Gary Lock - Using Computers in Archaeology: Towards Virtual Pasts

Writing a book about computing almost inevitably includes the inherent danger of built-in obsolescence, especially one that takes several years to mature as this one has. I first started thinking about the need for an introductory text on archaeological computing in the early 1990s when faced with teaching the subject to undergraduates. At that time the literature was difficult to access, with the proceedings of the annual Computer Applications in Archaeology conference, a text book that was dating rapidly, and one or two journals providing the bulk of the material. I felt that what was needed was a book that approached the subject according to archaeological interests rather than computing categories such as types of software. I still feel that the best way into the subject is through the archaeology, hence the chapters here are about survey, excavation and other topics that will resonate with archaeologists, rather than topics such as databases and statistics.

It is my contention that archaeological computing is not something that is ever complete but rather is a process. Individuals and organisations never reach a state of being computerised but are constantly rethinking and reworking their use of computers and specific applications. This has enabled me to, indeed it has dictated that I must, take a historical approach to the different areas of computer usage in archaeology. There is little point in trying to be entirely current, and if I were to try then by the time this book appears many of the details would be outdated. Looking back through past papers of the CAA proceedings it is obvious that search applications of just a few years ago are now standard practice for many archaeologists. To avoid the obsolescence problem I have attempted to focus on issues and on how the historical development of issues has been influenced by the use of computers. This has resulted in some rather old references in certain places which may seem odd but are there to inform the historical process rather than to give an impression of what is current. Excavation recording and Cultural Resource Management systems, for example, are just two areas where the restrictions and potential of computers and the needs and intentions of system developers and users have produced an on-going dialectic over many years.

I have also tried to introduce some of the tensions that I perceive there to be between the theory and practice of archaeology and how, if at all, using computers can influence those debates and has done so. Computers not only change the way we do things, but more importantly change the way we think about what we do and why we do it. This influences, and is influenced by, archaeological theory. It is not a coincidence, for example, that recent attempts at post-processually informed excavation recording and interpretation have been based not just on innovative thinking but also on computer functionality (Hodder 1999; Beck 2000).

A couple of the books devices need some clarification:

Websites

The referencing of websites can be a problem because they can disappear or change radically, sometimes overnight. I have tried to cite website addresses as an adjunct to traditional references rather than as replacements for them, and also to use sites that I estimate to be secure, reputable organisations, for example.

Infoboxes

These supply extra information to the text on specific topics. They are not meant to be read sequentially with the text and may be useful on their own.