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The SAA Archaeological Record - November 2016
The SAA Archaeological Record - November 2016
Video Games
and Archaeology
S O C I E T Y F O R A M E R I C A N A R C H A E O L O G Y
¡La SAA llega a la América Latina de nuevo!
La SAA celebra la tercera Conferencia Intercontinental en la ciudad de Oaxaca, México del 26 al 29 de
abril de 2017. El idioma oficial de la Conferencia Intercontinental 2016 es español. Toda información
acerca de la Conferencia será en español.
Si tiene cualquier pregunta, no dude en contactar a Tobi Brimsek por teléfono a +1-202-789-8200 ext.
102 o por correo electrónico a (tobi_brimsek@saa.org). ¡Esperamos verlos en la tercera Conferencia
Intercontinental de la SAA!
The Magazine of the Society for American Archaeology
Volume 16, No. 5
November 2016
EDITOR’S CORNER
Anna Marie Prentiss
The SAA Archaeological Record Anna Marie Prentiss is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Montana.
(ISSN 1532-7299) is published five
times a year and is edited by Anna
Marie Prentiss. Submissions should
be sent to Anna Marie Prentiss, anna
.prentiss@umontana.edu, Depart-
I
ment of Anthropology, The Univer-
sity of Montana, Missoula, MT t is the twenty-first century and, like it or not, video gaming has become a major
59812. component of Western lifestyles. Indeed, the Entertainment Software Association
estimates that 155 million Americans alone play video games with 2014 expendi-
tures on gaming content exceeding $22 billion (Dennis, this issue). A brief perusal of
Deadlines for submissions are:
December 1 (January), February 1 game content also reveals themes that often incorporate archaeological content, some-
(March), April 1 (May), August 1 times highly accurate, other times not so much. Given these numbers and an evident
(September), and October 1 (Novem- fascination with the past by designers and consumers of games, we as archaeologists
ber). Advertising and placement ads would be well advised to engage further with the world of gaming.
should be sent to SAA headquarters,
1111 14th St. NW, Suite 800, Wash- Colleen Morgan has organized and guest edited a special section of the SAA Archaeo-
ington, DC 20005.
logical Record dedicated to explorations of video games and archaeology. The content of
The SAA Archaeological Record is the special section will be delivered in two parts, the first six articles in this issue and
provided free to members. SAA
publishes The SAA Archaeological
the next three (authored by Colleen Morgan, Tara Copplestone, and Erik Champion) in
Record as a service to its members one of our 2017 issues. Those presented here introduce a diverse set of perspectives on
and constituencies. SAA, its edi- the topic. Mol et al. introduce some of the research findings of the VALUE group,
tors, and staff are not responsible exploring public aspects of video games involving archaeology. Among many impor-
for the content, opinions, and infor- tant points, they conclude that there are abundant opportunities for archaeologist and
mation contained in The SAA game designer collaborations to their mutual benefit. Graham discusses video games
Archaeological Record. SAA, its edi-
in archaeology as tools for researching the past as well as communicating our findings.
tors, and staff disclaim all war-
ranties with regard to such content, He reflects on the natural ties between developing games and conducting archaeolog-
opinions, and information pub- ical research spanning use of tools like GIS to interpretation of patterns in the material
lished in The SAA Archaeological record. Reinhard explores the challenges of “excavating” games thereby contrasting
Record by any individual or organi- and comparing the tools used by traditional field archaeologists with those of video
zation; this disclaimer includes all game researchers. González-Tennant considers the uses of walking simulators to
implied warranties of mer-
encourage exploration of other worlds as might be developed from archaeological
chantability and fitness. In no event
shall SAA, its editors, and staff be research. It provides new media for archaeologists to engage with the public regarding
liable for any special, indirect, or important aspects of history. Dennis engages with ethical concerns regarding video
consequential damages, or any games, exploring issues associated with, for example, looting, violence toward women,
damages whatsoever resulting from and the political process. She also raises the very real issues associated with inter-
loss of use, data, or profits arising gamer interactions that at their worst can include misogyny, white supremacy, and
out of or in connection with the use anti-intellectualism. She closes with some reflections on problems and prospects for
or performance of any content,
opinions, or information included
researching gamer behavior and gaming communities. Hiriart describes his process of
in The SAA Archaeological Record. creating a game centered on post-medieval Anglo-Saxon England that permits users to
explore and experience cultural life and the unfolding of history on multiple scales
from micro to macro.
Copyright ©2016 by the Society for
American Archaeology. All Rights
Reserved. This issue includes updates from SAA Executive Director, Tobi Brimsek, and SAA
President, Diane Gifford-Gonzalez. Andrew Martindale provides a thoughtful intro-
duction to the city of Vancouver, site of SAA’s 82nd Annual Meeting. Finally, we include
our volunteer profile column, this time authored by Jayur Madhusudan Mehta. As
always, I hope you find the issue stimulating and perhaps a bit thought provoking!
-J
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IN BRIEF
Tobi A. Brimsek
Tobi A. Brimsek is the executive director of the Society for American Archaeology.
Vancouver 2017: March 29–April 2 hotel or any of the overflow or student hotels for the SAA meet-
ing by January 24, 2017, and your name will be entered into an
Have you made your reservations yet for Vancouver 2017? The
SAA drawing for an incomparable prize—a one-year member-
annual meeting is a bit earlier than is typical. Links to all reserva-
ship in SAA! Make your room reservation today! There will be
tions sites are available on SAAweb (www.saa.org), along with full
five separate drawings, one for each of the SAA hotels.
information on the location of each of the hotels. Here is a
summary:
Headquarters Hotel: Hyatt Regency Vancouver November 10–November 30, 2016:
Open Call for SAA Committee Service
Reservations cut-off date: March 6, 2017
As you may be aware, each year there is an “open call season” for
Exclusively for Students: Days Inn volunteers for SAA committee service. You will have received an
e-mail on November 10, 2016, with a link to the committee serv-
Reservations cut-off date: February 28, 2017
ice application. The call will remain open until the deadline of
Please call the Days Inn at +1 (604) 681-4335 and use Code: Soci- November 30, 2016. Committee chairs and Board liaisons to the
ety for American Archaeology (not our acronym, SAA) when committee will then have one month to review applications and
making reservations for the annual meeting. Please note that make decisions. By mid-January, appointment letters will be
students must present a student ID to qualify for student rates. generated from the SAA office. We hope that you will want to
get involved!
Overflow Hotels and Additional Student Blocks:
Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown
(Overflow and Student Block) Staff Transitions
Effective September 1, 2016, Jonathon Koudelka was promoted to
Reservations cut-off date: March 8, 2017
manager, Financial and Administrative Services from his previ-
This overflow hotel also offers rates for students. All students ous position as coordinator of that program. We are delighted to
will be expected to present a student ID when checking in. have been able to provide this opportunity in staff development.
There are separate links on SAAweb for the regular and student
blocks at this hotel. On September 12, 2016, Maya Allen-Gallegos was welcomed to
the staff team as manager, Publications. Maya brings seasoned
Pinnacle Vancouver Harbourfront Hotel experience to the SAA publications program from her previous
(Overflow and Student Block) long-term positons with the University of New Mexico Press.
Reservations cut-off date: March 8, 2017
December 31, 2016, will mark the last day of employment at
This overflow hotel also offers rates for students. All students SAA for Maureen Malloy, manager, Education and Outreach for
will be expected to present a student ID when checking in. the last 16 years! To say that Maureen will be missed is an
There are separate links on SAAweb for the regular and student understatement. She is going on to explore new projects, and
blocks at this hotel. the staff wish her the very best! There will be a huge shift in the
position effective January 2017. The manager, Education and
Coast Coal Harbour Hotel (Overflow—No Student Block) Outreach will become a full-time position. The expansion of this
role is long awaited. The transition and the budget allow for the
Reservations cut-off date: March 8, 2017
Society to rethink the position, and the executive director, along
with the current manager, Education and Outreach will be
January 24, 2017, and a Chance for a Free One-Year searching for her replacement over the next two months. The
Membership in SAA! position is being advertised on both LinkedIn and SAA’s own
A special opportunity for you!!! Register at the headquarters Career Center.
volunteer profile
Jayur Madhusudan Mehta
Andrew Martindale is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia,
and the director of both the Laboratory of Archaeology and the Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database.
Dr. Bruce G. Miller (UBC). c̓əsnaʔəm, known to archaeologists Nations representation. I suggest we consider more fully what
variously as the Eburne Midden, Great Fraser Midden, and Mar- is at stake in this declaration. The identification of an indige-
pole Midden, recently made headlines when ancient burials nous territory is an acknowledgment that colonization has
were uncovered through urban development and the usurped land and other rights, and I would argue that reconcil-
Musqueam strove to protect them. This collaborative exhibit iation in these terms remains unresolved. An invocation of the
project was developed to generate public discussions about her- traditional nature of these claims reminds us that the legal and
Colleen Morgan is the Centre for Digital Heritage Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York.
Introduction to the Theme “Video Games and The authors in this issue show the nuance of video game
Archaeology” research in archaeology through particular case studies. This
collection also reveals a community of practice deeply
Video games are a growing concern in academic research and
involved in digital-making and participatory research, known
present a considerable attraction for archaeologists who wish
in part under the #archaeogaming hashtag on Twitter and
to present their research in a media format that can incorpo-
through blogs such as Play the Past. As the VALUE Project
rate multiple perspectives, alternate narratives, and 3D repre-
demonstrates in their article, many academic archaeologists
sentation to audiences that may not be engaged with other
play video games, though few connect them to their
forms of academic literature or media regarding archaeology.
research. At Leiden University, 69 percent of undergraduate
Since Watrall’s (2002) formative article in the SAA Archaeolog-
students, graduate students, and staff members play video
ical Record and Public Archaeology, experimentation with gam-
games, yet many who responded to their essay felt that “real
ing and archaeology has expanded considerably. The diversity
archaeology” is not exciting enough for games. Further,
of the articles featured in this dedicated issue reflects this
Graham notes that many colleagues do not find video games
growth.
worthy of academic study, despite their obvious financial and
cultural impact and the emerging complementary field of
Much of the research on video games and archaeology and
game studies. That there is controversy is surprising, consid-
heritage incorporates what could be characterized as “media
ering archaeology’s early forays into and continuing engage-
archaeology.” Though media archaeologies are usually
ment with virtual reality for producing archaeological
within a Foucauldian discourse that draws on tropes of
reconstructions. Champion also notes considerable opposi-
archaeology without engaging with archaeological method or
tion to academic engagement with games but argues that vir-
theory, it has recently been the topic of interdisciplinary work
tual heritage projects and serious games have in fact failed,
in contemporary archaeology. Archaeologists, it has been
and that archaeologists should instead focus on the expected
argued, are the prototypical media archaeologists, “studying
audience for digital media. He mentions a new UNESCO
media (in their broad conception, as discursive and material
Chair of Cultural Heritage and Visualisation that will build a
means to a plurality of different ends/processes), inventing
repository of 3D heritage models to improve public accessi-
and tinkering with media to progress such studies, and skil-
bility. This effort toward the curation and preservation of 3D
fully deploying other media to circulate this work” (Perry and
models speaks to a growing awareness of digital materiality
Morgan 2015). Archaeologists who study video games illus-
within archaeology and heritage.
trate the energy and creative potential within this interdisci-
plinary space, with research that investigates the history and
Video games provide landscapes and objects that are produc-
materiality of archaeological games as artifacts, including
tive for archaeological investigations of digital materiality.
the literal excavation of video game cartridges and other
Reinhard explores the tools that can be used to “excavate”
gaming material culture, the critique of archaeological con-
video games and suggests adapting GIS for survey and
tent in video games, the use of gaming strategies to query
analysis in virtual spaces. He is leading a group of archaeol-
past landscapes, collaboration with gaming studios and
ogists exploring No Man’s Sky, a procedural video game in
gamers to create archaeology-based games, and the creation
which landscapes, creatures, and objects are created by algo-
of video games by archaeologists.
rithms rather than manually. This builds on Graham’s sug-
gestion of a link between landscape archaeology and the
investigation of the genre of walking simulator video games used Unity to create an Anglo-Saxon landscape in England.
as a digital flaneur, in which the digital material culture is Hiriart is not an archaeologist, but a game developer and lec-
more important than the gaming mechanics. González- turer interested in telling microhistories through games.
Tennant speaks to the utility of the walking simulator video Copplestone also used Unity for a very different game,
game in constructing places and archaeological narratives. Adventures in the Gutter, that does not reconstruct an archae-
Yet it should be noted that most gameplay does not respect ological landscape but invites the player to assume the role
the integrity of digital artifacts. The respondents to VALUE’s of an archaeologist making interpretive decisions, one from
survey mentioned earlier felt that any archaeological or his- the British Museum and the other as a field archaeologist. In
toric themes were overshadowed by what they see as “loot- all of these instances, the authors note the utility of making
ing” behavior within video games, such as crushing old pots the game in provoking new questions regarding archaeolog-
or destroying tombs for treasure. This is further expanded ical practice.
on by Dennis, who writes about the applicability of current
archaeological ethics to video games and virtual material cul- In this issue I have gathered voices from the #Archaeogam-
ture. She also expands on aspects of gamer culture that are ing community of archaeological explorers and makers that
potentially abusive to academics studying video games, a demonstrate the vibrant interdisciplinary research within the
caution for those who wish to engage with this particular archaeology of video games. I encourage the readers of the
medium. SAA Archaeological Record to join the conversation and to
come with us to explore new digital vistas. Note that not all
Beyond the archaeological investigation of existing video publications mentioned in this introduction are included in
game cultures and landscapes, archaeologists are increas- this issue. Three articles by Colleen Morgan, Tara Copple-
ingly modifying games or creating their own games. In my stone, and Erik Champion will appear in a subsequent issue
submission to this special section, I encourage an interven- in 2017.
tionist attitude toward popular games. After building Çatal-
höyük in the open world of Second Life and Star Carr in
Minecraft, I found myself surprised at the creativity and References Cited
engagement that players had with the archaeological sites. Perry, Sara, and Colleen Morgan
Several archaeologists are using the Unity game engine as a 2015 Materializing Media Archaeologies: The MAD-P Hard
platform to reconstruct archaeological sites and to make Drive Excavation. Journal of Contemporary Archaeology 2(1):94–
archaeology-themed games. As mentioned previously, 104.
González-Tennant explored the walking simulator by using Watrall, Ethan
Unity to reconstruct Rosewood, Florida, a community 2002 Interactive Entertainment as Public Archaeology. SAA
destroyed in 1923 in a week-long incident of race-based vio- Archaeological Record. 2(2):37–39.
lence. As a testament to the flexibility of the platform, Hiriart
Angus Mol is a postdoctoral researcher in the field of archaeological network approaches at the Department of Anthropology, Stanford University,
Stanford, California. Csilla Ariese-Vandemeulebroucke is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of museum studies at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden Univer-
sity, Netherlands. Krijn Boom is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of archaeological heritage management at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University,
Netherlands. Aris Politopoulos is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of archaeology of the Near East at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University,
Netherlands. Vincent Vandemeulebroucke is an independent video game researcher in the Netherlands.
Figure 1. Survey results indicating the division of gamers and non-gamers, as well as the gender balance, for student vs. staff respondents. Image by VALUE.
the story (66 percent), and game characters (38 percent) are potential for video games to incorporate more archaeological
the three most important aspects of video games that attract elements or gameplay in order to make our discipline’s
archaeologists.2 The respondents were then asked to list unique understanding of the human past more immediately
three games they have played that were “historical” and three apparent to players.
games that were “archaeological.” The phrasing was pur-
posefully vague to allow respondents to associate broadly on
the topics of archaeology and history. Respondents listed Enjoyment/Importance Paradox
more “historical” (171) than “archaeological” (91) games. When it comes to the inclusion of archaeological aspects3 in
More unique historical games were mentioned than archae- a game, the majority of respondents indicated that they
ological games (38 and 25 different games, respectively). highly enjoy them (see Figure 2): 51 percent stated that they
Additionally, historical games were repeated more frequently found archaeology “a lot” or “extremely” enjoyable. Even so,
(see Table 1). These results show that “history” is more they indicated that they felt neutral on average about the
apparent in or more commonly associated with video games importance of these archaeological elements in video games.
than “archaeology.” It also seems to indicate that history was In other words, many archaeologists seek to play games that
more broadly associated with the past in games, while are linked to their studies or occupation, and they enjoy the
archaeology was related more specifically with (stereotypes incorporation of archaeology in games. This is the case even
of) the profession and methodology. As such, there is a clear if the actual archaeological elements in these games are
stereotypes, oversimplifications, or other forms of misrepre-
Table 1. Historical and Archaeological Games as sentation. This points to a paradoxical situation in which
Identified by the Respondents. archaeologists enjoy games as entertainment but do not rate
games to be an important and inherently valuable form of
Most Most “infotainment” for archaeology. This paradox is further illus-
mentioned mentioned trated in the answers to an open question in our survey about
historical archaeological the representativeness of archaeology in video games.4
games games
Age of Empires series (39) Tomb Raider series (29) When asked about this representativeness, we received
Assassin’s Creed series (34) Civilization V (11) mostly negative responses, centered on three issues. First, it
Total War series (22) Indiana Jones (6) was noted that games are more about treasure hunting than
Figure 2. Survey results indicating the importance, enjoyment, and representativeness of archaeology in games for all respondents. Image by VALUE.
collecting artifacts: “It is more looting than actual archaeol- Recent Examples
ogy.” Secondly, respondents stated that “real” archaeology is
It is quite common for games to attempt to reconstruct mon-
not exciting or not popular enough for games: “Archaeology
uments or cities of the past. With some notable exceptions
is not really exciting for most people, while video games
(i.e. the Assassin’s Creed series), this is done without signifi-
should be exciting.” And finally, the biggest issue relating to
cant contributions by archaeologists and historians. This has
representation was that video games are fiction, far from the
resulted in chronological errors, inaccurate representations,
truth or inaccurate: “Lots of things are popularized and not
and false perceptions of past societies. Dunstan Lowe, by sur-
correct.”
veying different games, has written about the practice of rep-
resenting the Greek and Roman past as a landscape of ruins
There were a few people who responded positively on the
rather than as living cities (2013:84–85).
potential benefits of representing archaeology in video
games: “If done in a proper way it can be very useful for
There are other examples of games that seek to provide
archaeology” and “It can create a lot of public awareness.”
authenticity in their gaming worlds through extensive histor-
How can archaeology in games still be enjoyable, while also
ical and material research. A recent example, released in
contributing some educational, scholarly, and societal value?
2014, is Valiant Hearts by Ubisoft Montpellier. This game is
Our survey did not provide an answer to this, but we have
set in World War I, a rare setting for a video game. It roughly
some suggestions based on our engagements with the inter-
follows the course of history, taking players through actual
sections of games and archaeology over the past year. These
events like the battle of the Somme and the battle of the
took the form of thematic sessions in which issues of archae-
Marne. The perspective of the game is viewed through the
ological importance were featured in discussions while play-
personal stories of a few ordinary people who struggle on
ing games that illustrated these topics.
opposite sides of the war rather than a top-down approach of
the player commanding armies and battles.5 To give players
Figure 3. Screenshot from Apotheon. Image by AlienTrap Games (freely downloadable as wallpaper at http://www.apotheongame.com/).
the opportunity to relate to these events and immerse them- provides a simplified version of archaeological practice, it
selves in the architecture and material culture of World War does introduce archaeology to a huge and global audience.
I, the development team not only did extensive archival
research in collaboration with historians but also included Archaeological and heritage outreach has also been done
the results of this research into the game as a collection of extensively through the world-creating game Minecraft by
facts and artifacts that players can discover and browse. Mojang. Here, archaeologists can learn from recent initia-
tives by museums that engage virtual and physical visitors
Archaeology has more to offer than an “authentic” experi- through Minecraft projects. The Tate (2014) in the United
ence of the past. It can also provide exciting, untapped Kingdom, for example, collaborated with artist Adam Clarke
themes or designs. For instance Apotheon, a platform to virtually reconstruct not only the museum’s galleries but
released in 2015 by AlienTrap, is set in mythological ancient also the individual artworks. Players can enter the galleries
Greece (see Figure 3). The game borrows its design from the and step into the paintings and works of art to explore the
black figure pottery style (seventh–fifth century B.C.E.) of worlds behind the paintings. A similar project is currently
classical Greece. This creates the impression that one is play- being undertaken with the British Museum.6 Together with
ing a character as portrayed on an ancient Greek vase while the public, they aim to reconstruct the entire museum
moving through different mythological scenarios. Despite through a large-scale crowd-sourcing project. The VALUE
several chronological and/or mythological inaccuracies, the group has explored the possibilities of using Minecraft for
developers have created a beautiful setting based on ancient archaeological reconstructions, by running a crowd-sourced
material culture, bringing the enjoyment of this style to a event aimed to collaboratively rebuild the recently destroyed
wider audience in a unique way. An interesting discussion Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria, for example.7
piece by Gilles Roy (2015) analyzes the aspects that make this
game interesting and compelling. With regards to archaeological research, video games can be
used as platforms for experimental archaeology. Colleen
Video games equally have a lot to offer to the field of archae- Morgan (2009), for instance, has rebuilt Çatalhöyük to inves-
ology, particularly in two core areas: public outreach and tigate a number of topics. One of these concerned the recon-
research. At a basic level, video games can introduce the con- struction of ovens, which have been found extensively on the
cept of archaeology to the public by implementing archaeol- site (Morgan 2009:476). Morgan was able to experiment with
ogy as a gameplay mechanic. The immensely popular World these ovens and buildings in Second Life to test the effects of
of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment, for instance, has smoke on living conditions.
incorporated archaeology as an in-game profession. Even if it
Shawn Graham is an associate professor in the Department of History at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario.
while games are systems of rules interpreted by the com- happened before the player ever arrived. By contrast, games
puter referee, and while these systems are enveloped within like the Assassin’s Creed series have beautiful reconstructions
a narrative, games-about-the-past have a larger historical nar- that make no real difference to the game play or the story. In
rative within which the game’s narrative must take place. these, they merely serve as backdrop for a digital parkour, an
That is to say, the players and designers are working within experience of the past as digital flaneur.
historical frameworks from the outset that inform their
understanding of the past. Hence to make the game, to play
the game, necessarily involves the kind of historical thinking Flow
(about contingency, about causality, about equifinality) that The training of archaeologists has long had an emphasis on
characterizes professional thinking about the past. “Why did the practical—we learn how to be archaeologists by doing
that happen?” and “What would happen if?” are questions archaeology. We perform the learning. Where, and from
players ask about the game, which are very nearly the same whom, we learn the hands-on aspects of archaeology has a
thing that we ask of the past. deep influence on how we think archaeologically, how we
understand the past. This is of course why we speak of
The fact of the matter is, while the content of a game is impor- “schools” of thought. To play a video game well involves that
tant, it is not as important as the system of rules and relation- same aspect of performance, and the “who made this and
ships that govern the emergent play; reflecting on why game how did they imagine the world” matters equally as much.
play evolves the way it does forces the player to understand When we play a game well, we have internalized how that
the rules of representation. This means that game players game represents its world. We have internalized an under-
think about the past in ways that are the same as the kind of standing of the system of rules and relationships that we
thinking about the past that we want in our students and might not even be aware of. The learning that happens
publics. If one studies the communities of players that coa- through video games is deep and is tied to what psycholo-
lesce around particular games (especially games that allow gists call “flow.” Games don’t just represent a world: they
for “modding,” or rewriting, of the game rules, e.g., the Civi- actively watch the player. The best games adjust their diffi-
lization franchise), one finds quite heated discussions about culty in such a way as to achieve a flow state, a sense of mas-
how best to represent the past, debates over the consequences tery that sits in the sweet spot where the challenge is just
and meanings of modifications to the games, and—while hard enough to be difficult, but not so difficult that the player
maybe sometimes not the most factually informed debates— gives up in frustration. The best learning, in whatever con-
a keen understanding of process in the past. text, is tied to that same sense.
hold formation among the Anasazi, say), game rules do Archaeogaming is a subdiscipline that requires the same
encode ideas about (inter alia) power, ideology, action, colo- standards of practice as the physical collection of excavated
nialism, and empire. The game theorist Ian Bogost calls data, only with a different toolset. It also provides the oppor-
these “procedural rhetorics,” the arguments made by code tunity to use game worlds to reflect on practice, theory, and
(2007); the historian William Urrichio explicitly called code the perceptions of our discipline.
historiography (2005). Games about the past will be played,
experienced, and internalized by orders of magnitude by Video games are an extraordinarily rich tool, area of
more people than who ever read our formal archaeologies. research, and effective mode of communication whose pos-
And the experience will resonate far more deeply than any sibilities we haven’t even begun to explore. Yet, they are not
visit to a site or museum. We ignore games as a venue for so foreign to the archaeologist’s “formal” computational
our scholarship at our peril. experience, with ties to GIS, Agent-Based Models, and recon-
structions. Play on!
The Payoff
I have been arguing by omission that the content, the win- Acknowledgments
dow dressing (the pretty graphics, the hyperrealistic depic- Thank you to Colleen Morgan for organizing this special
tions of textures and atmospheres, the 3D sound, the voice issue; to Meghan Dennis, Andrew Reinhardt, and Tara Cop-
acting) does not matter nearly as much as close experience plestone for #archaeogaming; and to Anthony Masinton and
and engagement with the code and its emergent outcomes. @_sorcha (https://twitter.com/_sorcha) for commenting on
That engagement allows a connection here with the kind of the public draft of this piece.
archaeology argued for by scholars such as Stuart Eve (2014)
that seeks to use the mechanics of games and allied tech-
nologies such as mixed or augmented realities to focus on References Cited
understanding the systems of relationships among the full Bogost, Ian
sensory experience of the past. Eve calls this an “embodied 2007 Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Video Games.
GIS” that does not focus on the archaeologist’s subjective MIT Press, Cambridge.
experience of place, but rather explores how sound, views, Dennis, Meghan
and lighting (and indeed, smell and touch) combine or are 2016 Archaeogaming. Electronic document, http://gingery
constrained by the archaeology of a place, experienced in that gamer.com/index.php/archaeogaming/, accessed October 13,
place. This suggests a way forward for the use of games as 2016.
both a tool for research on the past and a way to communi- Eve, Stuart
2014 Dead Men’s Eyes: Embodied GIS, Mixed Reality and Land-
cate that research to our various publics.
scape Archaeology. BAR British Series 600. Archaeopress,
Oxford.
Finally, we can turn our critical apparatus back to front and
Kapell, Matthew Wilhelm, and Andrew B. R. Elliott (editors)
consider games as a venue within which we may do archae-
2013 Playing with the Past: Digital Games and the Simulation of
ology. Search online for “archaeogaming.” The most succinct History. Bloomsbury, New York.
definition of what this could be comes from Meghan Dennis Kee, Kevin, and Shawn Graham.
(Dennis 2016): “Archaeogaming is the utilization and treat- 2014 Teaching in the Age of Pervasive Computing: The Case for
ment of immaterial space to study created culture, specifi- Games in the High School and Undergraduate Classroom. In
cally through video games.” Pastplay: Teaching and Learning History with Technology, edited by
Kevin Kee, pp. 270–291. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Archaeogaming requires treating a game world, a world Masinton, Anthony
bounded and defined by the limitations of its hardware, soft- 2015 Comment on Shawn Graham, “The Video Game and the
ware, and coding choices, as both a closed universe and as an Archaeologist—Draft.” Electronic document, https://electric
extension of the external culture that created it. Everything archaeology.ca/2015/10/15/the-video-game-and-the-archaeolo-
that goes into the immaterial space comes from its external gist-draft/#comment-31370, accessed October 13, 2016.
cultural source in one way or another. Because of this, we see Urrichio, William
the same problems in studying culture in games as in study- 2005 Cyberhistory: Historical Computer Games and Post-Struc-
ing culture in the material world. turalist Historiography. In Handbook of Computer Games Stud-
ies, edited by Jeffrey Goldstein and Joost Raessens, pp. 327–338.
MIT Press, Cambridge.
Andrew Reinhard is the director of publications, American Numismatic Society, and the founder of archaeogaming.com.
Figure 2. Map with GPS coordinates of a relic from Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (Crystal Dynamics). Screen capture by Andrew Reinhard.
both real and virtual worlds: recover and document artifacts plunging straight down without regard to stratigraphic lay-
and their context, analyzing assemblages and stratigraphy to ers. It is possible for archaeogamers to “dig” in phase when
make connections between their deposition and history of treating the games themselves as artifacts, especially when
manufacture/use. dealing with variations in game-builds and versions. Seeing
something in version 1.0 might be gone in version 2.0.
Archaeogamers need to be able to discover, identify, and Revisit the findspot between versions. This is not unlike
record stratigraphy, context, features, assemblages, deposits, removing soil above an artifact, recovering the artifact, and
intrusions, spits, and artifacts, clearly defining what those then continuing down. In games, there really is no gravity or
are within the archaeogaming vocabulary, making these centuries of accumulated dirt. There are, however, layers of
intelligible to real-world archaeologists and the public at versions. This creates archaeological context within a game
large. There will be some natural overlapping with archaeo- when viewing the game as a discrete archaeological site.
logical survey (fieldwalking) and landscape archaeology, and
exploring the history of use, be it an entire game or some- What archaeogamers are doing now is very much in line with
thing found within the game. the New Archaeology of the 1960s—basically processual. Lord
Colin Renfrew (1987) once noted that processual archaeology
When archaeologists dig, they can either do so carefully, investigates “historical processes that are at the root of
being mindful of stratigraphy, or they can dig “out of phase,” change.” For archaeogaming, we can explore change of the
Figure 3. Example “gamifact” from Elder Scrolls Online (Zenimax Online). Screen capture by Andrew Reinhard.
games, and of the cultures within those games, using artifacts archaeogaming’s real-world colleagues: pen and paper, word
as evidence for that change, understanding the shared histo- processors and spreadsheet applications, relational data-
ries of games, gameplay, environments, created cultures, bases. The environments may be different, but most of the
enclaves, and economies. This is really no different than what archaeological vocabulary is shared. The potential for apply-
traditional archaeologists do each day in the real world. ing archaeogaming methods to real-world archaeology is
Archaeogamers just happen to be asking these questions in a also a possibility. This methodology should be explained in a
contained world. Think of it as astrophysics and quantum peer-reviewed article for a “traditional” archaeological jour-
mechanics: the universe without, and the universe within. nal as part of an end-of-season site report about a surveyed/
excavated virtual environment.
By the time procedural games (e.g., No Man’s Sky) reach the
point of truly creating evolving cultures that contain every- References Cited
thing from day-to-day goods to sacred architecture to every-
Archaeosoup Productions
thing in between, it is my hope that we will have also evolved
2015a Digging the Game: Saarthal (Skyrim). Electronic document,
our tools and methods to best record and explain what is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAWWad1ozs8, accessed
happening and perhaps why. The archaeogamer can apply
November 1, 2015.
archaeological methods to understanding machine-created
2015b Digging the Game: Witcher III: Part 1. Electronic document,
culture, and how computers and consoles interpret code to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Hu29znD7M, accessed
create things that the game itself will find of use and apply November 1, 2015.
within the rules of a manufactured, open, virtual world. This Mitchell, Melanie
is not to say that there is any advanced artificial intelligence 2011 Complexity: A Guided Tour. Oxford University Press,
at work in procedural games, only that games by their nature Oxford.
are complex systems, and the mathematical complexity of Myers, J. Wilson, and Eleanor Emlen Myers
the code might in fact create unintended features/artifacts 1995 Low-Altitude Photography. American Journal of Archaeology
that should be archaeologically documented (Mitchell 2011). 99(1):85–88.
Renfrew, Colin
That being said, the methods of recording archaeological 1987 Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Ori-
data from digital games will not differ too much from gins. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Edward González-Tennant is the lead digital archaeologist at Digital Heritage Interactive LLC.
relatively straightforward task to process LiDAR data with the fictional village of Yaughton, a picturesque rural location
geographic information systems (GIS) and export the data in seemingly devoid of life. The goal of the game is less about
a format accessible by the software used to create video learning what happened and instead about uncovering the
games (typically referred to as a game engine). The use of everyday lives of the inhabitants prior to their disappearance.
geospatial data supports a more accurate world upon which Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture utilizes a simple, yet visually
to place structures, roadways, and other features of the built appealing device for players to interact with the vanished
environment. In addition, a massive update to the structures inhabitants. Small balls of light materialize as one moves
is designed to increase the virtual world’s realism. Figure 3 through the landscape. Upon closer inspection these orbs
compares a structure from the original version of this virtual coalesce into humanoid shapes (Figure 4), and the sound of
world with an updated version. This and other structures are the game changes to accommodate the voices of the van-
based on the documentation of nearby, contemporaneous ished. Sound, typically an underutilized element in games, is
structures. Studying the historical architecture of north- one of the primary characteristics of this game. The entire
central Florida is necessary to create as accurate a version of tone of the game changes as the balls of light form human
Rosewood as possible. Finally, new 3D models that more shapes. Once formed, the player begins to hear the final
accurately re-create the region’s vegetation are being created experiences of the town’s inhabitants. The haunting quality
and incorporated into the updated virtual world as well. of this approach creates a deeply emotional atmosphere and
connects the player to the lives of the town’s inhabitants in
Engaging with walking simulators is particularly useful as it evocative ways.
guides the creation of new interactive features within the vir-
tual world. Relevant examples include the recent game Every- This is similar to the use of “witness points” in the Holocaust
body’s Gone to the Rapture, by indie developer The Chinese Memorial Museum in Second Life (González-Tennant
Room. This game is a good example of how walking simula- 2013:72–74). These witness points allow visitors to listen to
tors can connect players with the experiences of others in the oral histories of Holocaust survivors in a virtual museum
sensitive and emotionally evocative ways. The game is set in interpreting Kristallnacht. Ongoing updates to the Rosewood
ARCHAEOGAMING, ETHICS,
AND PARTICIPATORY STANDARDS
L. Meghan Dennis
In light of the cultural and economic significance of the The Applicability of Current Archaeological Ethics
video game industry in today’s society, archaeogaming, or If we are to consider archaeogaming a legitimate form of
the application of archaeological principles and methods of archaeology, there are issues beyond the obvious concerns of
data collection to the worlds of video games, is a natural out- methodologies and excavation techniques to address. As a
growth of archaeology as a discipline. As archaeologists, the new area of research, drawing on modern material cultural
search for material culture takes us many places, and studies, ethnography, field archaeology, media studies, and
increasingly, that material culture we seek to study, that digital archaeology, archaeogaming has the opportunity to
material culture from which we draw our data, is located look at the mistakes made in the past and to counter the
within video games. errors of colonialism and ethnocentrism that marked the
beginning of archaeological scholarship, many of which con-
According to the Entertainment Software Association, total tinue to this day. To accomplish this legitimization,
US consumer spending on gaming content exceeded $22 bil- archaeogaming has to be treated as more than just a fun
lion in 2014. Data from that organization, which is the exercise when unwinding after a long day in the field. It’s not
largest voice for the video game industry in the United enough to sign into World of Warcraft and look at Blood Elf
States, indicates that 155 million Americans play video architecture, or to ask Tomb Raider players on Twitter how
games, and demographically, that gamers are of all ages, they feel about new versus old Lara Croft as an archaeologist
genders, races, and sexualities (Entertainment Software (Figure 1). Archaeogaming requires, in the pursuit of archae-
Association 2015). Gaming is now, dollar for dollar and hour ological research, interaction with the individuals and
for hour, the most lucrative and utilized entertainment activ- groups that make up gaming populations; it requires inter-
ity in the United States. Its reach is beyond film, beyond tel- action with those who play games, those who create games
evision, and beyond our best efforts, as archaeologists, at professionally, and those who critique games as a modern
community engagement. form of art. Archaeogaming has to be approached with all of
the rigor and ethical consideration of formal ethnography.
Archaeogaming posits that immaterial worlds, such as those This begins, at its core, with determining ethical guidelines
found in video games, are viable spaces in which to study of practice.
material culture, recognizing that created cultures are the
inherited product of cultural influences from within our own Within archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork, there is
“real” world. By examining each game, we can isolate the par- an established canon of ethical practice in relation to securing
Working within a game world is not that different from more One area of concern with the ethics of archaeogaming is the
traditional archaeological fieldwork, except for the potential potential for participation in game-located looting activities.
comfort of one’s chair. The same problems in study arise. The When the practicing archaeologist is researching gaming,
same issues of ethical practice arise. Those the archaeologist does the archeologist engage in looting artifacts or objects of
interacts with may have monitors dispersed over the whole of cultural patrimony, as that looting and collection is part of
the world, but they still have to be considered as a community the predetermined game structure, or does the archaeologist
and treated as actors with agency and rights. Appropriate abstain? Abstention means potentially missing access to con-
measures for securing access, for obtaining informed con- tent that may be gated through participation, or lack of par-
sent, for guaranteeing confidentiality, and for promoting the ticipation, but participation means perpetuating an
responsible publication of data are all aspects of the entertainment narrative of looting as acceptable behavior
archaeogaming process that require attention in planning (Figure 2). While within the material world, the ramifica-
and execution. Unfortunately, accomplishing those tasks can tions of looting are well established and understood, the
be made more difficult because of the digital format. question of whether to loot in a single-player environment
where no one will be directly, immediately impacted but the
Figure 2. In Destiny, the collection of “engrams,” artifacts that are identified by a “Crypto-archaeologist,” are the main means of economic progression.
Through the sale of the looted objects, the player gains money and items to aid in game progression. It’s virtually impossible to opt-out of the system.
researching archaeologist is more complex. Does an individ- presence of the objectification of women in modern and his-
ual participating in an in-game looting scenario condone the torical narratives, and the expression of political ideologies
practice overall? Is it a tacit encouragement to loot outside of via the gamification of the political process. The field of
the in-game scenario? Is it, even, perhaps a violation of the “serious game studies” has addressed some of these issues,
ethical codes of professional archaeological societies? but as applies to players and game developers, not those who
research within the game itself (Sicart 2013). If an action
Another area of concern relates to interactions with repre- taken in a game would be unacceptable to undertake as an
sentations of native populations. Is it the ethical responsibil- action in a traditional field environment, is it ethically per-
ity of the researcher to note any occurrences of colonialism, missible to undertake that action when researching in a dig-
racism, or ethnocentrism in the narrative or game environ- ital space? Working within a single-player environment
ment? If such issues of design or narrative are present, do doesn’t limit the need for ethical guidelines, it refocuses
archaeologists ignore them in favor of obtaining data them on the acts of the researcher in relation to a static envi-
through play, or do they choose to refrain from engaging ronment, an environment in which they can interact but can-
with created worlds that promote the misrepresentation of not necessarily affect change. The researcher can’t change
indigenous peoples (Figure 3)? As with the question of the narrative or the world of study outside of interactions
engaging in looting behaviors, there are legal, social, and considered and allowed by the world’s creator, the game
professional ramifications for archaeologists who perpetuate developer. This limits what the researcher can do and makes
negative interactions with indigenous peoples in the mate- it her choice as to whether or not to participate overall.
rial world, but how should those relationships be negotiated
in digital space, where the indigenous group may not have
any recourse to protest their representation? Researching in a Multiplayer Environment
Working within a multiplayer environment provides a more
Single-player games can prompt, through play, questions traditional ethnographic fieldwork experience. Although
about appropriate and inappropriate uses of violence, the some of the issues related to interaction with the game world
References Cited
Moving Forward
Boellstorff, Tom, Bonnie Nardi, Celia Pearce, and T. L. Taylor
Establishing ethical standards and guidelines of practice isn’t 2012 Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method.
an endeavor that can be one and done. The Internet, consid- Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
ered not only a repository for disembodied data but also as a Chess, Shira, and Adrienne Shaw
collection of the actions and desires of individuals and 2015 A Conspiracy of Fishes, or, How We Learned to Stop Wor-
groups, changes with time. Ethical standards need to be rying About #GamerGate and Embrace Hegemonic Masculinity.
determined for immediate work in archaeogaming but also Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 59(1):208–220.
need to be constantly reevaluated as the culture of Internet Entertainment Software Association
behavior and interactions changes. As we look at research 2015 Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game
concerning the Internet conducted in 1995, or even 2005, it’s Industry. Electronic document, http://www.theesa.com/wp-
obvious how much the environment has been altered and content/uploads/2015/04/ESA-Essential-Facts-2015.pdf,
changed, especially with the advent of social media (Perry accessed October 13, 2016.
and Beale 2015). Trying to apply digital ethical standards Perry, Sara, and Nicole Beale
from the past to the present isn’t viable, and neither will 2015 The Social Web and Archaeology’s Restructuring: Impact,
applying the standards of 2015 be necessarily applicable in Exploitation, Disciplinary Change. Open Archaeology 1(1):153–
2025. This isn’t an area for complacency but one of constant 165.
review and vigilance. Sicart, Miguel
2013 Moral Dilemmas in Computer Games. Design Issues
29(3):28–37.
As the subfield progresses, and the canon of published
Reinhard, Andrew
research focused specifically on archaeology within video
2015 Archaeogaming: Tools and Methods. Electronic document,
games grows, the discipline would do well to look to other,
https://archaeogaming.com/2015/09/18/archaeogaming-tools-
parallel fields to compare standards of ethical practice and and-methods/, accessed October 12, 2016.
methods of obtaining data with respect for the populations Wijaya, St. Wisnu, Jason Watson, and Christine Bruce
involved. The distinction between archaeology and anthropol- 2013 Addressing Public and Private Issues in a Virtual Ethnog-
ogy is amorphous and often argued, but looking to how cul- raphy Study of an Open Online Community: a Reflective Paper.
tural anthropologists conduct research online, as well as to Electronic document, http://eprints.qut.edu.au/61858/1/
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They may not be looking for the same data, but they’re
increasingly looking in the same places, and where they are
now is where we need to go . . . ethically, and responsibly.
Juan F. Hiriart
Juan F. Hiriart is a lecturer in the Department of Computer and Videogames at the University of Salford in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.
Figure 1. Third-person level of interaction within the Anglo-Saxon village. The player can freely explore the simulated world, build, and interact with
objects of cultural significance.
Having an initial list with the components that would form game, even in a prototype state, would have been an almost
the basis of the player experience, the task that followed con- impossible task for a single developer. Fortunately, the
sisted of devising initial ideas—gameplay and game “democratization” of game development technology, a
mechanics—that could make it concrete in a digital artifact. process led by game engine providers such as Unity, Unreal,
At this stage, the temptation of following existent industry- and Crytek, has moved game development to a point in
led game genres was very strong but needed to be restrained. which even a single developer, without the extensive budget,
A review of literature quickly shows how researchers facing knowledge, or specialization from big 200-team studios can
a similar endeavor very often fall into the making of direct quickly construct games exhibiting many of the state-of-the-
connections between existent commercial games and learn- art technologies available in top commercial titles. For this
ing or epistemological approaches to history, without taking project, I chose to work with the popular Unity game engine,
the time to consider historical gameplay as a new design a platform with which I have been working since its early
space. Certainly, the analysis of games that already have been versions were released. In my opinion, this engine and edi-
built is always useful, but in order to understand the tor offer important advantages when trying to find creative
“wicked” problem of designing historical gameplay, a differ- solutions to complex design problems. Within the engine,
ent approach was needed. As a design process, the develop- every game entity can be malleably shaped by the addition of
ment of historical gameplay required experimenting with components, very much like adding blocks of new function-
new ideas, establishing a productive dialogue between theory ality as playing with Lego bricks. This component-based sys-
and praxis. tem greatly facilitates quickly implementing and evaluating
new design ideas, introducing changes, or removing func-
Admittedly, a project of this nature would have been impos- tionality without seriously compromising other systems
sible only a decade ago, where the building of a functional already working in the game.
Figure 2. Top-level simulation of the Anglo-Saxon world. The environment is modeled through a hex-grid system reflecting environmental changes and
agent interaction.
As the project progressed, a sequence of different prototypes tioned at the player’s head, remediating many of the cine-
was developed and evaluated. This process led not only to matic conventions from the subjective shot. Moving the
concrete “products” but also to the conception of provisional camera slightly backward, it becomes a third-person perspec-
theories about historical gameplay. In this article, I would tive, a point of perception that allows for a different type of
like to center my attention to one particular theory: the spa- embodiment and gameplay interaction. As the camera
tial perception of the game world and its relation to different moves far away from the character and higher in altitude, the
historical conceptualizations. perspective becomes omnipresent, allowing the player to de-
center his attention from the character to the game world.
The perception of space in video games is interfaced by the Interestingly, these shifts in distance, scope, and spatial per-
metaphor of the camera, which at a functional level dictates ception can be productively associated with two separate his-
how the player sees the world and what he/she can do. In torical epistemologies, also defined as a function of their
first-person shooters (FPS), for example, the camera is posi- distance to the object of study: micro- and macrohistory.
Microhistory, defined as “the intense historical investigation Although still not finished, the game prototype currently is
of a small area” (Szijártó 2002:209) studies a particular his- at a state in which most of the systems responsible for inter-
torical period with a high level of detail, many times center- acting at different scales can be played. Looking ahead to the
ing the attention into a single person, place, or event. It project’s plan, development will continue in iterative cycles
concentrates on the personal experiences of everyday life, of design, implementation, and evaluation. Through this
with the conviction that these small narratives provide a process, my goal is to validate the gameplay ideas that allow
good standpoint to look into the broader sociocultural struc- users to interact and create meaningful links between with
tures of past societies. Within the game, the player would micro and macro perspectives, through the interplay
assume the role of a particular Anglo-Saxon individual—a between narrative and simulation systems and different lev-
powerful ealdorman, ceorl, or even a slave—looking at the els of representation. Hopefully, the research project will
world through his eyes and experiencing his everyday life, yield design patterns and design principles that could be
problems, and limitations. As the camera moves further implemented in both historical and nonhistorical games,
away from the character, the game allows the player to con- expanding to related domains of application, such as virtual
nect with a macrohistorical perspective. At this level, the reconstructions, museums, exhibitions, and formal learning
emphasis is less on personal narratives and more on ideas of contexts.
space, size, and distance in historical interpretation, allowing
the player to explore the multiple relationships of interde-
pendency between agents, resources, and game geography. References Cited
The game offers multiple instances to make decisions, Brewer, John
which reflect in long-term effects on the environment, 2010 Microhistory and the Histories of Everyday Life. Cultural
resources, and larger social structures (Figure 1). and Social History 7(1):87–109.
Hartley, Leslie
Within the Anglo-Saxon game prototype, both instances of 2002 [1953] The Go-Between. New York Review of Books, New
play are implemented through nested simulations, an York.
approach that has been used in physical war games (Sabin King, Katie
2012) but to my knowledge not yet sufficiently explored in 2008 Networked Reenactments: A Thick Description amid
Authorships, Audiences and Agencies in the Nineties. Writing
digital historical games. Digital implementations of this pat-
Technologies 2(1):1–8.
tern consist of a series of relatively independent but inter-
Rosenzweig, Roy, and Thelen, David
connected simulations running historical processes at
1998 The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American
different scales. In more concrete terms, a first simulation
Life. Columbia University Press, New York.
runs an immersive, navigable third-person interface, which Sabin, Philip
allows the player to walk around and interact with non-player 2012 Simulating War: Studying Conflict Through Simulation
agents and other objects from the environment. The player Games. Continuum International Publishing, London.
experience focuses on surviving the harsh life conditions of Szijártó, István
early medieval England, something that can only be achieved 2002 Four Arguments for Microhistory. Rethinking History
by establishing a successful, self-sustainable village. To do 6(2):209–215.
this, the player needs to interact with a second level of simu-
lation, which drives the point of perception to the perspective
of the entire game world. This system is modeled in more
abstract terms through a hex grid, in which each hex repre-
sents a specific patch of land and contains detailed informa-
tion about the village’s physical environment. Although
separate, the interaction at both the immersive and village
levels is necessary to achieve the game goals and any change
in either the upper or lower simulation level have a substan-
tial effect on the other (Figure 2).
R
obert “Bob” Porter Powers was born in 1952 in Laguna worked with Bob in the field or in the office recall the high-
Beach, California, and passed away January 2, 2016, in functioning teams of people he created, his intellectual and
Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was his mother who suggested personal generosity as a manager, and his remarkable work
that he enter the field of archaeology. As a high school gradu- ethic.
ate, Bob was more interested in taking his partly functional
jeep on a trip to South America than a college education. His Both as a NPS employee and as a volunteer, Bob was a tireless
mother bargained with him: if he completed a year in archae- advocate for New Mexico archaeology. He worked with the
ology (she noted his affinity for dirt) at the University of Ari- Bureau of Land Management to protect archaeological sites in
zona, he could take his trip. The trip was the Galisteo Basin and served on the
started with two friends, but the vehicle Society for American Archaeology’s task
failed; Bob, however, eventually earned force, working to protect the sites and
an M.A. in archaeology. traditional cultural properties associated
with the Greater Chaco Landscape.
Bob’s first fieldwork was with the School
of American Research crew excavating Bob was a regular at the annual Pecos
Arroyo Hondo Pueblo. His career with Conference and helped organize the
the National Park Service (NPS) began at 1989 meeting at Bandelier. In 2013, not-
Chaco Canyon National Monument in ing the increasingly gray heads of fellow
1974, where he took part in the excava- attendees, Bob came up with the idea of
tion of Pueblo Alto, among other sites, offering a prize for the best paper pre-
and later led the Chaco outlier survey. He sented by a young archaeologist. Origi-
is remembered for his commitment to nally named in honor of Linda Cordell, a
the Chaco Project, which extended dear friend of Bob and his wife, Willow,
throughout his career as he authored, this year it has been renamed the
oversaw, or enabled numerous projects Cordell/Powers Prize. In the three years
by park service colleagues, students, and since its inception, Pecos attendees have
other professionals, including a final marveled at the dramatic effect Bob’s
synthesis of Chaco Project contributions. idea has had on the quality of papers pre-
sented and at the enthusiastic mob of
In the mid-1980s, he began work as proj- young people who now attend.
ect director on the Bandelier Archaeolog-
ical Survey, a five-year, 14,000-acre effort Bob is survived by his wife, Willow, an
reported in technical papers, bachelor’s anthropologist and archivist, whom he
and master’s theses, and dissertations, and concluded with met at Chaco Canyon and married in 1985. Their rambling
the award-winning popular book The Peopling of Bandelier: adobe house in Santa Fe is a testament to Bob’s enormous tal-
New Insights from the Archaeology of the Pajarito Plateau, in col- ent in every sort of craft; the wide circle of friends entertained
laboration with the School for Advanced Research and David there is a testament to their enjoyment of and curiosity about
Grant Noble. In the late 1990s, Bob returned to school for his the world around them.
M.A. at the University of New Mexico (2000) and pursued a
doctoral degree there until 2014. His planned dissertation Thanks to Willow Roberts Powers, Paul Reed, David Grant
examined agricultural strategies, population mobility, and vil- Noble, Jon Sandor, and Signa Larralde.
lage formation in Bandelier National Monument.
—Sarah Herr, Desert Archaeology Inc., and Catherine M.
As an archaeologist for the Intermountain Region of the NPS, Cameron, University of Colorado, Boulder
Bob also oversaw major inventory projects at Pecos, Natural
Bridges, Bryce Canyon, and El Malpais national monuments
and at Amistad National Recreation Area. The people who
DOUGLAS W. SCHWARTZ
1929–2016
D
ouglas W. Schwartz, 86, died on June 29, 2016, in had for archaeology, with almost 100 archaeological seminars
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Doug was president of SAA and dozens of scholars, but from these experiences have
from 1973 to 1974, received the SAA’s Distinguished come some of the field’s seminal contributions (Elliott 1987;
Service Award in 1991, and received the American Anthropo- Scarborough 2005).
logical Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 1992. He
was an archaeologist and a champion of anthropological Schwartz directed two major archaeological field programs at
scholarship, but he was also a magician. Doug began practic- SAR. The first was a systematic survey and excavation in the
ing magic as boy in Kentucky, specializing in sleights of hand, Grand Canyon between 1967 and 1970, a collaborative effort
and he never quite abandoned this early with the National Park Service that pro-
career, performing at various Santa Fe duced the foundation for current inter-
functions under the stage name “Dr. pretive models of Grand Canyon
Magic.” Dr. Magic seems right for Doug prehistory. Then, from 1971 to 1974, he
Schwartz, because as the president of the directed a major excavation at Arroyo
School of American Research (now Hondo Pueblo, southeast of Santa Fe.
School for Advanced Research [SAR]) Both projects were extensively docu-
from 1967 to 2001, he conjured up a mented in monographs, dissertations,
place that was very real and yet fostered and professional and popular articles. In
magical intellectual work. the months before Doug died, he organ-
ized and chaired a series of seminar dis-
Schwartz received his doctorate from cussions around the continuing
Yale in 1955 and was a faculty member at archaeological legacy of the Arroyo
the University of Kentucky when he was Hondo research.
selected to direct SAR, a keystone
research center for southwestern anthro- Doug’s guidance at SAR created an
pology in the first half of the twentieth organization to enhance anthropological
century that that been reduced to a one- understanding of the human story. A
room office without a clear purpose in conjurer’s gift is making the difficult
the 1960s. From that nadir, Doug built a seem easy; Schwartz’s remarkable suc-
unique and widely admired (and imi- cess at SAR belied an extraordinary
tated) campus through astute fund-rais- amount of hard work, a rare talent for
ing, prescient planning, and a raising private funds, and the skill to
philosophical commitment to the idea manage a complex scholarly enterprise.
that scholarship flourishes in an envi- It may be one of archaeology’s best ever
ronment that combines opportunities for contemplation with magic acts.
the power of collective interaction. SAR matured through the
latter half of the twentieth century from the initial gift of a pri-
vate residence, adding residential housing for scholars, an in- References Cited
house press, and a world-class curatorial center for Native Elliott, Malinda
American arts. Now a coveted and prestigious destination for 1987 The School of American Research: A History: The First Eighty
scholars, it is difficult to imagine that SAR was almost an his- Years. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
torical footnote. Scarborough, Vernon L. (editor)
2005 A Catalyst for Ideas: Anthropological Archaeology and the Legacy
Two of Doug’s first initiatives provided the backbone for this of Douglas W. Schwartz. School of American Research Press,
transformation. The Advanced Seminar Program brought Santa Fe, New Mexico.
groups of scholars to the SAR campus for a week of intensive
interaction and uninterrupted collaborative work in the Sem-
inar House, while the Residential Scholar Program provided —W. H. Wills, Department of Anthropology,
fellowships for pre-doctoral and senior scholars. It is difficult University of New Mexico
to adequately calculate the impact these two programs have
INNOVA
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ATIVE
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NOVEMBER 15 JANUARY 25
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APRIL 18
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tration Opens
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