Preserving Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age
Sending Out an S.O.S.
Nicola Lercari [+–]
University of California, Merced
Merced. His scholarship exposes the fundamental role that digital and geospatial technologies play in investigating and protecting sites of cultural significance, archaeological excavation/museum collections, data, and information that describe and document our planet’s cultural diversity. From 2011-2017, he investigated the UNESCO World Heritage site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, innovating the application of remote sensing and digital archaeology methods to the investigation, interpretation, and dissemination of this important Neolithic site. Lercari participates in the international research initiative Proyecto Regional Palenque and is the principal investigator of the Fort Ross Cultural Trail project developed in collaboration with California State Parks. He was a Co-Principal Investigator for the University of California (UC) Office of the President’s Research Catalyst Award that funded the research discussed in this volume.
Willeke Wendrich [+–]
University of California, Los Angeles
professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Digital Humanities in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA. She has worked for 30 years in Egypt and currently directs an archaeological project in Ethiopia, with a strong focus on ethnoarchaeology and community archaeology. From 2012 to 2016, she was the Director of the Center for Digital Humanities, and presently she directs the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the online UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, a Board member of the Institute for Field Research, and an Academic Board member of the famous Museo Egizio in Turin. She published widely on the social context of craft production and especially on basketry and basket makers. Some of her publications: Egyptian Archaeology (Wiley Blackwell 2010), Archaeology
and Apprenticeship(University of Arizona Press, 2012), and The Desert Fayum Reinvestigated (CIoA Press, 2017). She was a Co-Principal Investigator for the UC Office of the President’s Research Catalyst Award that funded the research discussed in this volume.
Benjamin W. Porter [+–]
University of California, Berkeley
Margie M. Burton [+–]
University of California, San Diego
Thomas E Levy [+–]
University of California, San Diego
In late August 2015, international media outlets and cultural institutions reported that the Islamic State beheaded the Syrian scholar Khaled al-Asaad and destroyed the 1st-century CE Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria. The world was horrorstruck. Apart from the human tragedy, archaeologists and the international communities were shocked by the wanton destruction of ancient remains that had survived for millennia. However, warfare and ideological destruction contribute just a fraction of the ongoing devastation of our forebears’ traces. This book brings attention to the magnitude of the silent loss of cultural heritage occurring worldwide and the even more insidious loss of knowledge due to the lack of publication and preservation of original data, notes, plans, and photographs of excavated archaeological sites. Highlighting a growing sense of urgency to intervene in whatever way possible, this book provides readers with a non-technical overview of how archaeologists and other stakeholders are increasingly turning to digital methods to mitigate some of the threats to at-risk cultural heritage. This volume is a gateway to enhancing the scale and reach of capturing, analyzing, managing, curating, and disseminating cultural heritage knowledge in sustainable ways and promoting collaboration among scholars and stakeholder communities.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Merced. His scholarship exposes the fundamental role that digital and geospatial technologies play in investigating and protecting sites of cultural significance, archaeological excavation/museum collections, data, and information that describe and document our planet’s cultural diversity. From 2011-2017, he investigated the UNESCO World Heritage site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, innovating the application of remote sensing and digital archaeology methods to the investigation, interpretation, and dissemination of this important Neolithic site. Lercari participates in the international research initiative Proyecto Regional Palenque and is the principal investigator of the Fort Ross Cultural Trail project developed in collaboration with California State Parks. He was a Co-Principal Investigator for the University of California (UC) Office of the President’s Research Catalyst Award that funded the research discussed in this volume.
professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Digital Humanities in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA. She has worked for 30 years in Egypt and currently directs an archaeological project in Ethiopia, with a strong focus on ethnoarchaeology and community archaeology. From 2012 to 2016, she was the Director of the Center for Digital Humanities, and presently she directs the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the online UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, a Board member of the Institute for Field Research, and an Academic Board member of the famous Museo Egizio in Turin. She published widely on the social context of craft production and especially on basketry and basket makers. Some of her publications: Egyptian Archaeology (Wiley Blackwell 2010), Archaeology
and Apprenticeship(University of Arizona Press, 2012), and The Desert Fayum Reinvestigated (CIoA Press, 2017). She was a Co-Principal Investigator for the UC Office of the President’s Research Catalyst Award that funded the research discussed in this volume.
Part 1: Data Collection
professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Digital Humanities in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA. She has worked for 30 years in Egypt and currently directs an archaeological project in Ethiopia, with a strong focus on ethnoarchaeology and community archaeology. From 2012 to 2016, she was the Director of the Center for Digital Humanities, and presently she directs the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the online UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, a Board member of the Institute for Field Research, and an Academic Board member of the famous Museo Egizio in Turin. She published widely on the social context of craft production and especially on basketry and basket makers. Some of her publications: Egyptian Archaeology (Wiley Blackwell 2010), Archaeology
and Apprenticeship(University of Arizona Press, 2012), and The Desert Fayum Reinvestigated (CIoA Press, 2017). She was a Co-Principal Investigator for the UC Office of the President’s Research Catalyst Award that funded the research discussed in this volume.
Merced.
Merced. His scholarship exposes the fundamental role that digital and geospatial technologies play in investigating and protecting sites of cultural significance, archaeological excavation/museum collections, data, and information that describe and document our planet’s cultural diversity. From 2011-2017, he investigated the UNESCO World Heritage site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, innovating the application of remote sensing and digital archaeology methods to the investigation, interpretation, and dissemination of this important Neolithic site. Lercari participates in the international research initiative Proyecto Regional Palenque and is the principal investigator of the Fort Ross Cultural Trail project developed in collaboration with California State Parks. He was a Co-Principal Investigator for the University of California (UC) Office of the President’s Research Catalyst Award that funded the research discussed in this volume.
México.
Culture and Arts ), Honorary Fellow (Edinburgh University). Has received numerous distinctions and Archaeometry Awards. Editor in Chief/ Member of Editorial Boards of many journals.
Part 2: Data Analysis
Merced. His scholarship exposes the fundamental role that digital and geospatial technologies play in investigating and protecting sites of cultural significance, archaeological excavation/museum collections, data, and information that describe and document our planet’s cultural diversity. From 2011-2017, he investigated the UNESCO World Heritage site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, innovating the application of remote sensing and digital archaeology methods to the investigation, interpretation, and dissemination of this important Neolithic site. Lercari participates in the international research initiative Proyecto Regional Palenque and is the principal investigator of the Fort Ross Cultural Trail project developed in collaboration with California State Parks. He was a Co-Principal Investigator for the University of California (UC) Office of the President’s Research Catalyst Award that funded the research discussed in this volume.
Part 3: Data Curation
Change and, Arizona State University Libraries, Arizona State University.
Part 4: Data Presentation
Part 5: Data Inspiration