Disrupted temporalities of digital archaeological artifacts
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 06/10/2020

Artifacts exhibited in museums, as they differ from the old and fragmented pieces found during the excavations, reflect important tensions created by results of archaeological research, her-itage/memory politics, and public expectations. I argue, that theoretical reflection on digital archaeological artifacts is of particular importance for considering the future of archaeological museums, narratives they create about the past, and their growing impact on popularization of archaeological knowledge. In this presentation I will propose a working definition of a dig-ital archaeological artifact, taking into account its ontological status and temporal character. Multi-temporal character of digital archaeological objects (understood as fragmented artifacts supplemented with digital aids) creates a perfect opportunity to deepen the reflection on ma-terial-digital entanglements that currently dominate archaeological museums. While reflect-ing on the idea of a digital archaeological artifact, I will investigate the temporal relation that occurs between an original, aging and dynamic matter of an artifact and contemporary digital supplements. My considerations will be placed within recent interest in thing studies, theory of assemblages, entanglements, agency of things, new materialism and “the ontological turn.” Displayed on the exhibitions world-widely, digital archaeological artifacts encourage to think about technology and its role in heritage studies, to reevaluate concepts like authenticity, aura, copy, and last but not the least — to think about the place and role of archaeology in building future oriented knowledge of the past.


Monika Stobiecka