The MARTA collection, held by Georgia State University, is a large collection of archaeological materials excavated in the late 1970s that documents the heritage of Atlanta. The current Phoenix Project is building on those original efforts and represents an ideal opportunity to explore praxis through civic engagement by making the collection easily accessible and interactive to the public through online community archaeology outreach. Key to this civic engagement is the digitization of artifacts and associated metadata as well as the use of the Heurist online data management system. In particular, I outline a three phase plan of implementing an online website that employs gamification methodologies integrated with existing social media formats to promote a diverse community of self-sustainable interaction with digital material that will benefit both Georgia State University and the community it serves. The main goal of the thesis is to provide a proof-of-concept web interface. I discuss why this is a critical first step to the broader civic engagement goals of the project, and I outline the next two phases of implementation.

This licentiate thesis investigates the use of digital visualisations for knowledge production and communication of maritime heritage located underwater. The archaeological practice that takes place in response to development, contract archaeology, is the field that is being investigated. Much of the practical and administrative aspects of contract maritime work involves the survey, excavation and interpretation of archaeological remains. In addition, shifts in heritage policy emphasise that the results of this work move beyond their own value to provide access and democratic participation to heritage and be of benefit to society (e.g. Faro Convention, 2005). Since the inaccessibility of maritime archaeology underwater makes outreach especially challenging, digital, and in particular 3D, technologies have been recognised as having great potential to meet the needs of both maritime archaeological researchers and public audiences. Advances in methodologies for digitally documenting and visualising archaeological sites, both on land and underwater, are providing a range of innovative and multidisciplinary solutions for both archaeological analysis and outreach activities. The aim of this research is to understand current uses of digital visualisation for knowledge production and communication of maritime archaeology located underwater, in order to identify knowledge gaps that would benefit from future research. This aim is met through a study drawn primarily from the fields of digital archaeology, maritime archaeology and heritage studies, as well as discourse and thematic analysis of the factors that influence the use of these technologies in the sector. The case study is the contract maritime archaeology sector in Scandinavia, with a primary focus on the practice in Sweden and also including perspectives from the Danish and Norwegian sectors. The results show that an emphasis on efficiency within the contract sector shapes the understanding and use of digital technologies, in some instances limiting their potential for archaeological interpretation and communication. While the maritime sector was found to be partly defined and restricted by a distinct identity, at times operating independently from mainstream archaeology, it was also found to be open to innovation. This represents great potential for digital workflows aimed at enhancing both interpretation and communication to be applied to the maritime archaeological sector in the future.

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has become increasingly important for the preservation of cultural resources by tribal entities. This project serves as a platform for the management of archaeological site data on the Qualla Boundary to be used by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) members. Over the course of a year, data was gathered from various agencies in order to export and create geospatial data that can be visualized, analyzed, and managed using ArcGIS software. A map and detailed data set were created to provide the user with the locations and attributes of archaeological sites, which can be used by the EBCI THPO as a tool for archaeological research and to protect sites on the Qualla Boundary. Additionally, a preliminary settlement pattern study was performed for the broader Qualla Boundary, along with a more in-depth analysis of sites along the Oconaluftee River.

Archaeology is a field which has been impacted greatly by digital technology; the new technological instruments are developing both academic research and public mediation. Digital archaeology has been available at the museum for some time, but immersive technologies are recent introductions, which offer new experiences for museum visitors. Even though digital archaeology/virtual heritage have been studied for their technological virtues, the learning opportunities presented to the museum visitor has not yet been examined from a visitor’s perspective. In this dissertation, the visitor experience is the basis of analysis for determining how we can critically assess digital exhibitions using immersive technologies. This study examines if and how critical museology can be successfully applied to immersive digital displays; a detailed analysis of two case studies using VR (high immersion) and AR (low immersion) show that digital experiences are fully capable of communicating cultural content and that these multi-sensory technologies can successfully engage users in the creation of knowledge. The extent of sensory stimuli affecting the visitor is not accounted for in current critical museology, therefore the analysis of this study suggests a number of suggestions for future designs of digital displays using immersive technologies.

Compared to other methods for digital modeling, photogrammetry is portable, user-friendly, and cost-effective. Despite the potential benefits to the subfield of bioarchaeology, few investigations into this technology have occurred. This research attempts to fill the gap by investigating the accuracy of photogrammetry for recording antemortem cranial depression fractures (CDFs). Using the Mississippi State Asylum skeletal collection, dry bone measurements of CDFs were compared to those on photogrammetric models. Additionally, three volunteers of various skill levels attempted to identify these fractures using the digital models. Results showed that despite accuracy in recording maximum length and width measurements, maximum depth could be accurately and efficiently recorded. Volunteers were also incapable of accurately identifying the fractures. Therefore, photogrammetry should not be used for the initial recording of CDFs when dry bone recording is possible. However, photogrammetric modeling should still be used to assist in research when dry bone remains are not available.

This research concerns the digitalisation of archaeology, with a focus on Swedish contract archaeology. The aim is to understand how the archaeological discipline relates to the change that digitalisation brings and human involvement in these processes. The thesis is a study of its impact on processes connected to archaeological knowledge production and communication. The work problematises how digital data might be understood within these contexts but also illustrates where the potential of the digitalisation lies and how archaeology can make use of it. The theoretical approach re-actualises the concept of reflexivity in a digital context, combining it with various communication theories aiming to challenge the archaeological workflow and connect it more closely to present-day society. The digitalisation of archaeology can be seen across the whole discipline withan emphasis on academia. This digital development has greater opportunities in larger research projects which have sufficient funding than in contract archaeology. In those projects leading the digital development, the reflexive approach has been re-discovered and the digital enabled for new processes of knowledge production to take place. In case studies of Swedish contract archaeology several observations are made where it becomes clear that the digitalisation already shows positive effects at a government level, in organisations and projects within the sector. But there are also issues regarding digital infrastructure, knowledge production, archiving, accessibility and transparency. The biggest challenge is not technical but in attitudes towards digitalisation. The research concludes that digital communication based on archaeological source material can be something more than mediation of results. With digital interactive storytelling there are ways to create emotional virtual connections with the user, relating to the present and the surrounding society. By interlinking the processes of interpretation and communication an archaeological knowledge production might become an archaeological knowledge development. / Den här forskningen har studerat digitaliseringen av arkeologin med fokus på svensk uppdragsarkeologi. Målet har varit att öka förståelsen kring hur disciplinen förhåller sig till de förändringar som digitaliseringens innebär och människans roll i dessa processer. Avhandlingen är en studie av digitaliseringens betydelse för de arkeologiska processer som berör kunskapsproduktion och kommunikation. Arbetet problematiserar förståelsen av digitala data inom dessa kontexter men visar också på digitaliseringenspotential och hur arkeologin kan dra nytta av den. Forskningen aktualiserar på nytt det teoretiska angreppssättet reflexivitet i ett digitalt sammanhang och kombinerar detta med kommunikationsteorier i syfte att utmana det arkeologiska arbetsflödet och knyta det närmare dagens samhälle. Resultatet av denna forskning visar på att digital kommunikation baserad på arkeologiskt källmaterial kan vara något mer än förmedling av resultat. Med interaktivt historieberättande finns vägar att skapa emotionella virtuella kopplingar mellan användare och arkeologi som relaterar till nuet och detomgivande samhället. Genom att länka ihop den arkeologiska tolkningsprocessen med kommunikation, skapas möjligheten för kunskapsproduktion att bli kunskapsutveckling.