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True temporal database design is desirable as our data becomes ever more massive and complex, but... more True temporal database design is desirable as our data becomes ever more massive and complex, but remains elusive to implement. Comparison of data as it changes over time is desirable in archaeology, but also in fields such as astronomy and especially in medical records where patients current medical status is held on a database, but their medical history records remain trapped in physical form, as current databases have a very limited capability to record historical data and access it in a meaningful way. Historical information can only be held in time "slices" causing ontological separation of data within these slices, and the potentially infinite multiplication of times (slices) as greater granularity is required with a higher resolution in the record.

These problems in archaeological recording may shed some light on why temporal data has so far resisted attempts at effective representation.

I propose that current database design ontologies that use time as a discrete entity are responsible for the divergence between temporal database models and the real world domains that are being modelled.

In common with other perceptual categories, we tend to think of time as an entity, rather than as... more In common with other perceptual categories, we tend to think of time as an entity, rather than as a property of matter in motion. This leads us to think of epochs as entities in themselves.

In archaeological data representation epochs multiply as we are forced to create an infinity of separate epochs, an infinite number of pasts occurring in the same space. These cannot be efficiently represented.

Issues with the represention of time in archaeological data models block implementation of a universal data model in archaeology. Without this model, data integration remains an aspiration only. Increasing fragmentation of data remains a major problem in archaeology.

An identical problem occurs in relation to objects through dualistic definition of the environment.

"The theoretical study of time is almost completely absent in archaeology, but lies at the core o... more "The theoretical study of time is almost completely absent in archaeology, but lies at the core of the disciplines conceptual framework . An underdeveloped philosophy has allowed such core terminology to remain undefined and uninvestigated. This lack of definition has led to multiple category errors, such as periodization, becoming part of the disciplines ontology by default.

The explicit study of the ontology of time in archaeological philosophy is recommended to advance the subject, and would be particularly useful in the areas of digital data integration and recording."

An example in which a traditional category used in archaeological fieldwork, the post-hole, is su... more An example in which a traditional category used in archaeological fieldwork, the post-hole, is subject to philosophical enquiry and is found not to exist in the form implied by current terminology.

When encountered in the field, a posthole is neither a post nor a hole, but is in fact a measurable object from which the other two objects are inferred to have existed.

This encapsulation of two ontologically different object types in one entity precludes logical representation in digital databases. It is predicted that this problem will exist throughout traditional archaeological recording terminology, rendering it impossible to create properly functioning databases in archaeology.

It is proposed this indicates the need for a new recording terminology based on an ontology in which entities created through measurement are separated from those created through inference.

Philosophy of Archaeology by Dylan G Foley

Archaeology Ireland

Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due... more Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due to an inadequate and fragmented philosophical infrastructure. Progress will require a broad program of research under the Philosophy of Archaeology to investigate and control ontology and category issues in archaeological data models. Success in such research will enable archaeology to generate data compatible with physical and evolutionary theory.

"In archaeology, biotic phenomena (e.g. human behaviour) must be inferred from a-biotic traces, r... more "In archaeology, biotic phenomena (e.g. human behaviour) must be inferred from a-biotic traces, requiring the process model to be conceptually unified. This unification has been prevented by dualistic ontologies that conceive humans and their purported unique traits as epi-phenomena, ontologically separated from their environment. The resulting encapsulation of phenomena within separate theoretical fields is proposed to be the source of our inability to apply evolutionary theory in archaeology.
The symptoms manifest as ontological deletion, isolation or “freezing“ of the organism within explanatory models, consequently, processes that span the divide for example those that include both biotic and a-biotic components such as technology or culture, have been impossible to integrate with evolutionary theory. "

"Use of ad hoc terminology causes profound distortions in archaeological recording and interpreta... more "Use of ad hoc terminology causes profound distortions in archaeological recording and interpretation.

This article outlines the problem, and suggests the philosophical steps required for a solution, including the separation of inference from measurement data in archaeological field recording."

Philosophy of Technology by Dylan G Foley

** Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Motion The archaeological record can be thought of as ... more ** Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Motion

The archaeological record can be thought of as a record of motion. It consists of trace fossils and artefacts created by motion, study of which allows reconstruction of an organisms neurological and somatic motion patterns through inference.

Current archaeological models are theoretically uncontrolled. To correct this it is suggested that physics may be applied to a modified definition of the organism that firstly includes the technological layer as part of the body, and secondly, describes the changes in relative scale and speed of the organism in relation to its environment as its technological layer changes or as its motion patterns change. These changes are registered as changes in environment and therefore drive natural selection. This should allow for hypotheses of evolution of technological behaviour to be created and tested.

**Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Series 1: Motion It is proposed that the human abili... more **Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Series 1: Motion

It is proposed that the human ability to understand the physics of objects in motion developed throughout hominid evolution in Pleistocene Africa in response to a dependence on a technologically mediated environment .

Therefore object control played a large part in the evolution of the human phenotype in response to selection pressure for ever finer object control.

This paper will explore the theoretical importance of this to archaeological science.

""

Theoretical definition of technology is required for the advancement of archaeological theory. Th... more Theoretical definition of technology is required for the advancement of archaeological theory. This essay proposes that technology can be most usefully characterised as a biological process, emerging through an organisms motion in contact with exo-somatic material.

Through this motion organisms may alter their environment, which alteration they must then adapt to, creating a feedback loop in which natural selection drives increasing complexity both in this motion, and in the concomitant organisation of the organisms boundary environment.

This model predicts that an organism that relies for survival on its ability to alter the immediate environment in its favour will be under heavy selective pressure for increasingly complex tool use and the cognitive abilities to effect such environment re-modelling.

It further predicts that the material archaeological record should exhibit the characteristics of biological systems organised by natural selection.

Philosophy of motion by Dylan G Foley

The increasingly diverse forms of data in archaeology require a unifying foundation to govern the... more The increasingly diverse forms of data in archaeology require a unifying foundation to govern the creation of ontologies for recording data across different spatio-temporal scales. The basic foundation is classical physics.

The evolution of form at the biological system boundary.

Papers by Dylan G Foley

Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due... more Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due to an inadequate and fragmented philosophical infrastructure. Progress will require a broad program of research under the Philosophy of Archaeology to investigate and control ontology and category issues in archaeological data models. Success in such research will enable archaeology to generate data compatible with physical and evolutionary theory.

True temporal database design is desirable as our data becomes ever more massive and complex, but... more True temporal database design is desirable as our data becomes ever more massive and complex, but remains elusive to implement. Comparison of data as it changes over time is desirable in archaeology, but also in fields such as astronomy and especially in medical records where patients current medical status is held on a database, but their medical history records remain trapped in physical form, as current databases have a very limited capability to record historical data and access it in a meaningful way. Historical information can only be held in time "slices" causing ontological separation of data within these slices, and the potentially infinite multiplication of times (slices) as greater granularity is required with a higher resolution in the record.

These problems in archaeological recording may shed some light on why temporal data has so far resisted attempts at effective representation.

I propose that current database design ontologies that use time as a discrete entity are responsible for the divergence between temporal database models and the real world domains that are being modelled.

In common with other perceptual categories, we tend to think of time as an entity, rather than as... more In common with other perceptual categories, we tend to think of time as an entity, rather than as a property of matter in motion. This leads us to think of epochs as entities in themselves.

In archaeological data representation epochs multiply as we are forced to create an infinity of separate epochs, an infinite number of pasts occurring in the same space. These cannot be efficiently represented.

Issues with the represention of time in archaeological data models block implementation of a universal data model in archaeology. Without this model, data integration remains an aspiration only. Increasing fragmentation of data remains a major problem in archaeology.

An identical problem occurs in relation to objects through dualistic definition of the environment.

"The theoretical study of time is almost completely absent in archaeology, but lies at the core o... more "The theoretical study of time is almost completely absent in archaeology, but lies at the core of the disciplines conceptual framework . An underdeveloped philosophy has allowed such core terminology to remain undefined and uninvestigated. This lack of definition has led to multiple category errors, such as periodization, becoming part of the disciplines ontology by default.

The explicit study of the ontology of time in archaeological philosophy is recommended to advance the subject, and would be particularly useful in the areas of digital data integration and recording."

An example in which a traditional category used in archaeological fieldwork, the post-hole, is su... more An example in which a traditional category used in archaeological fieldwork, the post-hole, is subject to philosophical enquiry and is found not to exist in the form implied by current terminology.

When encountered in the field, a posthole is neither a post nor a hole, but is in fact a measurable object from which the other two objects are inferred to have existed.

This encapsulation of two ontologically different object types in one entity precludes logical representation in digital databases. It is predicted that this problem will exist throughout traditional archaeological recording terminology, rendering it impossible to create properly functioning databases in archaeology.

It is proposed this indicates the need for a new recording terminology based on an ontology in which entities created through measurement are separated from those created through inference.

Archaeology Ireland

Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due... more Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due to an inadequate and fragmented philosophical infrastructure. Progress will require a broad program of research under the Philosophy of Archaeology to investigate and control ontology and category issues in archaeological data models. Success in such research will enable archaeology to generate data compatible with physical and evolutionary theory.

"In archaeology, biotic phenomena (e.g. human behaviour) must be inferred from a-biotic traces, r... more "In archaeology, biotic phenomena (e.g. human behaviour) must be inferred from a-biotic traces, requiring the process model to be conceptually unified. This unification has been prevented by dualistic ontologies that conceive humans and their purported unique traits as epi-phenomena, ontologically separated from their environment. The resulting encapsulation of phenomena within separate theoretical fields is proposed to be the source of our inability to apply evolutionary theory in archaeology.
The symptoms manifest as ontological deletion, isolation or “freezing“ of the organism within explanatory models, consequently, processes that span the divide for example those that include both biotic and a-biotic components such as technology or culture, have been impossible to integrate with evolutionary theory. "

"Use of ad hoc terminology causes profound distortions in archaeological recording and interpreta... more "Use of ad hoc terminology causes profound distortions in archaeological recording and interpretation.

This article outlines the problem, and suggests the philosophical steps required for a solution, including the separation of inference from measurement data in archaeological field recording."

** Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Motion The archaeological record can be thought of as ... more ** Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Motion

The archaeological record can be thought of as a record of motion. It consists of trace fossils and artefacts created by motion, study of which allows reconstruction of an organisms neurological and somatic motion patterns through inference.

Current archaeological models are theoretically uncontrolled. To correct this it is suggested that physics may be applied to a modified definition of the organism that firstly includes the technological layer as part of the body, and secondly, describes the changes in relative scale and speed of the organism in relation to its environment as its technological layer changes or as its motion patterns change. These changes are registered as changes in environment and therefore drive natural selection. This should allow for hypotheses of evolution of technological behaviour to be created and tested.

**Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Series 1: Motion It is proposed that the human abili... more **Concepts in Archaeological Philosophy: Series 1: Motion

It is proposed that the human ability to understand the physics of objects in motion developed throughout hominid evolution in Pleistocene Africa in response to a dependence on a technologically mediated environment .

Therefore object control played a large part in the evolution of the human phenotype in response to selection pressure for ever finer object control.

This paper will explore the theoretical importance of this to archaeological science.

""

Theoretical definition of technology is required for the advancement of archaeological theory. Th... more Theoretical definition of technology is required for the advancement of archaeological theory. This essay proposes that technology can be most usefully characterised as a biological process, emerging through an organisms motion in contact with exo-somatic material.

Through this motion organisms may alter their environment, which alteration they must then adapt to, creating a feedback loop in which natural selection drives increasing complexity both in this motion, and in the concomitant organisation of the organisms boundary environment.

This model predicts that an organism that relies for survival on its ability to alter the immediate environment in its favour will be under heavy selective pressure for increasingly complex tool use and the cognitive abilities to effect such environment re-modelling.

It further predicts that the material archaeological record should exhibit the characteristics of biological systems organised by natural selection.

The increasingly diverse forms of data in archaeology require a unifying foundation to govern the... more The increasingly diverse forms of data in archaeology require a unifying foundation to govern the creation of ontologies for recording data across different spatio-temporal scales. The basic foundation is classical physics.

The evolution of form at the biological system boundary.

Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due... more Digital data integration, manipulation and knowledge creation in archaeology continue to fail due to an inadequate and fragmented philosophical infrastructure. Progress will require a broad program of research under the Philosophy of Archaeology to investigate and control ontology and category issues in archaeological data models. Success in such research will enable archaeology to generate data compatible with physical and evolutionary theory.