Digital Dilemmas in Archaeological Archives: Preservation, Interpretation, and Power Reconstruction
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Keywords

Archaeological Archives; Digital Preservation; 3D Modeling; Indigenous Knowledge; Digital Colonialism; Heritage Ethics

Abstract

This article addresses the complex interaction between digital technologies and archaeological records through a critical examination of the Egyptian Pyramid Excavation Digitization Project. As archaeological records become more digital, particularly through 3D modeling and virtual reconstruction, so do fundamental issues regarding interpretive control, knowledge ownership, and ethical access. The research examines how digitization simultaneously democratizes archaeological knowledge and possibly consolidates new power inequalities through technological expertise. Informed by contemporary digital heritage ethics discussions, the article discusses the anxieties of indigenous people about "digital colonialism" and intellectual property rights to cultural representations. The chapter illustrates that digital archaeological archives constitute a contested space where preservation imperatives, epistemological conventions, and socio-political pressures converge. The paper concludes by delineating an inclusive ethical model of archaeological archive digitization that balances open access ambitions and communal ownership of cultural knowledge.

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