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The agenda for an engaged and impactful archaeology has been set out emphatically in a variety of recent reports, positioning archaeology and heritage as important sources of public value and social benefit. While many ascribe to these aims, how to put them into practice in concrete terms remains a real challenge. Tools, methods and methodologies developed for the wider research community as it engages with the “impact agenda” at large have been adapted and applied in archaeological and heritage practice with variable success. In this paper, we discuss the creation of a values-led, card-based design toolkit and the considerations involved in customising it for use by archaeology and heritage sector practitioners. We evaluate reflexive feedback from participants in a toolkit testing workshop, together with our own reflections on the workshop experience. Building on these, we assess the potential and limitations of the toolkit and its underpinning values-led design theory to generate critically engaged archaeological and heritage experiences.
Francesca Dolcetti; Claire Boardman; Rachel Opitz; Sara Perry. Values-Led Design Cards: Building Ethically Engaged Archaeology and Heritage Experiences. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3659 .
AMA StyleFrancesca Dolcetti, Claire Boardman, Rachel Opitz, Sara Perry. Values-Led Design Cards: Building Ethically Engaged Archaeology and Heritage Experiences. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (7):3659.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancesca Dolcetti; Claire Boardman; Rachel Opitz; Sara Perry. 2021. "Values-Led Design Cards: Building Ethically Engaged Archaeology and Heritage Experiences." Sustainability 13, no. 7: 3659.
Excavations carried out at the Latin city of Gabii between 2012 and 2018 have contributed new data to a number of debates around the emergence, lived experience, maintenance, decline, and resilience of cities. Gabii’s urban trajectories demonstrate both seemingly familiar forms of urbanism and, on closer study, many locally circumscribed elements. Specifically, the Gabii Project excavations have uncovered an early Iron Age (8th–5th centuries b.c.) hut complex that has provided evidence for architecture, funerary rites, and quotidian activities during the initial polynuclear settlement at urbanizing Gabii. A unique monumental complex constructed in the 3rd century b.c. has been identified and is interpreted as a public structure potentially used for ritual activities; the study of this complex raises questions about the creation and reception of markers of civic identity. Excavation data has further characterized the reorganizations that took place during the first centuries a.d., when Gabii’s settled area contracted. Rather than unidirectional decline, evidence for industrial activities increases, and elite investments in the city persist, especially in the mixed-use elite domestic and agricultural complex. These results provide detailed evidence for how ancient cities developed and transformed in the face of shifting local and regional conditions, especially smaller urban centers (Gabii) at the periphery of mega-urban centers (Rome).
J. Troy Samuels; Matthew Naglak; Rachel Opitz; J. Marilyn Evans; Andrew C. Johnston; Parrish Wright; Alexandra Creola; James Prosser; Arianna Zapelloni-Pavia; Jason Farr; Matt Harder; Laura Banducci; Mattia D’Acri; Darcy Tuttle; Sabina Ion; Christina Cha; Shannon Ness; Katherine Beydler; Sheira Cohen; Vicki Moses; Laura Motta; Marcello Mogetta; Anna Gallone. A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012–2018. Journal of Field Archaeology 2021, 46, 132 -152.
AMA StyleJ. Troy Samuels, Matthew Naglak, Rachel Opitz, J. Marilyn Evans, Andrew C. Johnston, Parrish Wright, Alexandra Creola, James Prosser, Arianna Zapelloni-Pavia, Jason Farr, Matt Harder, Laura Banducci, Mattia D’Acri, Darcy Tuttle, Sabina Ion, Christina Cha, Shannon Ness, Katherine Beydler, Sheira Cohen, Vicki Moses, Laura Motta, Marcello Mogetta, Anna Gallone. A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012–2018. Journal of Field Archaeology. 2021; 46 (3):132-152.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJ. Troy Samuels; Matthew Naglak; Rachel Opitz; J. Marilyn Evans; Andrew C. Johnston; Parrish Wright; Alexandra Creola; James Prosser; Arianna Zapelloni-Pavia; Jason Farr; Matt Harder; Laura Banducci; Mattia D’Acri; Darcy Tuttle; Sabina Ion; Christina Cha; Shannon Ness; Katherine Beydler; Sheira Cohen; Vicki Moses; Laura Motta; Marcello Mogetta; Anna Gallone. 2021. "A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012–2018." Journal of Field Archaeology 46, no. 3: 132-152.
The amount of information available to archaeologists has grown dramatically during the last ten years. The rapid acquisition of observational data and creation of digital data has played a significant role in this “information explosion”. In this paper, we propose new methods for knowledge creation in studies of movement, designed for the present data-rich research context. Using three case studies, we analyze how researchers have identified, conceptualized, and linked the material traces describing various movement processes in a given region. Then, we explain how we construct ontologies that enable us to explicitly relate material elements, identified in the observed landscape, to the knowledge or theory that explains their role and relationships within the movement process. Combining formal pathway systems and informal movement systems through these three case studies, we argue that these systems are not hierarchically integrated, but rather intertwined. We introduce a new heuristic tool, the “track graph”, to record observed material features in a neutral form which can be employed to reconstruct the trajectories of journeys which follow different movement logics. Finally, we illustrate how the breakdown of implicit conceptual references into explicit, logical chains of reasoning, describing basic entities and their relationships, allows the use of these constituent elements to reconstruct, analyze, and compare movement practices from the bottom up.
Laure Nuninger; Philip Verhagen; Thérèse Libourel; Rachel Opitz; Xavier Rodier; Clément Laplaige; Catherine Fruchart; Samuel Leturcq; Nathanael Levoguer. Linking Theories, Past Practices, and Archaeological Remains of Movement through Ontological Reasoning. Information 2020, 11, 338 .
AMA StyleLaure Nuninger, Philip Verhagen, Thérèse Libourel, Rachel Opitz, Xavier Rodier, Clément Laplaige, Catherine Fruchart, Samuel Leturcq, Nathanael Levoguer. Linking Theories, Past Practices, and Archaeological Remains of Movement through Ontological Reasoning. Information. 2020; 11 (6):338.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLaure Nuninger; Philip Verhagen; Thérèse Libourel; Rachel Opitz; Xavier Rodier; Clément Laplaige; Catherine Fruchart; Samuel Leturcq; Nathanael Levoguer. 2020. "Linking Theories, Past Practices, and Archaeological Remains of Movement through Ontological Reasoning." Information 11, no. 6: 338.
Laure Nuninger; Rachel Opitz; Philip Verhagen; Thérèse Libourel; Clément Laplaige; Samuel Leturcq; Nathanael Le Voguer; Catherine Fruchart; Žiga Kokalj; Xavier Rodier. Developing FAIR Ontological Pathways: Linking Evidence of Movement in Lidar to Models of Human Behaviour. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology 2020, 3, 63 -75.
AMA StyleLaure Nuninger, Rachel Opitz, Philip Verhagen, Thérèse Libourel, Clément Laplaige, Samuel Leturcq, Nathanael Le Voguer, Catherine Fruchart, Žiga Kokalj, Xavier Rodier. Developing FAIR Ontological Pathways: Linking Evidence of Movement in Lidar to Models of Human Behaviour. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology. 2020; 3 (1):63-75.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLaure Nuninger; Rachel Opitz; Philip Verhagen; Thérèse Libourel; Clément Laplaige; Samuel Leturcq; Nathanael Le Voguer; Catherine Fruchart; Žiga Kokalj; Xavier Rodier. 2020. "Developing FAIR Ontological Pathways: Linking Evidence of Movement in Lidar to Models of Human Behaviour." Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology 3, no. 1: 63-75.
Mayanist archaeology has long been concerned with creating and evaluating explanatory models for the locations of ancient sites relative to one another and to the physical geography of the Maya world. This study combines epigraphic data and spatial analyses to explore motivations for settlement location and to interrogate territorial strategies in Late Classic (a.d. 600–830) kingdoms in the southern Maya Mountains, around the modern towns of Dolores and Poptún, Guatemala. Least-cost path analyses were used to model natural travel corridors and their relationship with site location was assessed. In conjunction, viewshed analyses were applied to evaluate the importance of visual connections to likely travel routes. The results are considered in the context of the socio-politics and economics of the region, and raise questions about the character of and interconnections between travel, exchange, settlement location, and mechanisms for reinforcing territorial claims in the Late Classic Southern Maya Mountains.
Nicholas Carter; Lauren Santini; Adam Barnes; Rachel Opitz; Devin White; Kristin Safi; Bryce Davenport; Clifford Brown; Walter Witschey. Country Roads: Travel, Visibility, and Late Classic Settlement in the Southern Maya Mountains. Journal of Field Archaeology 2019, 44, 84 -108.
AMA StyleNicholas Carter, Lauren Santini, Adam Barnes, Rachel Opitz, Devin White, Kristin Safi, Bryce Davenport, Clifford Brown, Walter Witschey. Country Roads: Travel, Visibility, and Late Classic Settlement in the Southern Maya Mountains. Journal of Field Archaeology. 2019; 44 (2):84-108.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNicholas Carter; Lauren Santini; Adam Barnes; Rachel Opitz; Devin White; Kristin Safi; Bryce Davenport; Clifford Brown; Walter Witschey. 2019. "Country Roads: Travel, Visibility, and Late Classic Settlement in the Southern Maya Mountains." Journal of Field Archaeology 44, no. 2: 84-108.
Rachel Opitz. Messy Assemblages, Residuality and Recursion within a Phygital Nexus: First Response. Epoiesen: A Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology 2019, 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleRachel Opitz. Messy Assemblages, Residuality and Recursion within a Phygital Nexus: First Response. Epoiesen: A Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology. 2019; 2019 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRachel Opitz. 2019. "Messy Assemblages, Residuality and Recursion within a Phygital Nexus: First Response." Epoiesen: A Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology 2019, no. : 1.
This paper engages with repeated calls within archaeology for a re-envisioning of the excavation report, contextualized by the transformation of scholarly communication taking place across the humanities and social sciences. This widespread transformation is rooted in a growing interest in showing data together with synthesis and argument, the importance afforded to public engagement, and the proliferation of digital platforms that enable creative presentations of scholarly work. In this context, we discuss our experience producing an excavation report that attempts to integrate several forms of scholarly and public-facing communication on a digital platform, and aims to engage audiences at multiple levels, while simultaneously facilitating data reuse and laying out the authors’ current interpretations. We consider the benefits and challenges of producing work in this way through the example of producing the Gabii Project’s first volume, A Mid-Republican House from Gabii, developed through a collaboration between the Gabii Project team and the University of Michigan Press. This experience is contextualized within the broader discourse surrounding changing expectations about open access, authorship and credit, and sustainability of digital scholarship in academic publishing.
Rachel Opitz. Publishing Archaeological Excavations at the Digital Turn. Journal of Field Archaeology 2018, 43, S68 -S82.
AMA StyleRachel Opitz. Publishing Archaeological Excavations at the Digital Turn. Journal of Field Archaeology. 2018; 43 (sup1):S68-S82.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRachel Opitz. 2018. "Publishing Archaeological Excavations at the Digital Turn." Journal of Field Archaeology 43, no. sup1: S68-S82.
The variety and sophistication of data sources, sensors, and platforms employed in archaeological remote sensing have increased significantly over the past decade. Projects incorporating data from UAV surveys, regional and research-driven lidar surveys, the uptake of hyperspectral imaging, the launch of high-temporal revisit satellites, the advent of multi-sensor rigs for geophysical survey, and increased use of structure from motion mean that more archaeologists are engaging with remote sensing than ever. These technological advances continue to drive research in the specialist community and provide reasons for optimism about future applications, but many social and technical obstacles to the integration of remote sensing into archaeological research and heritage management remain. This article addresses the challenges of contemporary archaeological remote sensing by briefly reviewing trends and then focusing on providing a critical overview of the main structural problems. The discussion here concentrates on topics that have dominated the discourse in recent archaeological literature and featured prominently in ongoing fieldwork for the past decade across three broad segments of landscape archaeology: data collection in the field, the current state of data access and archives, and processing and interpretation.
Rachel Opitz; Jason Herrmann. Recent Trends and Long-standing Problems in Archaeological Remote Sensing. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology 2018, 1, 19 -41.
AMA StyleRachel Opitz, Jason Herrmann. Recent Trends and Long-standing Problems in Archaeological Remote Sensing. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology. 2018; 1 (1):19-41.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRachel Opitz; Jason Herrmann. 2018. "Recent Trends and Long-standing Problems in Archaeological Remote Sensing." Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology 1, no. 1: 19-41.
Laura M. Banducci; Rachel Opitz; Marcello Mogetta; Carleton University; University of Glasgow; University of Missouri. Measuring Usewear on Black Gloss Pottery from Rome through 3D Surface Analysis. Internet Archaeology 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleLaura M. Banducci, Rachel Opitz, Marcello Mogetta, Carleton University, University of Glasgow, University of Missouri. Measuring Usewear on Black Gloss Pottery from Rome through 3D Surface Analysis. Internet Archaeology. 2018; (50):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLaura M. Banducci; Rachel Opitz; Marcello Mogetta; Carleton University; University of Glasgow; University of Missouri. 2018. "Measuring Usewear on Black Gloss Pottery from Rome through 3D Surface Analysis." Internet Archaeology , no. 50: 1.
Excavations at the Latin city of Gabii in 2012–15 conducted by the Gabii Project have uncovered a monumental building complex, hitherto known only very partially from previous excavations in the 1990s. Organized on a series of three artificial terraces that regularized the slope of the volcanic terrain, it measures some 60 m by 35 m, occupying an entire city-block. It is prominently situated at one of the most central locations within the city, on the main urban thoroughfare at the important intersection of the roads from Tibur, Praeneste and Rome. Stratigraphic evidence and construction techniques date the original phase of the building to the mid-third century BC. This report focuses on a contextualization and description of this first, mid-Republican phase and offers a preliminary interpretation of this complex as a public building, with spaces designed for a variety of functions: bathing, public feasting, and ritual activity. If this is correct, it now represents one of the very few examples of public buildings other than temples and fortifications known from the mid-Republican period, and sheds important light on the development of Roman architecture and of the Latin cities in a crucial and obscure period.
Andrew C. Johnston; Marcello Mogetta; Laura Banducci; Rachel Opitz; Anna Gallone; Jason Farr; Emanuele Casagrande Cicci; Nicola Terrenato. A MONUMENTAL MID-REPUBLICAN BUILDING COMPLEX AT GABII. Papers of the British School at Rome 2018, 86, 1 -35.
AMA StyleAndrew C. Johnston, Marcello Mogetta, Laura Banducci, Rachel Opitz, Anna Gallone, Jason Farr, Emanuele Casagrande Cicci, Nicola Terrenato. A MONUMENTAL MID-REPUBLICAN BUILDING COMPLEX AT GABII. Papers of the British School at Rome. 2018; 86 ():1-35.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrew C. Johnston; Marcello Mogetta; Laura Banducci; Rachel Opitz; Anna Gallone; Jason Farr; Emanuele Casagrande Cicci; Nicola Terrenato. 2018. "A MONUMENTAL MID-REPUBLICAN BUILDING COMPLEX AT GABII." Papers of the British School at Rome 86, no. : 1-35.
Rachel Opitz. Book Review of Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future, edited by E.W. Averett, J.M. Gordon, and D.B. Counts. American Journal of Archaeology 2017, 121, 1 .
AMA StyleRachel Opitz. Book Review of Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future, edited by E.W. Averett, J.M. Gordon, and D.B. Counts. American Journal of Archaeology. 2017; 121 (4):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRachel Opitz. 2017. "Book Review of Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future, edited by E.W. Averett, J.M. Gordon, and D.B. Counts." American Journal of Archaeology 121, no. 4: 1.
Georgia M. Andreou; Rachel Opitz; Sturt W. Manning; Kevin D. Fisher; David A. Sewell; Artemis Georgiou; Thomas Urban. Integrated methods for understanding and monitoring the loss of coastal archaeological sites: The case of Tochni-Lakkia, south-central Cyprus. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2017, 12, 197 -208.
AMA StyleGeorgia M. Andreou, Rachel Opitz, Sturt W. Manning, Kevin D. Fisher, David A. Sewell, Artemis Georgiou, Thomas Urban. Integrated methods for understanding and monitoring the loss of coastal archaeological sites: The case of Tochni-Lakkia, south-central Cyprus. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 2017; 12 ():197-208.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGeorgia M. Andreou; Rachel Opitz; Sturt W. Manning; Kevin D. Fisher; David A. Sewell; Artemis Georgiou; Thomas Urban. 2017. "Integrated methods for understanding and monitoring the loss of coastal archaeological sites: The case of Tochni-Lakkia, south-central Cyprus." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 12, no. : 197-208.
In archaeology, we are accustomed to investing great effort into collecting data from fieldwork, museum collections, and other sources, followed by detailed description, rigorous analysis, and in many cases ending with publication of our findings in short, highly concentrated reports or journal articles. Very often, these publications are all that is visible of this lengthy process, and even then, most of our journal articles are only accessible to scholars at institutions paying subscription fees to the journal publishers. While this traditional model of the archaeological research process has long been effective at generating new knowledge about our past, it is increasingly at odds with current norms of practice in other sciences. Often described as ‘open science’, these new norms include data stewardship instead of data ownership, transparency in the analysis process instead of secrecy, and public involvement instead of exclusion. While the concept of open science is not new in archaeology (e.g., see Lake 2012 and other papers in that volume), a less transparent model often prevails, unfortunately. We believe that there is much to be gained, both for individual researchers and for the discipline, from broader application of open science practices. In this article, we very briefly describe these practices and their benefits to researchers. We introduce the Society of American Archaeology’s Open Science Interest Group (OSIG) as a community to help archaeologists engage in and benefit from open science practices, and describe how it will facilitate the adoption of open science in archaeology.
Ben Marwick; C Michael Barton; Lynsey Bates; Elizabeth Bollwerk; R. Kyle Bocinsky; Alison Kyra Carter; Cyler Conrad; Stefano Costa; Enrico R. Crema; Benjamin Davies; Lee Drake; Thomas S. Dye; Domenico Giusti; Shawn Graham; John Hawks; Damien Huffer; Mark E Madsen; Fraser D. Neiman; Rachel Opitz; Julien Riel-Salvatore; Philip Riris; Iza Romanowska; Isaac Ullah; Colin D. Wren. Open Science in Archaeology. 2017, 1 .
AMA StyleBen Marwick, C Michael Barton, Lynsey Bates, Elizabeth Bollwerk, R. Kyle Bocinsky, Alison Kyra Carter, Cyler Conrad, Stefano Costa, Enrico R. Crema, Benjamin Davies, Lee Drake, Thomas S. Dye, Domenico Giusti, Shawn Graham, John Hawks, Damien Huffer, Mark E Madsen, Fraser D. Neiman, Rachel Opitz, Julien Riel-Salvatore, Philip Riris, Iza Romanowska, Isaac Ullah, Colin D. Wren. Open Science in Archaeology. . 2017; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBen Marwick; C Michael Barton; Lynsey Bates; Elizabeth Bollwerk; R. Kyle Bocinsky; Alison Kyra Carter; Cyler Conrad; Stefano Costa; Enrico R. Crema; Benjamin Davies; Lee Drake; Thomas S. Dye; Domenico Giusti; Shawn Graham; John Hawks; Damien Huffer; Mark E Madsen; Fraser D. Neiman; Rachel Opitz; Julien Riel-Salvatore; Philip Riris; Iza Romanowska; Isaac Ullah; Colin D. Wren. 2017. "Open Science in Archaeology." , no. : 1.
Rachel Opitz. An Experiment in Using Visual Attention Metrics to Think About Experience and Design Choices in Past Places. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 2017, 24, 1203 -1226.
AMA StyleRachel Opitz. An Experiment in Using Visual Attention Metrics to Think About Experience and Design Choices in Past Places. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. 2017; 24 (4):1203-1226.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRachel Opitz. 2017. "An Experiment in Using Visual Attention Metrics to Think About Experience and Design Choices in Past Places." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 24, no. 4: 1203-1226.
Rachel Opitz; Nicola Terrenato; Marcello Mogetta. A Mid-Republican House from Gabii. A Mid-Republican House from Gabii 2016, 1 .
AMA StyleRachel Opitz, Nicola Terrenato, Marcello Mogetta. A Mid-Republican House from Gabii. A Mid-Republican House from Gabii. 2016; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRachel Opitz; Nicola Terrenato; Marcello Mogetta. 2016. "A Mid-Republican House from Gabii." A Mid-Republican House from Gabii , no. : 1.