Eric Orlin at the University of Puget Sound recently distributed a call for papers for a conference this fall at the University of Puget Sound titled “Taking Archaeology Digital.”

The conference itself runs from October 25-28, 2012 . From the website:

Technology is changing our world in ways that previous centuries could not have imagined, and it is a constant struggle for us to keep up with these frequent changes and innovations.

While archaeology is a very old practice, only in the later 20th century was it given serious methodological consideration, and now, in the 21st century, this explosion in the availability of technological tools offers the potential to transform the practice of archaeology.

But the mere existence of a new tool, no matter how fun and exciting it might seem, does not necessarily translate into good use of that tool.

This is the theme we hope to address in the upcoming Redford Conference in Archaeology at the University of Puget Sound, October 25 – 28, 2012.

We invite proposals for papers and presentations that explore the question of how archaeologists can best make use of the vast range of possibilities that technology opens up.

We are particularly interested in presentations from people who may have already had some experiences in trying to fit new technologies into archaeological practice.

Often those who study the past have had difficulty adapting their practice to the existence of new tools, and one goal of this conference is to help us learn from the experiences of others.

While the focus is on new technologies, the conference is broad enough to include fieldwork, archiving, and publication.

There are three confirmed speakers for the conference: Nick Eiteljorg II (Center for the Study of Architecture), Sebastian Heath (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World), and Norbert Zimmerman (Vienna Academy of Sciences).

The paper proposals are due April 1, 2012.

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