to radiocarbon date estimation and chronology building. This article demonstrates that Bayesian statistics has broader applications. It begins by contrasting NHST and Bayesian statistical frameworks, before introducing and applying Bayes's theorem. In order to guide the reader through an elementary step-by-step Bayesian analysis, this article uses a fictional archaeological faunal assemblage from a single site. The fictional example is then expanded to demonstrate how Bayesian analyses can be applied to data with a range of properties, formally incorporating expert prior knowledge into the hypothesis evaluation process.

Increasingly, high-precision GPS/GNSS (global positioning system/global satellite navigation system) based real-time-kinematic methods are being used in the mapping of archaeological sites. However, when utilizing high-precision satellite-based methods for archaeological location purposes, there is a significant but usually unanticipated problem that must first be addressed if accurate measurements are to be made. Simply put, unless proper correction methods are used, horizontal distances between two locations determined by the GNSS method will differ from the measurements that are made by traditional survey methods. This difference between the two measurements is often referred to as the grid-to-ground problem. This article provides a process to address this problem.

Remote sensing applications are increasingly common in archaeology but they often focus on high resolution imagery and direct archaeological site detection. Moderate spatial resolution remote sensing instruments, which have (near) daily repeat intervals, but contain less detailed spectral and spatial information, have been employed much less frequently in archaeology. However, moderate remote sensing data offer distinct advantages for archaeological research as they can be used to relate archaeological, ecological, and climactic data at vast spatial scales. To show this potential, we use moderate remote sensing data to examine the impact of landscape heterogeneity on the spread of indigenous maize horticulture in the northern Great Lakes during Late Precontact (ca. AD 1200-1600). Analyzing National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery, we identify differences in freeze/thaw cycles across inland lakes in Michigan, showing that some large inland lakes produce a microclimatic amelioration, possibly extending the growing season for prehistoric maize cultivation. Conducting geospatial analyses, we find that burial mounds and maize cultivation practices were associated preferentially with larger inland lakes with microclimates. We could not have found these dynamic interrelationships between microclimates, burial mounds, and maize cultivation if not for both the frequent temporal imaging and large spatial coverage provided by moderate resolution remote sensing imagery.

Satellite imagery has long been recognized as well suited for the regional and ecological questions of many archaeological surveys. One underexplored aspect of such data is their temporal resolution. It is now possible for areas to be imaged on an almost daily basis, and this resolution offers new opportunities for studying landscapes through remote sensing in parallel with ground-based survey. This article explores the applications of these data for visibility assessment and land-cover change detection in the context of the Sinis Archaeological Project, a regional archaeological survey of west-central Sardinia. We employ imagery provided by Planet, which has a spatial resolution of 3 m, in four spectral bands, and is collected daily. Using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values calculated for each survey unit, we find that there is a relationship between NDVI values and field-reported visibility in general, though the strength of this correlation differs according to land-cover classes. We also find the data to be effective at tracking short-term changes in field conditions that allow us to differentiate fields of similar land cover and visibility. We consider limitations and potentials of these data and encourage further experimentation and development.

From a perusal of archaeological and museum journals it is apparent that there is a rich literature dealing with topics such as the place of museums and repositories in anthropological research, engagement with indigenous/descendant populations by archaeologists working in a variety of settings (including collections-based research), and research centered on the study of existing archaeological collections. Despite this rich literature, however, the archaeological researcher who wishes to use collections in archives, museums, or repositories for the first time is often perplexed by how to gain access to collections, how to communicate with archive/museum/repository professionals, the constraints that archive/museum/repository professionals work under, and—at an even more basic level—what the difference between an archive, a museum, and a repository actually is. This article addresses some of these questions and provides a practical guide to opening up the vast research opportunities presented by existing collections.

In the past decade, archaeologists have increasingly made use of photogrammetry, the process of creating 3D models from photographs, in a variety of field and lab settings. We argue that we must, as a discipline, develop a consistent methodology to ensure that 3D models are held to a consistent standard, including not only photographic protocol but also the documentation of model accuracy using an agreed-upon measure. To help develop this discussion, we present our system for incorporating photogrammetry into the documentation of architecture. This technique was developed at the site of Nim Li Punit, Belize, in 2018. Excavating architecture involves documenting the pre-excavated building, liberating overburden, documenting all in situ construction (including wall fall, fill stones, and standing architecture), drawing consolidated architecture, and documenting the final state of the post-excavated buildings. The generation of 3D models greatly assisted in all facets of the excavation, documentation, analysis, and consolidation processes. To ensure that our models were accurate, we documented the reprojection error and final model horizontal distortion to assess the quality of the model. We suggest that documenting both forms of error should become standard practice in any discussion of archaeological applications of photogrammetry.

Spatial data, under the broader umbrella of digital data, is becoming increasingly integral to all stages of archaeological research design and dissemination. As archaeologists lean toward reuse and interoperability, with ethics on their minds, how to treat spatial data is of particular importance. This is because of the complexities involved at every life-cycle stage, from collection to publication, including black box issues that may be taken for granted, and because the size of spatial data can lead to archiving difficulties. Here, the “DIY” momentum of increasingly accessible spatial methods such as photogrammetry and handheld lidar is examined alongside forthcoming changes in publication policies that will impact the United States in particular, framed around a conversation about best practices and a call for more comprehensive training for the archaeological community. At its heart, this special issue seeks to realize the potential of increasingly digitized—and increasingly large amounts of—archaeological data. Within cultural resource management, this means anticipating utilization of data through widespread standardization, among many interrelated activities. A desire to enhance the utility of archaeological data has distinct resonances with the use of spatial data in archaeology, as do some wider challenges that the archaeological community faces moving forward.

Archaeologists tend to produce slow data that is contextually rich but often difficult to generalize. An example is the analysis of lithic microdebitage, or knapping debris, that is smaller than 6.3 mm (0.25 in.). So far, scholars have relied on manual approaches that are prone to intra- and interobserver errors. In the following, we present a machine learning–based alternative together with experimental archaeology and dynamic image analysis. We use a dynamic image particle analyzer to measure each particle in experimentally produced lithic microdebitage (N = 5,299) as well as an archaeological soil sample (N = 73,313). We have developed four machine learning models based on Naïve Bayes, glmnet (generalized linear regression), random forest, and XGBoost (“Extreme Gradient Boost[ing]”) algorithms. Hyperparameter tuning optimized each model. A random forest model performed best with a sensitivity of 83.5%. It misclassified only 28 or 0.9% of lithic microdebitage. XGBoost models reached a sensitivity of 67.3%, whereas Naïve Bayes and glmnet models stayed below 50%. Except for glmnet models, transparency proved to be the most critical variable to distinguish microdebitage. Our approach objectifies and standardizes microdebitage analysis. Machine learning allows studying much larger sample sizes. Algorithms differ, though, and a random forest model offers the best performance so far.

Archaeologists strive to understand ancient lifeways, and bioarchaeological data provide honest and immutable evidence of the realities of ancient society in the bodies of the dead. Given the importance of human remains in the archaeological record, a major component of the author's work has been devoted to the ethical responsibilities of bioarchaeologists in the treatment of the collections studied. However, the curation of skeletal remains is often challenging because the conservation and storage of these delicate materials may be afterthoughts in archaeological plans, being inadequately or incorrectly stored and sometimes treated to the same conservation conditions as more robust artifacts and samples. This article offers guidelines and recommendations for skeletal curation based on observations of curation challenges in a large collection in the subtropical Maya region. The collection was not well managed and human remains were not prioritized in the conservation program. The challenges and mitigations are presented here.

Gorée Island is Senegal's first site on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is associated with the infamous Atlantic slave trade, and over the past few decades, Gorée has become a prime destination for global tourism, particularly for the African diaspora from the New World but also for many Europeans and African nationals. Today, Gorée is a forum where different stakeholders battle over the role, place, and significance of the island in the Atlantic slave trade and its enduring legacies in the present. While Gorée owes much of its reputation to its heritage, including architecture, archaeology, and monuments, recent controversies over site preservation and policy compliance raised questions about heritage presentation and consumption. This article analyzes stakeholders’ attitudes toward archaeology and heritage to gain insights on how they are presented and consumed by different stakeholders and eventually destroyed by them as well. The discussion shows ambiguous attitudes toward site presentation and preservation, which might be linked either to stakeholders’ subjectivities or hypocrisy or to poor and uncoordinated communication strategies by heritage professionals.

This paper evaluates attempts over the past seven years to address two archaeological challenges at the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa. The first challenge was the proper curation of 50 years of accumulated collections from a wide array of sources by a staff one-third the size of when the collections were acquired. Second, the Museum faced the challenge of becoming a viable and socially relevant public institution in the twenty-first century. Ultimately, the C.H. Nash Museum embraced a co-creative approach to face the challenges. Co-creative processes resulted in a renewed and expanded base for public engagement, allowing the Museum to maximize the potential for preservation, research accessibility, and the exhibition of cultural materials curated at the institution.

Although archaeology has become increasingly concerned with engaging diverse publics, and has embraced the internet as a means of facilitating such engagement, attitudes towards Wikipedia have—understandably—been more ambivalent. Nevertheless, we argue here, Wikipedia's popularity and reach mean that archaeologists should actively engage with the website by adding and improving archaeological content. One way to do this is in the classroom: this paper provides a detailed how-to for instructors interested in having students create new Wikipedia content. We provide a case study in Wikipedia engagement from an advanced undergraduate course on African Archaeology, assess a program (Wiki Education) designed to help, and suggest further avenues for future outreach. We conclude that Wikipedia's utopian mission aligns with many of the goals of public archaeology, and argue that archaeology has much to gain by engaging with—rather than ignoring or even shunning—Wikipedia.

Evaluating the archaeological potential of wooded areas is often difficult because many of the techniques archaeologists commonly use to locate and map archaeological sites elsewhere are less effective in the trees. Ground cover hinders the visual identification of surface artifacts during pedestrian survey, and the tree canopy impedes many of the techniques used to map areas of interest, such as optical theodolites and DGPS. Shovel test pitting, which disturbs the integrity of sites and provides limited contextual information, is the most common method used to evaluate woodlots today. In light of increasing interest from Indigenous peoples in limiting the impact of archaeological work on their cultural heritage, we are testing less invasive methods to locate and map archaeological sites within wooded areas. Here, we present the results of a magnetic susceptibility survey on a wooded precontact site in southern Quebec, where the technique rapidly determined site limits and pinpointed the location of several longhouses and other features. Where geological conditions are suitable, this method could considerably reduce the cost and impact of archaeological assessment and investigation of wooded sites by both cultural resource management (CRM) and academic archaeologists.

The transnational networks of the illicit and illegal antiquities trade are hard to perceive. We suggest representing the trade as a knowledge graph with multiple kinds of relationships that can be transformed by a neural architecture into a “knowledge graph embedding model.” The result is that the vectorization of the knowledge represented in the graph can be queried for missing “knowledge” of the trade by virtue of the various entities’ proximity in the multidimensional embedding space. In this article, we build a knowledge graph about the antiquities trade using a semantic annotation tool, drawing on the series of articles in the Trafficking Culture Project's online encyclopedia. We then use the AmpliGraph package, a series of tools for supervised machine learning (Costabello et al. 2019) to turn the graph into a knowledge graph embedding model. We query the model to predict new hypotheses and to cluster actors in the trade. The model suggests connections between actors and institutions hitherto unsuspected and not otherwise present in the original knowledge graph. This approach could hold enormous potential for illuminating the hidden corners of the illicit antiquities trade. The same method could be applied to other kinds of archaeological knowledge.

Teaching introductory archaeology courses in U.S. higher education typically falls short in two important ways: the courses do not represent the full picture of who contributes to reconstructing the past, and they do not portray the contemporary and future relevance of the archaeological past. In this article, we use anti-colonial and decolonial theories to explain the urgency of revising the introductory archaeology curriculum for promoting equity in the discipline and beyond. We detail the pedagogical theories we employed in revising an introductory archaeology course at a small liberal arts college in the United States and the specific changes we made to course structure, content, and teaching strategies. To examine the impacts on enrolled students and on who chose to enroll in the revised archaeology curriculum, we analyze student reflection essays and enrollment demographics. We found that students developed more complex understandings of the benefits and harms of archaeological knowledge production and could articulate how to address archaeology's inequities. We also found that enrollment in archaeology courses at the college shifted to include greater proportions of students of color. These results support the notion that introductory archaeology courses should be substantially and continually revised.

Wilderness medicine is plagued by myths and dogmatic teachings not supported by evidence. This article focuses particularly on those teachings and tools that would be most likely used in archaeological fieldwork. It lays out 10 of the most common and concerning myths taught in wilderness medicine and wilderness emergency medical services, both in terms of first aid and preparation of medical kits. The myths described are provide a structure for the main purpose of the article: to explain interventions and medical kit contents that are more evidence based and supported by modern understandings of wilderness medicine and fieldwork risk management. The list of top 10 myths includes (1) the use of medications other than epinephrine for anaphylaxis and (2) the availability and proper use of epinephrine auto-injectors, (3) the use of suction devices and tourniquets for snakebites, (4) the use of spinal immobilization for neck injuries, (5) the identification and treatment of heat illnesses, (6) the use of CPR in remote areas, (7) the appropriateness of dislocation reduction in remote areas, (8) the use and choice of tourniquets for arterial bleeding, (9) the initial definition and management of drowning patients, and (10) wound management myths.