The Digital, The Archaeological, and the Ethical

I had a wonderful time at a conference this past weekend hosted by the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC. The conference was titled “The Digital, The Archaeological, and the Ethical” and it touched broadly on all three things. I came away with quite a few impressions and thoughts. 1. Narrative and Storytelling. One of the most important things that came out of the conference was an extended conversation about the role of narrative and storytelling in archaeological practices. On the one hand, some of this is bound up in our traditional practices of creating historical narratives about the past on the basis of the archaeological record. On the other hand, speakers pushed us all to think more broadly of the kinds of narratives that our stories told. This extended from structure or the sources of the stories and how digital mediation both included and excluded various groups from engaging with what could be said. Moreover, the plurality of narratives — or stories — that can…