Digital Archeology: Design Research and Education.

Connecting Historical
Narratives and Digital Environments
Author(s): Lily Da
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A.stract
The author describes Digital Archaeology, a design/research discipline being
developed at the Media Laboratory of the University of Art and Design, Helsinki,
Finland Digital Archaeology stresses the critical contribution of the artist to the
develop!ent of infor!ation cultural environ!ents intended to reconstruct and !ake
previously inaccessible cultural artifacts available to as "ide an audience as possible
#ssues of access and preservation, research and intellectual in$uiry, and the
!etaphoric nature of technology are presented as the cornerstones of this endeavor

!ummary
#n this featured article %&Digital Archaeology' Design (esearch and )ducation
*onnecting Historical +arratives and Digital )nviron!ents&& the author Lilly Dia,
analysed her opinion about the Digital Archaeology design progra! that involves the
definition of strategies for the use of visuali,ation !ethods to present historical data ,
along "ith testing and evaluating of the !ethods through prototypes -he use a
pro.ects ,the Digital Archaeology and Museu! DesignThrough the alternative "ays
of presenting the !ap, fro! different points of vie" and in diverse for!ats, can allo"
the user to focus on the actual contents and help highlight the diversity of the cultural
heritage
The pro.ect seeks to investigate ne" for!s of representation in the hu!anities, as
"ell as to achieve an understanding of the changing role of the !useu! as an
educational institution "ithin the co!!unity
Digital archaeology shares t"o areas The use of descriptive representations and the
study of discursive practices such as the aesthetic and technical aspects involved in
the transference of perceptual and sensory/related characteristics of !aterial and non/
!aterial aspects of culture fro! the analog to the digital real! Digital Archaeology
also involves the e0ploration of the !etaphoric nature of technology
-ositives
#t involves an assess!ent of the sources of a culture1s infor!ation in order to
identify and include the diverse vie"points and genres that !ay constitute a
historical narrative
Digital Archaeology ai!s to develop !ethodologies that utili,e such
environ!ents to reconstruct and !ake previously inaccessible cultural artifacts
available to as "ide an audience as possible

Digital Archaeology contend "ith issues of !aterial preservation of historical
!aterials and recuperation of "orldvie"s that have been obscured fro! the
historical narrative and can provide a better understanding of archaeology
Digital Archeology seeks to pro!ote the role of the i!agination
Through the use of alternative "ays of presenting the !ap, fro! different points
of vie" and in diverse for!ats, can allo" the user to focus on the actual contents
and help highlight the diversity of the cultural heritage
Digital Archeology also involves the e0ploration of the !etaphoric nature of
technology technology acts as a catalyst, a source of !etaphors
Negatives
The !ap of Me0ico234456 is transference into digital three/di!ensional 27D6
$uality but the colors have faded in various areas of the !ap
Conclusion and Evaluation
This article is about the digital archaeology, a !ultidisciplinary practice situated at
the intersection of the arts and the hu!anities The author see that as an opportunity
to develop a novel type of art curriculu! and, conse$uently, a ne" for! of creative
practice#n association "ith !edia they transfer a !ap of Me0ico into three di!ension
pro.ect This i!plies that !akes !ore interesting the Archaeology to a "ide audience
Further investigations are re$uired in order to develop technologically advanced
progra!+e" !edia interfaces are being used to reveal e0cavation and research
processes and to create a visual inde0 of the site and so that enabling ne" "ays of
understanding research data and other !aterials
Re8erences
(ichard *oyne, Designing #nfor!ation Technology in the 8ost!odern Age, A
Leonardo 9ook 2*a!/ bridge, MA' M#T 8ress, 3::46 p 5;
Lily Dia,, <A -i!ultaneous =ie" of History,< Leonardo >;, +o 5, >4?/>@7
23::46