考古科研院所档案管理工作探索

本文针对当前考古科研院所档案管理工作存在的问题进行了分析,指出科学规范管理档案已迫在眉睫.接着对档案管理工作中的组织和制度建设提出了自己的看法.结合保管、整理档案的工作实践,文章重点就专门考古档案的科学管理进行了探讨.     

The Public Communication of Science and Non-Formal Education Within the Framework of Public Argentine Archaeology: The Case of Archaeology Workshops

Abstract

This article presents and analyses a method of public communication in archaeology carried out by a group of researchers within a non-formal educational framework, as a contribution to public archaeology in Argentina. This project included diverse activities, such as archaeology workshops for children and teenagers, which took place in museums in four cities located in three regions: Paraná (North-east), Tres Arroyos and Lobería (Pampas), and Lamarque (Patagonia). A conceptual evaluation is presented based on the application of a non-participational observation methodology, that includes the analysis of posters made by those attending the workshop and surveys conducted by the archaeologists at the culmination of the activity. This study suggests that workshops can be one of the most effective strategies employed by researchers to publicly communicate archaeology, and therefore can be of use to other research teams that have as their objective the democratization of knowledge generated in scienti?c-academic spheres.     

Editorial

Abstract

A recent online article in The Daily Beast listed archaeology as one of the thirteen most useless undergraduate degrees. The article failed to identify transferable job skills gained while engaged in archaeological work. Further, archaeological field programmes and labs offer an alternative learning environment that benefits some students. This article reviews two archaeological projects that used archaeology as a form of social activism to provide employment and education to an under-served community as a fundamental aspect of its goals. The Hopedale Archaeology Project is an archaeology field project based in a north-east Canadian community that provides education and work opportunities for Inuit students. The Veterans Curation Program based in the United States provides temporary employment to recently discharged military veterans in an archaeological and archival curation lab. These programmes assist individuals to re-establish themselves within the workforce and add to their academic and professional growth, as well as incorporate a public outreach component that makes archaeology and history more accessible to the public.     

Trading Shovels for Controllers: A Brief Exploration of the Portrayal of Archaeology in Video Games

Archaeology has been a persistent theme for video games, from the long-running Indiana Jones and Lara Croft franchises to more recent uses of archaeology in games like Destiny and World of Warcraft. In these games, archaeology is often portrayed as a search for treasure among lost worlds that leads to looting and the destruction of cultural heritage. In this article, we review the current state of archaeological video games, including mainstream and educational games. While this is not an exhaustive discussion, it provides an introduction and overview to the current landscape. We propose that an understanding of current popular archaeological video games is important to archaeologists for three reasons: (1) it is a source of potentially dangerous misconceptions about the discipline that must be addressed; (2) it can be a source of inspiration for funding and a means to recruit new students to the discipline; and (3) games can be leveraged as teaching moments in classrooms and public discussions. It is important that archaeologists recognize the ways the discipline is being portrayed in such public contexts, in order to maximize the potential benefit for archaeology and to prevent further misconceptions about the subject.     

Florida’s Underwater Archaeological Preserves: Public Participation as an Approach to Submerged Heritage Management

Abstract

Florida waters are home to the remains of such diverse watercraft as galleons, freighters, sailing yachts, steamboats, and prehistoric canoes. Managing these resources, especially regarding questions of access versus preservation, can be a daunting task. Florida’s Underwater Archaeological Preserves programme is an experiment in public participation to further both the awareness and the preservation of submerged heritage through site conservation and interpretation, incorporating various stakeholders during each step in the process. The logic in Florida’s Preserves programme is that an involved public given free access to a shipwreck site can be an ingredient for, instead of a hindrance to, preservation. Although one of several programmes worldwide, the concept that sets Florida’s Underwater Archaeological Preserves programme apart is its use of public involvement to promote education that fosters attitudes of conservation and preservation. If the public feels a share as stakeholders in the preservation of their maritime heritage, then submerged cultural resources will be more effectively protected.     

The looting of the Iraq Museum: Thoughts on archaeology in a time of crisis

Abstract

The looting of the Iraq Museum has been widely proclaimed to be the worst cultural destruction since World War II; some have compared it to the decimation wrought by the Mongol invasion of Baghdad. Others have contended that the damage was wildly exaggerated. Any attempt at understanding the events surrounding the looting and destruction of the museum's collections must examine both what happened and how it was represented to a worldwide audience through the news media. I compare these events with the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Fardus Square and the burning of major libraries in Baghdad and suggest that their perceived significances for Western audiences stem in large measure from the extent and tone of press reporting. The long-standing coverage by major mainstream news media of Mesopotamian archaeology as foundational to Western civilization may be a prime reason why otherwise pro-(US) government reporting also included some critical coverage about the loss of the museum collections. Such circumstances challenge archaeologists to use media interest to convey more nuanced and ethically responsible views of archaeology to broader publics.     

Beyond dots with dates: A landscape approach to the Sohar hinterlands

Landscape archaeology, as a type of research based on a systemic surface survey and that results in quantifiable datasets of high quality, has started to be practiced in southeastern Arabia only in recent years. In this paper, I will briefly review the short history of landscape archaeology in the area and its relevance. I will then present the approach and methods used in the Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological Project and discuss some of the results obtained to discuss both the potential and problems of the data that the project generated. In particular, I will focus on ephemeral sites and assemblages, data quality and data representativity.     

性别考古学研究综述——以中国考古学为中心

中国考古学理论与方法渐趋多元化,而性别考古学却未引起足够的重视。本文梳理了性别考古学产生以来所走过的的历程,尤其对中国考古学中的性别研究进行了较为详细的梳理。本文将中国考古学中的性别研究划分了三个阶段,即20世纪30年代至建国、建国之后至20世纪90年代、90年代至今。其中在第三个阶段,后现代视角的性别考古学真正在中国出现。本文并对中国后现代视角下的性别考古学进行了反思,希冀能够引起学者的注意。     

The Possible Advantage of Living in Turf Houses on Settlement Mounds

Abstract

Before timber and stone houses were introduced to northern regions, varieties of turf houses were the most commonly used architecture. These houses had a wooden structure encapsulated in a shell constructed of grass turf. The different ethnic groups of the north built their houses in different styles and constructions, but the general principle was the same. The Norse of North Norway and also on the North Atlantic islands had a tendency to build their houses on top of the ruins of previous houses. After a few centuries this arrangement produced a settlement mound of highly organic soil. In the research literature, both the turf architecture and the settlement mounds have been described as adaptations to and a function of marginality and lack of timber. This paper reports an effort to test the idea that turf houses on top of settlement mounds may have been a finely tuned ecological system that made use of the capacity of organic soil to produce heat.