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This open access book delves into the management of data imperfection, a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of archaeological research. By bringing together diverse voices and expertise, the book offers a pioneering examination of how researchers across Europe deal with the challenges posed by incomplete, fragmented or ambiguous data in archaeology. One of the most problematic issues when working with humanistic data, and specifically with archaeological data, is their imperfection. The data is ambiguous, partial, imprecise, uncertain. This imperfection, which can be intrinsic to the data themselves or be generated later with its processing, makes it difficult to produce reliable results. In recent years, some researchers have become increasingly interested in the need to address in their research, especially those using databases, the problem of data imperfection and all the implications that this entails.
This volume bring together researchers who are or have worked on the imperfection of archaeological data in its broadest sense, from theoretical reflections to proposals for managing the imperfection or part of it (uncertainty, inaccuracy, incompleteness, etc.) in any chronological period and application, both during the collection of data in the field or its processing in the laboratory. The book comprises 12 chapters, in addition to an introduction and a conclusion. It brings together contributions from European researchers from various academic levels, providing a rich tapestry of insights into the topic. The chapters span a broad historical range, featuring case studies that cover periods from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages.
List of contents
Introduction.- Chapter 1. Trust In Digital Archaeology: Acting in an Imperfect World. - Chapter 2. Opening Pandora's Box? Archaeological Data Imperfection and Their Management, Sharing, and Reuse. (Sabina Batlle Baró).- Chapter 3. Metal Detected Artefacts as Data: Challenges and Opportunities from an Estonian Perspective. (Tuuli Kurisoo).- Chapter 4. On Babies and Bathwater: Strategies For Dealing With Imperfect Data In (Bio) Archaeology. (Jessica Kaiser).- Chapter 5. Geospatial Accuracy in Paleolithic Sites of the Central Mountain Ranges (Northwestern Iberia): A Statistical Study. (Mikel Díaz-Rodríguez).- Chapter 6. Facing The Study Of The Settlement Patterns Considering The Imperfection Of Archaeological Data. (Leticia Tobalina Pulido And Sonia Medina Gordo).- Chapter 7. Uncertainty in Ancient Egyptian and Syro-Mesopotamian Settlements. Can Aoristic Analysis Help? (Silvia Gómez Senovilla). - Chapter 8. The Importance of Imperfect Archaeological and Geospatial Data at the Theban Necropolis (Luxor, Egypt). (Ángeles Jiménez Higueras).- Chapter 9. Unraveling the Tangle of Legacy Data: The Case of Bronze Age Key Sites Of Southern Italy. (Flavia Palazzini, Elisa Pizzuti, Alessandro Vanzetti).- Chapter 10. Data veracity and completeness in social network analysis. (Dermot Grant).- Chapter 11. From a perfect roman theatre to an ill-fated discovery. The Museum of Lisbon - Roman Theatre (Portugal). (Lídia Fernandes; Carolina Grilo; Patrícia Brum).- Chapter 12. To be, or not to be? Going Beyond Knowledge for an Early Medieval Landscape Characterisation. (Sonia Medina Gordo).- Conclusion. César González Pérez.
About the author
Maria Elena Castiello is Senior Lecturer at the department of archaeology (IASA), at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Throughout her international and interdisciplinary career, she has specialized in quantitative and computational archaeology. Her current research bridges archaeology, technology, and environmental sciences, investigating how past societies adapted and thrived over millennia. She develops artificial intelligence–based models and integrates geoarchaeological and paleoclimatic methods to explore long-term human occupation and resilience strategies across the Mediterranean at multiple temporal scales.
Leticia Tobalina Pulido is Ass. Prof. at the department of archaeology, Universidad de Cantabria. She holds a joint PhD (2019) from the University of Navarra and the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour on Late Antique spatial dynamics and GIS-based analysis of archaeological uncertainty. Her background includes degrees in History and Art History, several master’s degrees, and specialization in Geoinformation Analysis. She has held postdoctoral positions at Incipit–CSIC and the Casa de Velázquez and has taught in Spanish and French universities. Her research focuses on Roman and Late Antique settlement using minimally invasive methods and data modelling.
Summary
This open access book delves into the management of data imperfection, a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of archaeological research. By bringing together diverse voices and expertise, the book offers a pioneering examination of how researchers across Europe deal with the challenges posed by incomplete, fragmented or ambiguous data in archaeology. One of the most problematic issues when working with humanistic data, and specifically with archaeological data, is their imperfection. The data is ambiguous, partial, imprecise, uncertain. This imperfection, which can be intrinsic to the data themselves or be generated later with its processing, makes it difficult to produce reliable results. In recent years, some researchers have become increasingly interested in the need to address in their research, especially those using databases, the problem of data imperfection and all the implications that this entails.
This volume bring together researchers who are or have worked on the imperfection of archaeological data in its broadest sense, from theoretical reflections to proposals for managing the imperfection or part of it (uncertainty, inaccuracy, incompleteness, etc.) in any chronological period and application, both during the collection of data in the field or its processing in the laboratory. The book comprises 12 chapters, in addition to an introduction and a conclusion. It brings together contributions from European researchers from various academic levels, providing a rich tapestry of insights into the topic. The chapters span a broad historical range, featuring case studies that cover periods from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages.
