The UWM Department of Anthropology is proud to announce a new book by Alum Dr. Kevin Garstki, Digital Innovations in European Archaeology, part of the series “The Archaeology of Europe” published by Cambridge University Press and the EAA.

Please note: it is FREE to download for the next two weeks, until December 1st. During these two weeks you can download the PDF or read it online. After that it will only be offered at cost (both digital and printed), but your PDF download will remain readable.

It can be downloaded here. 

This short book is a selective introduction to the ever-growing study of digital or computer applications in archaeological research. It is at times descriptive, providing summaries and explanations of different techniques used in archaeology. More importantly, it also provides a critical assessment of these techniques, a necessity for a growing suite of tools with significant potential to impact the way archaeology is practiced and structured. The resulting monograph is aimed at a wide range of archaeologists, from students of archaeology, to those less familiar with these tools, to specialists in the field. 

Topics covered in the book include:  

-Digital data collection in the field 

-Visualization in archaeology 

-Data archiving, dissemination, and publication 

-Digital public and community archaeology 

-The future of digital archaeology in Europe 

A note from Dr. Garstki:

I would also like to share another recently published open access monograph that I have co-authored with Derek Counts, Erin Averett, and Michael Toumazou, Visualizing Votive Practice (accessible here). Visualizing Votive Practice is an innovative, open-access, digital monograph that explores the limestone and terracotta sculptures excavated from a rural sanctuary at the site of Athienou-Malloura (Cyprus) by the Athienou Archaeological Project. Chapters on the archaeology of the site, the historiography of Cypriot sculpture, and perspectives on archaeological visualization provide context for the catalogue of 50 representative examples of votive sculpture from the sanctuary. The catalogue not only includes formal and contextual information for each object, but also embeds 3D models directly onto the page. Readers can not only view, but also manipulate, measure, zoom, and rotate each model. Additionally, links at the bottom of each entry unleash high-resolution models with accompanying metadata on the Open Context archaeological data publishing platform and on via the Sketchfab 3D viewing platform as well.