Leonardo

Digital Archeology: Design Research and Education. Connecting Historical Narratives and Digital Environments Author(s): Lily Daz Source: Leonardo, Vol. 31, No. 4 (1998), pp. 283-287 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1576663 . Accessed: 23/04/2013 08:30
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Digital and Historical

Archeology:
Narratives

Design and

Research Digital
ABSTRACT

Education-Connecting

Environments
Lily Diaz
Theauthor describes Digital a design/research Archeology, atthe discipline developed being oftheUniversity Media Laboratory FinofArt andDesign, Helsinki, land. stresses Digital Archeology oftheartthecritical contribution of informaistto thedevelopment intended to reton environments andmake previously construct artifacts inaccessible cultural anaudience to as wide available as possible. Issues of accessand research andintelpreservation, lectual inquiry, and themetaphoric areprenature oftechnology ente a ofthis this as the cornerstones cornerstones sented endeavor.

Diigital Archeology is a design/research disciunder development at the Media Laboratory pline currently of the University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland [1]. Digital Archeology involves the definition of strategies for the use of visualization methods to present historical data, along with testing and evaluating of the methods through prototypes. Both individual research work and education-oriented projects such as the Digital Archeology and Museum Design (DAMD) program utilize Digital Archeology strategies. DAMD is a study area that has grown from my collaboration as student, researcher and tutor with educator Minna Tarkka at the Media Lab. Begun in the academic year of 1997-1998, DAMD is intended for a small number of students with backgrounds in art, design or the humanities who have an interest in new media technologies and who want to participate in content development of interactive media, with a special interest in historical narratives and visualization. Tarkkaand I interview prospective students prior to admission to DAMD. Students can earn up to 10 credits for their participation. Twelve students from diverse educational and

cultural backgrounds are currently enrolled and actively participating in the program. Among the courses offered in the curriculum are the following: Systems of Representation, a course that I teach, focuses on cross-cultural strategies of representation; Experimental Imaging Workshop, which was taught during the 1997-1998 academic year by Antti Huittinen and which focused on stereographic production; Interaction in the Public Sphere, which has been taught by Tarkkaand Larry Friedlander (of Stanford University) and which focuses on the design of interactive strategies
Lily Diaz (researcher), Media Lab, University of Art and Design Helsinki, 135C Halmeentie, 00560 Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: <lily@mlab.uiah.fi>. This article is part of the Leonardo special project entitled "Planetary Collegium: Towards the Radical Reconstruction of Art Education," guest-edited by Roy Ascott. This project features writings that address the present and future needs and nature of art education in light of contemporary developments in technology, science and the arts.

Fig. 1. A DigitalFacsimile

of the 1554 Map of Mexico: details of life in sixteenthcentury Mexico. Among the objectives of this project are transference into digital media and electronic reconstruction of this sixteenthcentury artifact.

? 1998 ISAST

LEONARDO,

Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 283-287,

1998

283

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Fig. 2. A Simultaneous View of History. (top row, left to right) (a) Plan of the church of San Jose, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Built in 1523, the church is the second oldest in the Americas. Selecting the floor plan of the church results in the display of photographs of the interior of the structure, (b) Detail of the inside of the San Jose church. Photograph of the statue of Fray Anton de Montesinos, an early advocate of the rights of native people in America. (c) Photograph of the nave of the church of San Jose. (bottom row, left to right) (d) 360' panorama view of the castle of San Felipe del Morro, Puerto Rico, rendered using QTVR video technology. (e) The city of Caracas, Venezuela, circa 1903. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress) (f) The Cathedral of Caracas. Three-dimensional plan rendered from a 1596 document.

for museums; Museum Design Seminar, taught by Tarkka, features design development through collaboration with major museum institutions in Finland. The discipline of Digital Archeology shares two areas of inquiry with media culture: the use of descriptive representations and the study of discursive practices. By descriptive representations I mean the aesthetic and technical aspects involved in the transference of perceptual and sensory-related characteristics of material and non-material aspects of culture from the analog to the digital realm. The study of discursive practices includes the study of textual, oral, visual and other strategies deployed by a given culture in the transmission and preservation of knowledge. It also involves an assess-

ment of the sources of a culture's information in order to identify and include the diverse viewpoints and genres that may constitute a historical narrative.

ACCESS AND PRESERVATION

Formally speaking, Digital Archeology is a multidisciplinary practice situated at the intersection of the arts and the humanities. However, I personally see it as an opportunity to develop a novel type of art curriculum and, consequently, a new form of creative practice. This is because it seeks to use cross-fertilization and multidisciplinary collaborations that characterize emerging information environments [2]. Information environments such as the Internet possess virtual qualities and

digital communication infrastructures that afford a global presence. Digital Archeology aims to develop methodologies that utilize such environments to reconstruct and make previously inaccessible cultural artifacts available to as wide an audience as possible. Froin this point of view, Digital Archeology addresses issues of material preservation of historical materials and recuperation of worldviews that have been obscured from the historical narrative.

RESEARCH AND INTELLECTUAL INQUIRY

Information and content are the raw materials utilized by artists working with new media [3]. The education of these artists involves the development of the

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Fig. 3. QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) panorama of Raisio Archeology Site, Raisio, Finland. Panorama shows hot spots that indicate location of QuickTime movies. These movies contain additional information about the research and activities at the site. From left to right: ArcheologistJuha-Matti Vuorinen talks about significance of findings for research about the conditions of life in Finland during the Iron Age. Archeologist Mervi Suttonen measures area where remnants of a wood wall from a dwelling, circa the eleventh century, have been found. Excavation leader Taina Pietikainen reviews clay disks believed to have been used as loom weights. (Digital video: Raimo Lang; QTVR preparation: Raimo Lang and Antti Huittinen, 1996)

cognitive skills necessary to produce coherent and effective information and communication products. Carving new meanings and engendering new dialogues from content are, after all, the tasks of the artist. Among the objectives of Digital Archeology is to position the artist at the center of intellectual inquiry, fully aware of and responsible for the meaning that his or her work generates. Ultimately, this means that creative practice involves research, not necessarily as an empirical exercise, but as part of the production of the work itself. This implies that the creative practitioner defines either an epistemological posture [4] or a locus of enunciation [5] that subsequently allows him or her to develop a corresponding methodology and parameters for design and production. No intrinsic distinction is recognized between theory and practice, but rather, "our inquiries are imbued with the practical all the way through" [6]. The artist's contribution can translate into development and use of new techniques and tools such as multimedia, digital video and QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) to assist, further and perhaps even redirect the analysis and presentation of content within the arts and humanities.

THE METAPHORIC NATURE

OF TECHNOLOGY
From this pragmatic orientation, from which we understand theory to be another kind of practice, it follows that Digital Archeology also involves the exploration of the metaphoric nature of technology. In this context, technology acts as a catalyst, a source of metaphors. Metaphor, in turn, can provide us not only with a better understanding of technologies, but also with the means to evaluate whether the use of a technology is appropriate in a given situation. A metaphor can aid our understanding of design. To put it more succinctly, a pragmatic view of metaphor encourages us to ask: Is this metaphor an enabling one in this situation? [7] Finally, Digital Archeology seeks to promote the role of the imagination "as the place of nascent meanings and categories rather than as the place of fading impressions" [8]. This means that rational and imaginative thinking do not differ in substance, for imagination is the "pervasive structuring activity by means of which we achieve coherent, patterned, unified representations" [9]. That is, in order for us to make sense of our experiences, we must find them meaningful.

By accessing truth through metaphor, the work of the artist allows the option of removing the process of inquiry from a path that only points toward direct correspondences. Instead, the journey is enriched with a dynamic of revelation, disclosure and concealment. (This dynamic underscores an appreciation that "truth is clearly a matter of interpretation in a context of understanding" [10].)

PROJECTS A Digital Facsimile of the 1554 Map of Mexico

A Digital Facsimile of the 1554 Map of Mexico, which makes use of the concepts of Digital Archeology, is an example of a project currently being developed at the Media Lab. The project is a collaborative effort between the Media Lab, the Uppsala University Library, Uppsala, Sweden, and the Institute for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing of the University of Technology, Otaniemi, Finland. Among the objectives of this project are transference into digital media and electronic reconstruction of this sixteenth-century artifact. Originally assigned to the noted Spanish cosmographer, Alonso de Santa Cruz, the map's authorship has been a source of inquiry

Diaz, Digital Archeology

285

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Fig. 4. Illuminating History: (top row, left to right) (a) Introductory screen provides access to different sections of the Web site. (b) Three-dimensional rendition of the 1725 Map of Ihala-Raisio. A model created with Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) allows the user to transverse through the landscape of the site. (c) A section of the 1725 Map of Ihala Raisio shows the area now being excavated by archeologists. (Photo: Antti Huittinen. Copyright the National Board of Survey archives.) (bottom row, left to right) (d) Satellite image of Ihala-Raisio. (Courtesy of the Satellite Center, National Land Survey of Finland) (e) Clay disk found on the Ihala-Mulli site. Tests indicate this site was inhabited in the eleventh century. (Photo: Taina Pietikainen) (f) QTVR video of the church of Raisio. The earliest recorded reference to the church is dated 1305. (Photos: Antti Huittinen)

for diverse researchers. Many have attributed its execution to members of the Aztec nobility in Mexico who were students in the Colegio de San Francisco de Tlatelolco, one of the first educational institutions established by the Spaniards in the colonies. The map is one of the oldest known of the no-longer-extant city of Mexico/Tenochtitlan. As can be seen in Fig. 1 and in Color Plate A No. 2, it is a vivid depiction of the physical and cultural landscape of the urban area and its surroundings. In its present material state, the map is available only to specialists and others
willing to make the journey to the Caro-

lina Redivivia library at the University of Uppsala, Sweden [11]. Once in digital format, however, the map is expected to attract an audience that is very diverseranging, perhaps, from a high-school

teacher desiring to produce curricula for a class on Latin American history to a researcher working with pictographic representations. There is no unified methodology to answer the questions of who can have access to what data sets and when. However, a digital media environment that includes a master plan for storing, classifying and searching the materials, and for aggregating them into meaningful wholes from parts, can provide strategies and adequate solutions to the issue of accessibility. Originally inscribed in two layers of parchment that have shrunk and stretched at different points, the map now has an almost three-dimensional (3D) quality. Its colors have faded in various areas of the map. These problems provide us with the opportunity to

research and test diverse procedures for the digitization and preservation of archival materials. We are actively researching the use of 3D recording techniques for the creation of a digital facsimile of the map. True to current information theory, the use of interactive strategies that facilitate non-linear discursive encounters between the user and the material provides us with an inclusiveness that both decentralizes the role of the author and liberates the discourse from "psychological, sociological and historical determinism" [12]. Through the use of alternative ways of presenting the map, from different points of view and in diverse formats, one can allow the user to focus on the actual contents and help highlight the diversity of the cultural heritage of North America.

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The photography for creating a stereographic 3D model has been completed. Huittinen designed and produced a demonstration of the project during his state-sponsored internship at the Media Lab.

A Simultaneous View of History

Another project that makes use of digital communication networks to address issues of access and reconstruction is A Simultaneous View of History (Fig. 2). The compilation of primary sources about sixteenth-century scientific inquiry was the point of origin of many of the ideas of Digital Archeology. After 6 years of work, A Simultaneous View of History is nearly complete and available through the World Wide Web. The Web site [13] contains textual transcriptions (in Spanish and English), illustrations and video pieces related to the 1582 de Indias, the first RelacionesGeograficas systematic scientific inquiry of the colonies by the Spanish crown. This project is discussed in detail in a previous Leonardo article [14].

Through the Eyes of Media: Illuminating History is another project related to Digital Archeology at the Media Lab. The project proposes the use of multimedia technology to develop and compile research about the history of everyday life in Finland during the Iron Age. Initially, the content development has focused on the archeological remnants of the Raisio Archeology Site (Fig. 3). These remains are significant because they can help us visualize Nordic history through 2,000 years of continuous habitation. In the later stages of the project, items from other archival and museum repositories are being utilized. The project seeks to investigate new forms of representation in the humanities, as well as to achieve an understanding of the changing role of the museum as an educational institution within the community. Initially, the combined efforts of the Media Lab of the Research Institute at the University of Art and De-

Illnminating History

sign, the University of Turku Department of Archeology, Raisio City Hall, the Academy of Finland and the National Museum of Finland will involve a transfer of knowledge between different disciplines. A video-conferencing system has been utilized to link the researchers, who will be in different geographical locations throughout different stages of the project. Telematic technology will be utilized to link the researchers throughout a series of workshops about topics such as the creation of multimedia databases in historical research, and theory and methods in archeology. For example, I gave a workshop on authoring documents for the Web to Turku archeology students in November and December 1997; Henrik Apslund, a Turku doctoral student, gave lectures on the topic of archeology of the Baltic region during the late Iron Age to students at the Media Lab. While the archeological point of view provides theoretical and material knowledge about artifacts,anthropological and ethnographic discourses supply building blocks that allow for the creation of educational narratives.New media interfaces, such as those shown in Fig. 4, are being used to reveal excavation and research processes and to create a visual index of the site. The objective is to create a dynamic audiovisual database that provides multiple, parallel views of the same materials. The delivery strategyfor these materials to a diverse audience of researchers and educational personnel includes, but is not limited to, digital communication networks such as the Web.

References and Notes

1. For more information about the Media Lab, please visit our Web pages at <http://www.mlab.uiah.fi>. 2. A definition of multidisciplinary practice posits that it is the convergence of practitioners of several disciplines to study a situation or solve a problem. In multidisciplinary practice, "a practitioner of a discipline borrows from and relates his or her findings to other disciplines. In both cases, a rethinking of problems, questions and methods . . . takes place." Walter D. Mignolo, TheDarkerSide of theRenaissance:Literacy, and Colonization (Ann Territoriality Arbor, MI: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1995) p. 22. 3. The term "artist"is meant to be inclusive of creative practitioners of both design and the fine arts. 4. A thorough account of how this approach can be utilized in design research was included in Alain Findeli's keynote speech: "Can Design ever Become a Science? No Guru, No Method?," International Conference on Art and Design Research, University of Art and Design/Helsinki, September 1996. I have interpreted Findeli's use of the term "epistemological posture" to mean the space in which one stands and from where one speaks. 5. In his discussion on the relevance of the locus of enunciation to cross-cultural studies, Walter D. Mignolo states how scholarly discourses "acquire their meaning on the grounds of their relation to the subject matter as well as their relation to an audience .... The locus of enunciation from which
one speaks and . . . [the act of speaking] . . . con-

tributes to changing or maintaining systems of values and beliefs." See Mignolo [2] p. 5. 6. Richard Coyne, Designing Information Technology in the Postmodern Age, A Leonardo Book (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995) p. 48. 7. Coyne [6] p. 296. 8. MarkJohnson quoted in Coyne [6] p. 297. 9. MarkJohnson quoted in Coyne [6] p. 297. 10. Coyne [6] p. 299. Coyne refers to Heidegger's concept of truth as one that is used in many contexts: "Anywork of art both reveals and conceals.... If this is so of art, then it is equally the case in other contexts-including observations in science, the evaluation of mathematical models, and the interpretations of assertions in language ... Language has a revelatory property for Heidegger, and this is where truth resides-not in what words correspond to but in what they reveal." 11. As far as I am aware, traditional photographic techniques have not been able to accurately render the rich details of the map. 12. George Landow, Hypertext:The Convergence of Critical Theoryand Technology(BaltiContemporary Univ. 10. more, MD:Johns Hopkins Press, 1993) p. 13. The Simultaneous View of History Web site can be accessed at <http://www.mlab.uiah.fi/simultaneous/>. 14. For more information about this project, see Lily Diaz, "A Simultaneous View of History," Leonardo 28, No. 4, 257-263 (1995). Manuscript received 15January 1997.

CONCLUSION Surveying historical narratives can make us aware of the differences between cultures and ways of living throughout history. New technologies facilitate the artist's contribution to the corpus of knowledge by suggesting and enabling new ways of understanding research data and other materials. Digital Archeology is a step in this direction.

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