"Digital Archaeology is a unique edited work addressing the changing and growing role of digital technologies in all aspects of archaeology and heritage management. Exploring the wide potential of IT across the discipline, this book goes beyond the prevailing notion that computers are merely a methodological tool, and considers their influence on the very nature of archaeological study. Blending rigorous archaeological theory with the extensive practical knowledge of professionals in the field, Digital Archaeology is a highly accessible text that shows and discusses the ways in which computing can be holistically incorporated into archaeology. The book discusses elements of archaeological theory and reveals how computers can be used to reintegrate theoretical questions into the application of field work and analysis. Beginning with a history of the growth of computing within the field, the book goes on to look at examples of how and why different technologies have been implemented into archaeological theory and method. It includes GIS, virtual reality modelling, internet publishing and archiving, and on-site digital recording using such examples as the integrated digital recording of the Ferrybridge Chariot and other case studies from around the world. This volume also discusses ways in which technology can now be used in normal excavations and how this affects the study of archaeology as a whole, from planning to publication.

PART I Where we've been and where we are going Introduction: archaeological theory and digital pasts 1 Digital archaeology: a historical context PART II Data collection 2 Archaeological survey in a digital world 3 Drowning in data? Digital data in a British contracting unit PART III Quantification made easy 4 You, me and IT: the application of simple quantitative techniques in the examination of gender, identity and social reproduction in the Early to Middle Iron Age of northeastern France PART IV Modelling the past 5 Jouma's tent: Bedouin and digital archaeology 6 Digital archaeology and the scalar structure of pastoral landscapes: modeling mobile societies of prehistoric Central Asia 7 What you see is what you get? Visualscapes, visual genesis and hierarchy PART V Virtual worlds 8 'Digital gardening': an approach to simulating elements of palaeovegetation and some implications for the interpretation of prehistoric sites and landscapes 9 At the edges of the lens: photography, graphical constructions and cinematography PART VI Disseminating the data 190 10 Electronic publication in archaeology 11 Computers, learning and teaching in archaeology: life past and present on the screen 12 What's another word for thesaurus? Data standards and classifying the Past PART VII Conclusion