Archaeology and the Information Age (Hardcover)

Traditional methods of making archaeological data available are becoming increasingly inadequate. Thanks to improved techniques for examining data from multiple viewpoints, archaeologists are now in a position to choose to record different kinds of data, and to explore that data more fully than ever before. The growing availability of computer networks and other technologies means that communication should become increasingly open and available to archaeologists in all parts of the world. Will this result in the democratization of archaeological knowledge on a global basis? For the first time archaeology practised with technical developments can be contrasted with archaeology undertaken in relative technological isolation. The chapters deal not only with technologies like solid modelling, videodisc, hypertext and expert systems as used in archaeology, but also discuss topics such as the use of information technology to integrate large scale research in East Africa, and the dissemination of the cultural practice of Tibetan art. Contributors come from Western and Eastern Europe, the Far East, Africa and the Americas.