Colleen Morgan | University of York (original) (raw)

Papers by Colleen Morgan

Community Heritage in the Arab Region : Values and Practices, 2022

The Origins of Doha and Qatar project (ODQ) investigates urban archaeology and heritage in Qatar,... more The Origins of Doha and Qatar project (ODQ) investigates urban archaeology and heritage in Qatar, exploring a rapidly changing landscape inhabited by a diverse population. Beginning in 2012, the project has combined archaeological excavation with historical and ethnographic research to scrutinize the foundation and historic growth of Doha, its transformation to a modern city, and the lives and experiences of its people. From its inception, the project has incorporated multiple outreach strategies to share research generated from the project and to involve community members in the ongoing interpretation of heritage. The ODQ’s outreach involves a mixture of online and in-person engagement, changing over time in response to feedback from community members and technological innovations. This flexible approach to outreach has proved exceptionally popular, but there is still much to be done in terms of accessibility and consultation with a more diverse population of stakeholders. In this chapter, the authors discuss the ODQ in the context of archaeological research and heritage in Qatar, review this outreach strategy, address critiques of the project to date, and outline plans for future seasons, as informed by a broader understanding of the multiple perspectives gained during this research.

Annual Review of Anthropology, 2022

Digital archaeology is both a pervasive practice and a unique subdiscipline within archaeology. T... more Digital archaeology is both a pervasive practice and a unique subdiscipline within archaeology. The diverse digital methods and tools employed by archaeologists have led to a proliferation of innovative practice that has fundamentally reconfigured the discipline. Rather than reviewing specific technologies, this review situates digital archaeology within broader theoretical debates regarding Craft and Embodiment, Materiality, The Uncanny, and Ethics, Politics, and Accessibility. A future digital archaeology must move beyond skeuomorphic submission and replication of previous structural inequalities to foment new archaeological imaginaries.

A joint team of archaeologists from the University of California, Berkeley and Sonoma State Unive... more A joint team of archaeologists from the University of California, Berkeley and Sonoma State University are examining a collection of artifacts and skeletal material excavated by Peter B. Cornwall in Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia in the 1940s and accessioned in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum. Motivated by modern innovations in the examination of skeletal materials and a greater awareness of broader Near Eastern history, we are considering this collection from a contemporary bioarchaeological perspective and in terms of the personal history of Peter B. Cornwall. In this article we discuss our progress, summarizing our analytical work on the objects and human remains, as well as our plans to document our research and the collections using a number of on-line platforms.

www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1r16f1xm THEN DIG Peer-reviewed archaeology blogging The Scene of Di... more www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1r16f1xm THEN DIG Peer-reviewed archaeology blogging The Scene of Disciplined Seeing Shanti Morell-Hart from McMaster University writes the third entry in the series dedicated to The Senses and Aesthetics of Archaeological Science. Responses follow from co-editors of the issue, Andrew Roddick and Colleen Morgan. The Scene of Disciplined Seeing Shanti Morell-Hart “What is the most AMAZING thing you’ve ever found?” This is the question dogging archaeologists, right now, this very second, while we sit on planes, wait in doctors’ offices, and visit school classrooms. There are two common types of answers: the sensational kind, and the kind with intellectual merit. If you’re lucky, these overlap in a perfect Venn region, maybe something like an ancient golden statue depicting rare sexual acts in Pharaonic Egypt (that also happens to transform the way we understand ancient Egyptian sexuality and expands the known range of gender performatives). I used to go fo...

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2021

The Aide Mémoire Project conducted a survey and a series of observational studies in field record... more The Aide Mémoire Project conducted a survey and a series of observational studies in field recording and artifact illustration to understand 1) the perception of digital and by-hand drawing in archaeology, 2) how drawing contributes to the creation of mental models that allow archaeologists to understand archaeological remains and artifacts, and 3) what impact digital drawing has on the creation of these mental models. Our toolkit includes the NASA Task Load Index to assess and compare the mental load while drawing digitally or by-hand. We conclude that there are significant pedagogical, academic, and professional implications to consider when removing or replacing by-hand drawing with digital recording in archaeological methodology.

Antiquity, 2021

Aycock's (2021) interdisciplinary intervention into digital archaeology is very welcome. ... more Aycock's (2021) interdisciplinary intervention into digital archaeology is very welcome. My own investigations of digital 'things' affirm their importance, and my collaborations with computer scientists have provided considerable insights into the affordances of digital media and their impact on knowledge creation in archaeology. Aycock's identification of the

European Journal of Archaeology, 2019

As digital practice in archaeology becomes pervasive and increasingly invisible, I argue that the... more As digital practice in archaeology becomes pervasive and increasingly invisible, I argue that there is a deep creative potential in practising a cyborg archaeology. A cyborg archaeology draws from feminist posthumanism to transgress bounded constructions of past people as well as our current selves. By using embodied technologies to disturb archaeological interpretations, we can push the use of digital media in archaeology beyond traditional, skeuomorphic reproductions of previous methods to highlight ruptures in thought and practice. I develop this argument through investigating the avatars, machines, and monsters in current digital archaeological research. These concepts are productively liminal: avatars, machines, and monsters blur boundaries between humans and non-humans, the past and the present, and suggest productive approaches to future research.

AP: Online Journal in Public Archaeology, 2017

Recent developments in archaeological thought and practice involve a seemingly disparate selectio... more Recent developments in archaeological thought and practice involve a seemingly disparate selection of ideas that can be collected and organized as contributing to an anti-authoritarian, “punk” archaeology. This includes the contemporary archaeology of punk rock, the DIY and punk ethos of archaeological labor practices and community involvement, and a growing interest in anarchist theory as a productive way to understand communities in the past. In this article, I provide a greater context to contemporary punk, DIY, and anarchist thought in academia, unpack these elements in regard to punk archaeology, and propose a practice of punk archaeology as a provocative and productive counter to fast capitalism and structural violence.

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2019

The organization of archaeological fieldwork often resembles a military-style campaign structured... more The organization of archaeological fieldwork often resembles a military-style campaign structured around rigid, top-down hierarchies. This is reflected in many aspects of current practice, including the ultimate authority of the site director, the use of excavation methodologies that remove the act of interpretation from field archaeologists, and the general deskilling and reification of archaeological labor in fieldwork. Though there have been several examples of resistance to this hierarchical model we maintain that a sustained critique could stem from an unexpected source: the creation of communities that model anarchist principles through the implementation of the single context methodology in archaeology. In this article we explore the potential for anarchist praxis in archaeological fieldwork and the implications of anarchist thought on the issues of authority and non-alienation of labor in a neoliberal landscape.

Epoiesen: A Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology, 2017

worked with us on the original essay, "Remediation" which appeared in Conjguratiom 3 (Fall 1996):... more worked with us on the original essay, "Remediation" which appeared in Conjguratiom 3 (Fall 1996): 311-358. We thank them and the journal for allowing us to refashion (if not remediate) material in chapters 1 through 3 of this book. We thank Lance Strate, Ron Jacobson, and Stephanie Gibson, and the Hampton Press for allowing us to reuse in chapters 15 and 16 of this book material from JDB's '"Virtual Reality and the Redefinition of Self" originally published in 1996 in Communication and Cybwspace: Social Interaction in an Electronic Environmeni.

Internet Archaeology, 2017

Animated GIFs are uncommonly well-suited for representing archaeology. A shudder-start, temporall... more Animated GIFs are uncommonly well-suited for representing archaeology. A shudder-start, temporally ambiguous fragment of sequential media, the animated GIF (just GIFs, hereafter) occupies the margins of formal discourse, visually annotating everyday life on the internet. The creation of a GIF-compiling frames of action into a sequence-draws an easy parallel with the mode of atomizing that characterises excavation, treating archaeological deposits as discrete entities and their subsequent reassembly into a stratigraphic sequence (Morgan 2012; Morgan and Wright, In Press). Complex cultural expression is distilled into a brief gesture, the digital equivalent of an archaeological trace. Yet GIFs are fleetingly rare in archaeological representations, with only a handful of examples since the introduction of the media format in 1989. In this GIF essay (modeled on a photo essay), we briefly review the history of the animated GIF with particular attention to archaeological GIFs, discuss their utility in representing archaeological remains and narratives, and argue for a more creative integration of visual media into archaeological practice.

Internet Archaeology, 2016

As archaeologists integrate digital media into all stages of archaeological methodology it is nec... more As archaeologists integrate digital media into all stages of archaeological methodology it is necessary to understand the implications of using this media to interpret the past. Using digital media is not a neutral or transparent act; to critically engage with digital media it is necessary to create an interdisciplinary space, drawing from the growing body of new media and visual studies, materiality, and anthropological and archaeological theory. This dissertation describes this interdisciplinary space in detail and investigates the following questions: what does it mean to employ digital media in the context of archaeology, how do digital technologies shape inquiry within archaeology, can new media theory change interpretation in archaeology, and can digital media serve as a mechanism for an emancipatory archaeology? To attend to these questions I address digital media created by archaeologists as digital archaeological artifacts, understood as active members of a network of interpretation in archaeology. To give structure to this understanding I assemble three object biographies that identify the digital archaeological artifact's context, the authorship of the artifact, the inclusion of multiple perspectives involved in its creation, and evaluate the openness or ability to share the artifact. The three object biographies that constitute the body of this work are a digital photograph taken of a teapot at Tall Dhiban in Jordan, a digital video of an unexpected excavator participating at Catalhoyuk in Turkey, and a 3D reconstruction of a Neolithic building excavated at Catalhoyuk within the virtual world of Second Life. In these object biographies I weave together narrative, imagery and rigorous, theoretically informed analyses to provide a reflexive investigation of digital archaeological artifacts. Drawing from this research, I advocate a critical making movement in archaeology that will enable archaeologists to use digital media in an activist, emancipatory role to highlight inequity, bring the voices of stakeholders into relief, de-center interpretations, and to make things and share them.

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2015

the Powhatans, who from 1607 encountered the english along the James River. in all cases, their m... more the Powhatans, who from 1607 encountered the english along the James River. in all cases, their material worlds both shaped and reflected the increasing cultural diversity of their daily lives. Perhaps the differences between these volumes result from issues of scale as much as specific regional traditions within our shared discipline. while situating La Placita within the broader context of the political and ethnic intricacies of the American South-west, Clark’s primary focus detailed the archaeology of a single site. It demonstrated how the architecture, layout, artefact assemblages, family memories and local newspapers revealed transformations and continuities of domesticity for the men, women and children who occupied these marginal lands. Her study attempted to convey a sense of ‘place’ as an almost metaphysical aspect of this landscape — an essence that transformed an arid patch of high plains into a ‘home’ remembered across the generations. The necessarily global comparative scope of Horning’s study required far broader brushstrokes. In tracking the flows of investment capital, elite landownership, labour relations, town planning and commodity exchange within and between Ulster and the Chesapeake, her volume firmly locates these two regions within the British Atlantic world of the early modern period. Together, these important volumes help us acknowledge the complexities by which disparate folks encountered each other — died, survived and often thrived — throughout the early colonial period. And through those transformative and highly material experiences how they generated a diverse set of hybrid places of continuing relevance and legacy.

Nature Communications, 2016

The purported migrations that have formed the peoples of Britain have been the focus of generatio... more The purported migrations that have formed the peoples of Britain have been the focus of generations of scholarly controversy. However, this has not benefited from direct analyses of ancient genomes. Here we report nine ancient genomes (B1 Â) of individuals from northern Britain: seven from a Roman era York cemetery, bookended by earlier Iron-Age and later Anglo-Saxon burials. Six of the Roman genomes show affinity with modern British Celtic populations, particularly Welsh, but significantly diverge from populations from Yorkshire and other eastern English samples. They also show similarity with the earlier Iron-Age genome, suggesting population continuity, but differ from the later Anglo-Saxon genome. This pattern concords with profound impact of migrations in the Anglo-Saxon period. Strikingly, one Roman skeleton shows a clear signal of exogenous origin, with affinities pointing towards the Middle East, confirming the cosmopolitan character of the Empire, even at its northernmost fringes.

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2015

Dig houses are where archaeologists dwell during excavations. These accommodations vary as broadl... more Dig houses are where archaeologists dwell during excavations. These accommodations vary as broadly as their accompanying archaeological sites and are integral to the experience of archaeological investigation. Even as interest in embodied approaches to archaeology become popular, dig houses remain invisible in academic literature. In this article we examine the impact of the lived environment on archaeological research. To provide context to this study, we briefly discuss the history of dig houses in archaeological practice, then describe modern accommodations used during excavations. Building on this background, we then review phenomenological and architectural approaches to understanding the impact of the built environment on academic research. This understanding will then be used for a specific case study—the life-history of a small building called the “Chicken Shed” at Çatalhöyük. Finally, we discuss the conclusions of our research: how dig houses impact the construction of the ...

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2015

Weaving together the theoretical and methodological assets of the fields of archaeology and media... more Weaving together the theoretical and methodological assets of the fields of archaeology and media archaeology, this paper presents the first phase of the Media Archaeology Drive Project (MAD-P) wherein we aim to articulate a formal procedure for the excavation of media objects. Using an abandoned hard drive as our case study, we introduce our approach, discuss its varied intellectual implications, and suggest a series of next steps for developing the method and extending its deployment outwards to contemporary archaeologists as well as media archaeologists themselves.

Internet Archaeology, 2015

Community Heritage in the Arab Region : Values and Practices, 2022

Annual Review of Anthropology, 2022

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2021

Antiquity, 2021

European Journal of Archaeology, 2019

AP: Online Journal in Public Archaeology, 2017

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2019

Epoiesen: A Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology, 2017

Internet Archaeology, 2017

Internet Archaeology, 2016

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2015

Nature Communications, 2016

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2015

Internet Archaeology, 2015

Poster regarding the Origins of Doha archaeological project created for the Qatar Foundation Annu... more Poster regarding the Origins of Doha archaeological project created for the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference.

Çatalhöyük, a spectacular archaeological site in central Turkey, has been the subject of visual i... more Çatalhöyük, a spectacular archaeological site in central Turkey, has been the subject of visual interpretation for half a century. From Ian Todd's photography performed during James Mellaart's 1960s excavations to Ian Hodder's work since 1993, a vast visual record has accumulated of over 100,000 images. The collection records not only site excavation and finds but also embedded changes recorded in the archive's collective "metadata" in both technical and theoretical approaches to site photography over time.

In this poster we explore the changes in technology, methodology and theory at the site as seen in the changing modes of visualization at Çatalhöyük. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses of the visual record, we provide insights regarding the contrasting archaeological processes at the site. Finally, we look to the future of visual interpretation at Çatalhöyük.

Review of: Archaeology, the Public and the Recent Past. The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeolo... more Review of:

Archaeology, the Public and the Recent Past. The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology Monograph Series. Edited by Chris Dalglish. 189 pages, illustrated. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2013.

Archaeology and Preservation of Gendered Landscapes. Edited by Sherene Baugher and Suzanne M. Spencer-Wood.

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2014

Review of Archæographies by Fotis Ifantidis.

Visual Studies, 2011

Review of Julia Hell and Andreas Schönle's Ruins of Modernity for Visual Studies

In the theatre of howling outrage that is post-Trump-Brexit-Erdogan-etc social media can we hope ... more In the theatre of howling outrage that is post-Trump-Brexit-Erdogan-etc social media can we hope to create and communicate meaningful interventions in archaeology?

Archaeologists have been innovators, critical interrogators, and remakers of media for 500 years.... more Archaeologists have been innovators, critical interrogators, and remakers of media for 500 years. This legacy is used for wider social theorising and for pioneering applications of new media. We trace the entanglement between media and archaeologies and ask, can there be a productive synergy between archaeological analyses and media archaeologies?

As archaeologists we know that people have long shown interest in inscribing the landscape in hig... more As archaeologists we know that people have long shown interest in inscribing the landscape in highly visible ways. What happens when the inscription is explicitly invisible? Geohacking, by definition, is the public reclamation of place by alternate inscription, made possible with the increased availability of GPS-enabled devices. This creates a highly personalized, invisible geographical overlay to which archaeologists can add temporal depth. In my paper I discuss the new developments in geospatial technology that allow archaeologists to co-create the modern and historical landscape with an active, engaged public.

Çatalhöyük is a large site consisting of two tells in the Konya Plain of Central Anatolia, T... more Çatalhöyük is a large site consisting of two tells in the Konya Plain of Central Anatolia, Turkey where archaeological excavations have been ongoing since the 1960s. The earlier of the two mounds, the East Mound, was initially occupied from 7250-6150 B.C.E., and the accumulated settlement debris formed a mound that rises 14 meters above the present level of the plain (Mellaart 1975). While the mound has Byzantinian and Roman remains in the upper levels, the main focus is on the Neolithic settlement. Dr. Ian Hodder, a prominent archaeological theorist, has been overseeing the last decade in the project. For these past ten years, Çatalhöyük has been at the forefront of theory and methodology in archaeology, supporting full disclosure of site reports, photographs, and other related material, available on the web at http://www.catalhoyuk.com. Most recently, video walks, performed by archaeologist Dr. Ruth Tringham explore a sensory experience of the landscape at Çatalhöyük, and the accompanying audio track details her memories associated with working at the site for several years, much in the same vein as the work of multimedia artist Janet Cardiff (2001).
My research at Çatalhöyük expands on the groundwork laid by Tringham’s video walks and other work in new media and Hodder’s reflexive methodology. Archaeologists have been exploring the phenomenological experience of space at sites as an interpretive tool for over a decade (Thomas 2001:; Tilley 1994), but only recently have we been able to create digital

models appropriate to explore interpretive space virtually. These site models are rarely shared outside of the profession, much less with the public. A stronger dedication to public education and the desire for an expanded, multivocal construction of the past has been emphasized by third-wave feminist scholarship within archaeology. My own work speaks to this agenda.

Twenty years ago, Meg Conkey and Janet Spector published their seminal paper “Archaeology and the... more Twenty years ago, Meg Conkey and Janet Spector published their seminal paper “Archaeology and the Study of Gender (1984)” which highlighted the hereto invisibility of women in the archaeological record. Feminist inquiry in archaeology has since grown into a strong, yet still marginalized sub-discipline within the field. Conkey, Spector, and their colleagues and students have expanded the parameters of the discipline, moving in directions unique in archaeology and feminism. An increasing engagement with pedagogy, technology, and the public characterizes much of this work. As a third-wave feminist working within this strong, supportive, diverse community of feminist archaeologists, I have begun my own work with new media and progressive technology as an explicitly political program of public outreach. In this paper I will provide a brief overview of the first, second, and third waves of feminism in archaeology, speak about my own experience in moving from a theoretical periphery to a feminist center, and problematize the current status of feminist practice in terms of colonialism, gender, and self-marginalization within our field.

Queen Himiko (also, Pimiko) is the earliest known ruler of Japan. Historians regard her as a figu... more Queen Himiko (also, Pimiko) is the earliest known ruler of Japan. Historians regard her as a figurehead, a charlatan, a shaman, and a recluse, but rarely as a stateswoman. Would a male founding figure be so controversial? As an undergraduate in anthropology and a member of a new majority of female students, I discuss the importance of a clear understanding of non-essentialized gender interpretation at the introductory level.

The third entry in the series dedicated to The Senses and Aesthetics of Archaeological Science. R... more The third entry in the series dedicated to The Senses and Aesthetics of Archaeological Science. Responses follow from co-editors of the issue, Andrew Roddick and Colleen Morgan.

A heritage report on the Radwani House, Doha, Qatar

Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 2011

Original Citation: Fatkin, Danielle Steen, Katherine Adelsberger, Alan Farahani, Alysia Fischer, ... more Original Citation: Fatkin, Danielle Steen, Katherine Adelsberger, Alan Farahani, Alysia Fischer, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, Justin Lev-Tov, Colleen Morgan, Benjamin W. Porter, Bruce E. Routledge, and Andrew T. Wilson. 2011.“Digging deeper: Technical reports from the Dhiban Excavation and Development Project (2004-2009).” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55: 249-266. Keywords: Dhiban, Jordan, archaeology, glass, zooarchaeology, Geographic Information Systems, paleoethnobotany, Middle East, Near ...

The site of Çatalhöyük has been excavated by a multinational team, under the direction of Profes... more The site of Çatalhöyük has been excavated by a multinational team, under the direction of
Professor Ian Hodder, since 1993. During this time the site has undergone extensive
development; between 1996 and 2003 a large dig house was constructed that incorporates
accommodation for the research team, laboratories and office space as well as a visitor
centre. A reconstructed, Neolithic-era Çatalhöyük house, known as the experimental house,
was built in front of the visitor centre in 1999 (Stevanovic 2003). Two large shelters, built in
2002 and 2007 have been built over the ongoing excavation areas to protect the
archaeological remains, and allow them to be put on display year round. In 2009 and 2010,
two storage depots were built to house the project’s ever growing archive of artefacts and
samples. An older guard’s house was demolished after the 2009 field season, and new
accommodation built for the guards, who also lead the guided tours of the site. Finally, a
series of other infrastructure and landscaping changes include the improvement of the
sanitation on the site with the introduction of grey water recycling capability and the planting
and irrigation of a large vegetable garden and orchard behind the dig house.

Advances in archaeological simulation, including virtual reality and augmented reality have led t... more Advances in archaeological simulation, including virtual reality and augmented reality have led to extensive reconstructions of past landscapes and architecture. Simultaneous bioarchaeological advances in ancient DNA, isotopic and proteomic analyses lend an incredible fidelity to reconstructions (approximations) of past individuals and their lifeways. When combined, virtual simulation, augmented reality and bioarchaeological data can be used to push back on archaeological interpretation. Inhabiting avatars of past peoples brings on interstitial anxieties, highlighting the co-permeation of past, present, and future. In this article I discuss the ethics and affordances of the virtual simulation of past people, and the near-future potential and implications of avatar embodiment and identity.

Archaeological videography visually communicates some aspect of archaeological research and is ei... more Archaeological videography visually communicates some aspect of archaeological research and is either authored by archaeologists or through close consultation with archaeologists. Archaeology has been featured on film since the earliest days of cinema, and archaeological videography is now rapidly proliferating through the use of digital media. Early archaeological footage is increasingly available through online archives, and current footage is disseminated through social media platforms. Though the medium is changing, there are several relatively stable genres of archaeological film: expository, direct testimonial, impressionistic, and phenomenological. These genres impact how archaeological storytelling is performed and the reception of archaeological interpretations of the past by the public. The future of archaeological videography is diverse, with several hybrid media formats expanding the use of moving images in archaeology. Though archaeological videography is increasingly popular, preservation strategies remain problematic and both current and archival footage is at risk.

Our engagement with the digital is reformulating the ways in which we (post/humans) engage with/c... more Our engagement with the digital is reformulating the ways in which we (post/humans) engage with/create our worlds. In archaeology, digital processes and media are affording new practices of production, consumption and reception of knowledge, while throwing new light on existing analog methods. The digital is extending our cognitive and sensual capabilities, allowing us to explore previously uncharted grounds, giving us tools to envision the past in different ways, and enabling large datasets to be processed, distributed, and engaged with interactively. During this process, critical appraisal of the archaeological-digital has been relatively limited. In this session we will evaluate the growing paradigm of digital archaeology from an ontological point of view, showcase the ways digital technologies are being applied in archaeological practice—in the field/lab/studio/classroom—in order to critically engage with the range of questions about past people and worlds into which digital media give us new insights and avenues of approach. We ask how digital media and technology are being applied, whether they are broadening access to the archaeological record and how they are shifting relationships between archaeologists, the archaeological record and the public. Papers should have a theory-based approach to digital archaeological methods and set the agenda for future investigation. They should discuss the ways digital archaeology is affecting, disrupting and/or enhancing archaeological fieldwork, public archaeology, education and the publication/dissemination of archaeological data. Of particular interest are papers that engage with creativity and making, digital post/transhumanism, query analog methods through digital media, and feminist, indigenous or queer digital archaeologies.