Conclusion

To quickly review, the four questions I put forth in the introduction centered on issues of accuracy relating to GPS, the intuitive nature of GIS for use by archaeologists, the use of these for public archaeology and the development of a process for applying these technologies and techniques that could be shared with others.

Based on the successful completion of each GIS study, I feel confident that new GPS technologies are accurate enough for recording archaeological features, that ArcGIS allows for easy data integration and manipulation and that these technologies are intuitive enough to be readily employed in public archaeology. My main goals of investigating a specific period of activity (the historic archaeology of gold mining activity in the Otago Region) and relating this through technology has created interactive websites and maps that allow individuals to guide themselves through four unique sites occupied by a mix of ethnic groups, and that currently exist in various states of archaeological investigations.

The uses of these technologies are becoming widely available, and increasing numbers of researchers are exploring their uses. The central aims of this project were to introduce me to the role of historic research in archaeology, strengthen skills in GPS and GIS, to present broad and accurate geologic and industrial histories of the Otago Region, a review of originations and cultural reasons for expressed differences between European and Chinese miners, simple explanation of various gold procurement techniques, an explanation of my methods (sometimes borrowed, sometimes created) for conducting research and fieldwork, present four interesting sites and create virtual tours of those sites.

Also, these projects have demonstrated that their ability to answer similar questions that other forms of archaeological investigations look at. The example of a serious, organized settlement at the Lawrence Chinese Camp denies the apparently biased view reported in local newspapers at the time. The questions (were the Chinese disorderly) and answers (apparently not) at the Lawrence site are not overly complex. However, it demonstrates that the types of projects conducted for this thesis can provide genuine, archaeologically-oriented responses to specific problems that arise in historic records.

Further Thoughts

The first comment that Dr. Simon Cox at the Institute of Geological Nuclear Sciences made concerned the creation of a data dictionary for my project. This has led me to consider the need to create a data dictionary for archaeological work. The absence of such a dictionary means that individual projects around the world are creating and using random collections of symbols. Certainly, I do not expect every archaeologist in each country to agree upon a universal set of symbols to represent features. Not only would that be impractical, it would not be appropriate to standardize obviously different typologies of artifacts. However, archaeologists who are using GIS would benefit from some standardization. Ideally, a data dictionary would function just as topographical symbols on a map, with the added advantage that when maps of sites were created, the GIS would allow the user to only include features they were interested in. Also, the creation of a data dictionary would aid in many types of spatial analysis as it would allow for quick searches of features to compare and contrast. The analysis could function much like a spreadsheet where the variables are determined by the computer after the user enters a string of variables. Also, I wish to look at using these technologies for recording not only surface features, but detailed excavation data with traditional archaeology techniques and equipment (such as excavation and total stations) that allow for accurate input of spatial information. In this way, quickly created 3D worlds of individual sites, complete with features above, on and below the Earth’s surface could be combined with spatially accurate data for other/future researchers and site histories to educate the general public in a variety of virtual settings (i.e., CD-ROM’s, internet map service, animated videos, etc.). It is my goal to strengthen the growing dialogue between archaeologists and the public by creating interesting virtual tours (websites, videos, or fully-navigatable virtual worlds) complete with historic data. This educational experience can easily be catered to specific groups (i.e., children, tourist groups and academics).

I hope, through graduate programs in the future, to improve my archaeological (excavation, site recording, artifact identification, etc.) and computer skills so as to dedicate my career to making the past available to people of all ages and backgrounds.