CAPTURE Talk #6 Åsa Berggren
Channel: CAPTURE-ERC
Date: 12/10/2023

Changing archaeological documentation practices and consequences for our data

Archaeological documentation practices have changed profoundly during recent decades, which has had a great impact on archaeological data – how it is collected, structured and stored. This in turn has consequences for how data can be analyzed and how knowledge is created, and even which knowledge can be created. The changes of our practices are first and foremost driven by a technological development, however, increasing theoretical concerns are voiced and a discussion theorizing the digital development is seen. 

In this talk a comparison of manual and digital documentation methods as described in a case study performed in 2014 will be used as a starting point for a discussion concerning these consequences, for example the impact on the archaeological interpretation process, the possibility of innovation and international objectives such as the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles. In addition, a more recent study integrating new digital developments and applications in archaeological documentation and language documentation, is pointing towards solving some of the discussed issues but also lead to other questions e.g. concerning manageability of data. 
 
Dr Åsa Berggren is senior lecturer in archaeology at the Lund University. Her research areas include the intersection between theory and practice and development of methods of archaeological field practice, e.g. digital practice and how this impacts the process of archaeological interpretation. Her research is focused on Neolithic remains, e.g. wetland deposits. Her theoretical focus is practice theory, ritual theory and theory on material culture. After more than 25 years as a contract archaeologist in Scania, she is also interested in the development and conditions of Swedish contract archaeology.