Abstract
As new digital technologies now pervade the discipline of archaeology, the practice of creating digital 3D representations of artifacts has become widespread. The rapid growth and acceptance of these technologies into the discipline leaves us in a position where we must engage with how these tools fit our epistemologies. I propose that we look to a much older technology, photography, to inform the way that these digital artifacts are dealt with as we move into an increasingly digital field. In doing so, I will argue that the creation of a 3D digital artifact is a productive process, just as any form of media used to document and interpret the archaeological record. Through this production, the digital form is decoupled from the original physical artifact. The creation of a new representation of the artifact (in the form of a photograph or digital model) provides a new dimension to our interactions with these artifacts. The result of the digital movement in archaeology is a more interactive experience with artifacts, allowing researchers and the public alike digital access to archaeological collections. If the current trend continues, digital artifact modeling will become as indispensable to archaeology as traditional photography. It is therefore necessary for archaeologists to be aware of the subjectivities and biases that exist during this productive act as we move into a more integrated field of digital, representational technologies.
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Notes
“Notice to Members: Exchange of Positive Pictures.” Journal of the Photographic Society, 1 (1 April 1853), quoted in Tucker 2005: 27.
The Other Acropolis project is one that is challenging the use of photography in creating knowledge about the past. It is seeking to reverse the monumentalization that has occurred at the Acropolis since the first half of the nineteenth century. Through the creation of photographic objects and a photoblog, the goal is to illustrate the Acropolis’ “other lives,” through all time periods and for all people who have experienced and still experience the monument. Also, see Pétursdóttir and Olsen’s (2014) discussion article for an extended conversation on the critiques of photography in archaeology and the role of aesthetics in photography.
I use stand-for as opposed to stand-in. A stand-in does not negate the existence of an original but takes its place for that moment. When a thing stands-for something, it replaces the original. See also Witmore (2013: 129) for a discussion on this distinction.
Though, as discussed above, the discussion continues about how to adequately experience and define photographs in archaeology.
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Acknowledgments
These ideas grew out of my work with the Athienou Archaeological Project’s “(Re)Constructing Antiquity: 3D Modeling and Cypriot Votive Sculpture from Athienou-Malloura, Cyprus.” I am truly indebted to Derek Counts, Erin Averett, and Michael Toumazou for first including me in this project and also for their useful comments and help while writing this paper. I thank Michael Toumazou, director of AAP, for permission to reproduce images from AAP. Special thanks also go to Adrienne Frie, Jim Johnson, and Bettina Arnold for reading drafts of this paper and providing extremely helpful input. I would also like to thank the four reviewers for their spot-on critiques and extensive comments that made a significant impact on this final product. All errors and faults remain my own.
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Garstki, K. Virtual Representation: the Production of 3D Digital Artifacts. J Archaeol Method Theory 24, 726–750 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-016-9285-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-016-9285-z