Big Data Analyses of Roman Tableware: information standards, digital technologies and research collaboration
Internet Archaeology
Archaeologists in the UK and elsewhere have developed standards and guidelines for recording, ana... more Archaeologists in the UK and elsewhere have developed standards and guidelines for recording, analysing and archiving information about Roman pottery. A survey of Roman pottery specialists conducted for the 'Big Data on the Roman Table' (BDRT) research network showed significant variation by country, institution, project and individual researcher in approaches to pottery analysis, including use of terminology, the kinds of quantitative and qualitative data recorded and adoption of digital methods. This concurs with other studies and professional discussions at BDRT workshops and elsewhere. This article discusses recent UK initiatives to improve information standards in Roman pottery studies. It then considers their implications for future international cooperation, using digital methods needed to support the research and other objectives of the BDRT network.
A questionnaire asked students enrolled in second and third year archaeology subjects at the Univ... more A questionnaire asked students enrolled in second and third year archaeology subjects at the University of Sydney for their opinions about the wider public benefi ts of archaeology. Most answers emphasised benefi ts arising from archaeological knowledge rather than those associated with experiences of archaeology. Possible reasons for this trend and some wider implications are discussed.
Zusammenfassung-Der Beitrag diskutiert die arbeitsbezogene Nutzung von Social-Media auf der Grund... more Zusammenfassung-Der Beitrag diskutiert die arbeitsbezogene Nutzung von Social-Media auf der Grundlage von umfassenden Interviews, die im Jahr 2011 mit dreißig australischen Archäologen und Denkmalpflegern geführt wurden. Die meisten Interviewpartner verwenden moderierte E-Mail-Listen und Diskussionsforen und waren in unterschiedlicher Intensität z. B. in Blogs, Wikis, professionellen Netzwerken und Content-Communities aktiv. Viele der Befragten gaben an, dass sie andere sozialen Medien wie z. B. Facebook oder Twitter nicht mögen und ihren Einsatz bei der beruflichen Arbeit vermeiden. Einflussfaktoren auf die Nutzung der Social Media waren auch die Unternehmenskommunikation und Arbeitsplatzregelungen, die unterschiedliche digitale Kompetenz, Fragen der notwendigen und verfügbaren Ressourcen (Kosten, Zeit, Mühen, IT-Unterstützung) sowie ethische Fragen, die mit einigen Unternehmen und Produkten verbunden sind. Die Verwendung von anderen digitalen Techniken der Kommunikation am Arbeitsplatz, die verfügbaren Mittel und die Haltung dazu, sowie die lokale, regionale und globale Interaktionen der Interviewten wird ebenfalls untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der Studie sind relevant für die Erforschung der Auswirkungen des digitalen Wandels auf die Archäologie, die politische Ökonomie der Archäologie und auf die Praxis der Denkmalpflege.
Reports research conducted by Sarah Colley for the Sydney Fish Project Stage 1. The content, codi... more Reports research conducted by Sarah Colley for the Sydney Fish Project Stage 1. The content, coding and data structures are also useful for other researchers who wish to document and interpret fish remains from other comparable archaeological sites. Includes interpretation of Aboriginal and colonial fish and fishing in the Sydney region from before and after AD1788 based on archaeological, historical and environmental information.
We asked Sarah Colley, who teaches Aboriginal archaeology and heritage management at the Universi... more We asked Sarah Colley, who teaches Aboriginal archaeology and heritage management at the University of Sydney, Australia, to give an account of the 3rd World Archaeological Congress, held at New Delhi, India, 4–11 December 1994, as she experienced it.
Archaeological Field Schools and Fieldwork Practice in an Australian Context
Global Perspectives on Archaeological Field Schools, 2011
... Figure produced by Annika Korsgaard attracts fewer undergraduates than other major humanities... more ... Figure produced by Annika Korsgaard attracts fewer undergraduates than other major humanities disciplines in the same School, but the Department has a comparatively high number of Honors and post-graduate research students and a strong staff research profile. ...
This chapter uses literature review and experiences from the author’s Australian research to disc... more This chapter uses literature review and experiences from the author’s Australian research to discuss ethical issues raised by using digital technologies in archaeology and cultural heritage practice. Technology use adds extra dimensions to principles already enshrined in professional codes of ethics such as professional standards and how to balance intellectual, cultural property and other rights against the public right to know (e.g. through open-access data policies). Additional ethical issues raised by technology include sustainability and digital preservation; the role of commercial and corporate interests in designing, developing and promoting particular products; professional and community engagement in the digital public sphere; equity of access to technology and content; and digital literacy and philosophical and sociopolitical questions about actuality and representation associated with digital heritage. The chapter briefly outlines key principles of archaeological codes of ethics and discusses technology use and digital heritage from the perspectives of political economy, technology design, cultural information standards, digital visualisation and virtual reality.
Marine Shell from Australian Historic Sites: Research Design and Data Standardisation
This paper describes a computer-based system designed to facilitate both description and interpre... more This paper describes a computer-based system designed to facilitate both description and interpretation of environmental and cultural information about marine molluscs from colonial-period sites in south eastern Australia. The study is based on work in progress on ...
Over 580 fish species are known for Port Jackson, site of the first British colony of New South W... more Over 580 fish species are known for Port Jackson, site of the first British colony of New South Wales. When the British arrived in January 1788 they encountered Aboriginal people who gained a substantial part of their diet from fish. Aboriginal fishing technologies (e.g. spears, shell fishhooks and small canoes) were documented by colonial writers. The British brought metal fishhooks, seine nets and larger boats, and after AD1788 fishing was important to both Aboriginal people and colonists. Given the diversity of fish in Port Jackson, and differences between Aboriginal and colonial fishing technologies, our paper discusses archaeological and documentary evidence for the impact of technology on the types of fish caught by Aboriginal people and colonists before and after AD1788. We compare archaeological fish bones from Aboriginal sites in coastal Sydney with those from the Quadrant historical site in Broadway, Sydney, and discuss methodological challenges raised by these kinds of analyses for Sydney regional archaeology. Technology explains some fish bone assemblage variability but colonisation, cultural attitudes, commercialisation and urbanism are also important.
In 2009 we produced a series of edited video clips to demonstrate practical methods to archaeolog... more In 2009 we produced a series of edited video clips to demonstrate practical methods to archaeology students at the University of Sydney in Australia. The videos were made publicly accessible via YouTube and incorporated into teaching of an undergraduate archaeological field methods course in 2010 and 2011. Our paper outlines staff experiences of making and using the videos for teaching and discusses results of student questionnaire feedback about the videos and the course. The results provide insight into the effectiveness of different ways of teaching practical archaeology in a context of large class sizes and limited resources and the potential of using digital video technologies to communicate archaeology to students and other audiences. 2 Keywords digital video technology, archaeological field methods, teaching, learning Teaching 'ARCA2602 Field Methods' 2010-11 Archaeology at the University of Sydney is offered as a major within a general Arts or other undergraduate degree programme. A new introductory "Laboratory Methods" unit of study was introduced to the curriculum in 2007, followed in 2008 by a new "Field Methods" unit. These courses are open to second or third year undergraduate students who have completed at least two units of first year introductory archaeology. Until 2011 they were offered in alternate years, typically attracted 70-75 students each and were co-delivered by two or three staff to manage student access to limited space and equipment. Following further organisational change and loss of some contract teaching staff positions, it was decided to review the curriculum and offer both units in 2011, with only one member of staff teaching each course. As expected, this resulted in slightly fewer students enrolled in "Field Methods" in 2011. Teaching hands-on practical archaeology to undergraduate students in Australian universities requires that staff and departments solve budgetary, organisational and other challenges (Colley 2011; Hall et al. 2005). Some universities are better placed than others to offer hands-on archaeology practical classes, field schools and practical work-experience training. In particular, Australian universities have a variable capacity and commitment to teaching field schools. In 2010-11, 11 Australian universities taught undergraduate degree programmes with an undergraduate major and fourth year Honours in archaeology. Four of these, including the University of Sydney, offered no assessed or formally taught field schools as part of their undergraduate teaching programme, although most offered some hands-on teaching of practical archaeology and students were encouraged to participate in external fieldwork projects and field schools in a private capacity
Having reached the northern edge of the plain we had been traversing, we now entered the bed of s... more Having reached the northern edge of the plain we had been traversing, we now entered the bed of sand hills and scrub which lay before us. We came in five miles to a spot where ... there existed a shallow native well in the sandy ground of a shallow hollow between the red sand hills, and this spot the blacks said was Youldeh (Giles 1 889: 78-79).
The Archaeology of Daisy Bates' Campsite at Ooldea, South Australia
Australian Archaeology, 1989
... Sarah Colley1 , Sally Brockwell1, Tom ... Ernestine Hill has described Bates as &#x27... more ... Sarah Colley1 , Sally Brockwell1, Tom ... Ernestine Hill has described Bates as 'the most remarkable woman in Australia's first two centuries' (Hill 1973:1). During her own lifetime she was well known to the public through her many newspaper articles about Aborigines,and ...
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Papers by Sarah Colley