Journal | magazén
Monographic journal issue | 1 | 1 | 2020
Research Article | From Digital Archaeology to Data-Centric Archaeological Research
From Digital Archaeology to Data-Centric Archaeological Research
Abstract
Since the end of the 20th century the widespread use of digital applications in archaeology has legitimized their inclusion in the archaeological toolbox. Together with archaeological sciences, databases, GIS and other computer-based methods are nowadays present in every respectable archaeological investigation. This makes archaeology a peculiar discipline, where the scientific method combines with the historical one to produce new knowledge. However, the large availability of archaeological data creates the risk of a data deluge and may suggest using online information just to collect previous interpretations rather than to re-use the data supporting them. A ‘Grand Challenges’ list compiled some years ago includes important research questions that undergird contemporary issues and require an appropriate digital methodology to be addressed. The present paper discusses the benefits, or better the absolute need, of a data-centric methodology to address large-scale research. It argues that an acritical use of the so-called ‘Big Data’ approach may be questionable. It suggests how the combination of artificial intelligence with human intelligence is the key to progress into the understanding of phenomena of paramount societal importance for researchers and for the public at large.
Submitted: July 17, 2020 | Accepted: Oct. 6, 2020 | Published Dec. 2, 2020 | Language: en
Keywords Archaeological data • Semantics • Big data • Data-centric research • Archaeological ontologies
Subtags Epistemology Society Audio-visual data Afterlife Geo-referenced data Discourse Monuments
Copyright © 2020 Franco Niccolucci . This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/mag//2020/01/002
