An Enchantment of Digital Archaeology: Raising the Dead with Agent-Based Models, Archaeogaming and Artificial Intelligence(1 Digital Archaeology: Documenting the Anthropocene)

The use of computation in archaeology is a kind of magic, a way of heightening the archaeological imagination. Agent-based modelling allows archaeologists to test the ‘just-so’ stories they tell about the past. It requires a formalization of the story so that it can be represented as a simulation; researchers are then able to explore the unintended consequences or emergent outcomes of stories about the past. Agent-based models are one end of a spectrum that, at the opposite side, ends with video games. This volume explores this spectrum in the context of Roman archaeology, addressing the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of a formalized approach to computation and archaeogaming.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Imagine a Network Chapter 2. Reanimating Networks Chapter 3. Add Agents and Stir Chapter 4. Archaeogaming Chapter 5. The Fun Is in the Building Chapter 6. Artificial Intelligence Conclusion: Enchantment is Remembering Afterword: Guidelines for Developing Your Own Digital Archaeology Appendices     Appendix A: Tasks for Golems – Building an ABM     Appendix B: Pot Trade Model Code     Appendix C: Information Diffusion on a Network     Appendix D: Golems in the City References Index

About the Author :
Shawn Graham is a digital archaeologist at Carleton University, where he is Associate Professor of Digital Humanities. He is a co-author with Ian Milligan and Scott Weingart of Exploring Big Historical Data: The Historian's Macroscope (Imperial College Press, 2015). He was awarded the Archaeological Institute of America's 2019 Award for Outstanding Work in Digital Archaeology for the creation of the Open Digital Archaeology Textbook Environment, o-date.github.io.

Review :
“I urge you not to dismiss this book as a niche or specialist treatise. While Graham may at times use a technical term or make a reference that is missed by the nondigital archaeologist, the overall message comes through clearly. Graham presents a strong case that active, playful, and enchanting approaches are good for archaeology. And while I assume that he would not expect everyone to be enchanted by the same methods or tools, his general approach to engagement with the past is one that can be applied to all aspects of archaeology.” • American Journal of Archaeology “The aim and personable, essayistic, almost diary-style kind of writing is simultaneously avant-garde (for academic works) and fitting for our (post-)digital times and the digital field it covers. This combination is what makes it a very worthwhile and refreshing read.” • Angus Mol, Leiden University Centre for Digital Humanities “Many readers of this book…will find in this book inspiration and encouragement to pursue those ideas they previously discarded as wacky, frivolous or “not academic”; they are allowed to play, fail and be enchanted. There is huge value in this message.” • Tom Brughmans, University of Barcelona