Reflections on the archaeology of archaeological excavation

Abstract

We have no choice: we must excavate, first because whole continents are still barely known from an archaeological point of view, and second because thousands of archaeological sites disappear every day as a result of economic development. Rescue or preventive archaeology is thus an ethical duty. Nevertheless, there is a serious risk of a split between academic archaeology, with its wealth of thinking but poverty of funding, and commercial archaeology, where the situation is the opposite and the goal is, above all, financial profit. So the question is not just to know why one excavates, but also how.Tothe general public, archaeology is equated with excavations and discoveries of objects, even treasures. Incidentally, the archaeologist Indiana Jones is only interested in objects and seemingly he does not publish very much, even if he provides academic lectures to his students from time to time. However, for most contemporary archaeologists, excavation is only one step within a global and continuous process traditionally involving six stages: AbstractThe impulse to keep excavating, set against widespread failures to publish in a timely manner, has created a crisis of confidence for archaeology. This is especially so in Europe and North America, where contract archaeology has witnessed dramatic growth in recent decades, but it is not universally the case. Far from being the defining practice of the discipline, excavation is not the only technique for generating

Revisiting reflexive archaeology at Çatalhöyük: integrating digital and 3D technologies at the trowel's edge

“…The aim in this paper is to consider those aspects of digital technologies that relate to the reflexive aims of the project, thereby adding to the continuing discussion of reflexive archaeological practice (see Berggren 2001; Berggren & Hodder 2003; Chadwick 2003; Hodder 2003; Yarrow 2003; Edgeworth 2006; Bender et al . 2007; Castaneda 2008; Silliman 2008; G. Carver 2011; M. Carver 2011). While we recognise the widespread use of digital technologies in archaeology (e.g.…”