Human, Transhuman, Posthuman Digital Archaeologies: An Introduction

Current archaeological thought evokes a sparking Catherine wheel: spinning fireworks that detonate light, colour, and sound with every movement. These theoretical turns swirl alongside the ongoing development and adoption of scientific and digital techniques that have wide-ranging implications for a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of archaeology 2019-08, Vol.22 (3), p.320-323
Main Authors: Díaz-Guardamino, Marta, Morgan, Colleen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actor-network theory
Archaeology
Collaboration
Cultural heritage
Data collection
Digital broadcasting
Digital media
Digital technology
Humanism
Modernism
Ontology
Posthumanism
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Summary:Current archaeological thought evokes a sparking Catherine wheel: spinning fireworks that detonate light, colour, and sound with every movement. These theoretical turns swirl alongside the ongoing development and adoption of scientific and digital techniques that have wide-ranging implications for archaeological practices and interpretations. Two particularly combustible developments are posthumanism and the ontological turn, which emerged within the broader humanities and social sciences. Posthumanism rejects human exceptionalism and seeks to de-centre humans in archaeological discourse and practice. Linked to this is the so-called ‘ontological turn’ (aka the ‘material turn’), a shift away from framing archaeological research within a Western ontology and a movement beyond representationalism (i.e. focusing on things themselves rather than assuming that objects represent something else).
ISSN:1461-9571
1741-2722
DOI:10.1017/eaa.2019.26