Fostering synthesis in archaeology to advance science and benefit society

Altschul, Jeffrey H.; Kintigh, Keith; Klein, Terry H.; Doelle, William H.; Hays-Gilpin, Kelley; Herr, Sarah; Kohler, Timothy A.; Mills, Barbara J.; Montgomery, Lindsay M.; Nelson, Margaret C.; Ortman, Scott G.; Parker, John N.; Peeples, Matthew A.; Sabloff, Jeremy A.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1715950114

Cited by 49 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Through this article (see also Altschul et al 2017), we have sought to make the case for the importance of synthesis and for the value of a collaborative mode of synthesis. We provide concrete recommendations to advance this cause to stimulate support for vigorous disciplinary action to foster synthesis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Collaborative Synthetic Research in Archaeology

Altschul

Kintigh

Klein

et al. 2018

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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While our fascination with understanding the past is sufficient to warrant an increased focus on synthesis, solutions to important problems facing modern society require understandings based on data that only archaeology can provide. Yet, even as we use public monies to collect ever-greater amounts of data, modes of research that can stimulate emergent understandings of human behavior have lagged behind. Consequently, a substantial amount of archaeological inference remains at the level of the individual project. We can more effectively leverage these data and advance our understandings of the past in ways that contribute to solutions to contemporary problems if we adapt the model pioneered by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis to foster synthetic collaborative research in archaeology. We propose the creation of the Coalition for Archaeological Synthesis coordinated through a U.S.-based National Center for Archaeological Synthesis. The coalition will be composed of established public and private organizations that provide essential scholarly, cultural heritage, computational, educational, and public engagement infrastructure. The center would seek and administer funding to support collaborative analysis and synthesis projects executed through coalition partners. This innovative structure will enable the discipline to address key challenges facing society through evidentially based, collaborative synthetic research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Collaborative Synthetic Research in Archaeology

Altschul

Kintigh

Klein

et al. 2018

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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“…And also Broodbank, who focuses on the strengths of connectivity and networks (Braudel, 1966;Broodbank, 2013;Horden & Purcell, 2000). 5 Also see Altschul et al (2017) for such new calls for different directions in archeology. Also see Lichtenberger and Raja (2017b).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also see Altschul et al () for such new calls for different directions in archeology. Also see Lichtenberger and Raja ().…”

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confidence: 99%

Management of water resources over time in semiarid regions: The case of Gerasa/Jerash in Jordan

Lichtenberger

2019

WIREs Water

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This article tackles ways in which archeological research can give perspectives on the development of water management and the strategies behind such management systems in ancient societies of historical periods. It focuses on the city Gerasa/Jerash in northern Jordan, which was one of the middle‐sized Decapolis cities that flourished from the Roman period (first century CE) until the end of the Umayyad period, when a devastating earthquake hit the city in 749 CE bringing urban life to an almost complete halt. Only in the middle Islamic period (13th century CE) the site was resettled. The article focuses on how scattered archeological evidence–which is usually not published by archeological projects due to its feeble nature—can bring new knowledge to light about the ways in which water was managed in urban contexts, in particular in semiarid regions, such as the region in which Gerasa was located. Pushing borders for how we can frame and interpret archeological evidence in wider diachronic perspectives is a necessity in archeology—not least in regions where archeology is under threat due to modern urban development and the general lack of resources to develop cultural heritage management plans. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Methods Human Water > Water Governance

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“…For example, despite extensive research by archaeologists on human responses to climate change, to date the results of such research have been largely absent from reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Jackson et al, 2018). Given that the archaeological record is the most extensive compendium of human experience there is, it seems only natural that the results of archaeological research should have an impact on discussions concerning contemporary issues (Smith et al, 2012;Kintigh et al, 2014;Altschul, 2016;Altschul et al, 2017). But so far there seems to have been limited success in this regard.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Kind of Relevance for Archaeology

Ortman

2019

Front. Digit. Humanit.

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Traditional ways of doing archaeology impact the world in a variety of ways, but despite recent efforts the practical relevance of archaeology has remained limited. In this paper, I discuss why this is the case and suggest how archaeology can achieve greater practical relevance. I argue, first, that the traditional focus of archaeology on reconstructing the past is valuable but is unlikely to expand its practical relevance because the results are too context-specific. Second, I suggest traditional responses to the problem of historical contingency are also inadequate because the results are too general to connect to the specific issues and solutions society needs. Finally, I make a surprising and perhaps radical suggestion: that a productive way forward is to resuscitate and reformulate elements of the New Archaeology that were never realized by its proponents. I use the example of settlement scaling theory to illustrate that this is both possible and productive, and that additional work in this spirit would enhance the practical relevance of our field.

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Fostering synthesis in archaeology to advance science and benefit society

Cited by 49 publications

References 12 publications

Fostering Collaborative Synthetic Research in Archaeology

Fostering Collaborative Synthetic Research in Archaeology

Management of water resources over time in semiarid regions: The case of Gerasa/Jerash in Jordan

A New Kind of Relevance for Archaeology

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