Archaeology and the Big Tent of the Digital Humanities

Recently, there has been much discussion about “the big tent” as a metaphor to define and delineate the boundaries of the Digital Humanities. This metaphor has invariably led to debate as to who is in this “tent,” and who is not – essentially, who is a member of the digital humanities community (or who is a digital humanist), and who is not. Curiously, archaeology (especially anthropological archaeology) is largely absent from this discussion. Archeologists rarely publish in the same places as digital humanists. For the most part, archaeologists do not seek funding from the same agencies (and programs) that digital humanists commonly turn to. It is also rare to see archaeologists at digital humanities conferences (or unconferences). In fact, many in the archaeological community aren’t even aware that the digital humanities exist. To extend the metaphor, they are so far from the tent, they can’t even see it. This state of affairs is puzzling. Archaeology clearly articulates nicely with many of the fields that identify as being part of DH. Archaeologists have also long been invested in a wide variety of innovative digital technologies and practices. Ultimately, this odd separation represents an enormous missed opportunity, as the communities clearly have a great deal to offer one another. It’s within this context that this talk will explore the reasons for this separation. More importantly, however, it will propose some key points of commonality between the digital humanities and archaeology in an attempt to suggest pathways to fruitful engagement, interaction, and collaboration.