Archaeologists and Popular Culture, Project Beginnings

The readings for this week take up conceptions of archaeologists in popular culture historically, anecdotally, statistically and, even, psychologically (though I find the Freudian/oedipal phallus analysis in “Metaphors We Dig By” a little hard to buy). Most of the literature concludes that there are several stereotypes of archeologists – ranging from the hairy-chinned academician to the hairy-chested hero – that spring into the collective imagination. These archetypes are perpetuated by (and in some cases find their origins on) the silver screen. The former (the hairy-chinned), regrettably, seem closer to the truth, leaving the Indiana Joneses to the magnificence, fantasy and fiction of the movies. Unsurprisingly, the occult also finds its place among these fantastical imaginings. That the Lara Crofts and Indiana Joneses are generally unrealistic figures doesn’t really matter, though: they portray archeology in an overwhelmingly positive, albeit distorted, light. The A, D, R and C themes put forth by Holtorf in “Popular Culture and Archaeology” are anything but disparaging. The only unfortunate emphasis in these accounts is that the process of archeology is more important – and certainly more fun – than the end result. It seems like our class will do its part to dispel these kinds of beliefs: the models, renderings, web pages and animations we will create seem like pretty cool end results to me.

I spent an hour or so reviewing Google SketchUp. I’ve used it in the past for set designs and mock-ups of dorm rooms. I’m looking forward to learning how to use this program more efficiently and to do more complicated renderings. I played around with the contour tools, but still don’t have a good understanding of how it actually works.

I’ve started thinking about the kinds of things I’d most like to do for the final project. I’ve been studying the use of technology, media and communications in the 21st century; I wonder how I might translate that to our field site. The way people use technologies might manifest in the project as some sort of examination of tools, or animating the use of a particular tool. It would be cool to model how a particular technology was incorporated into daily life in Cuzco. I also enjoy modeling architectural features; perhaps a static representation is more in line with my technological capabilities.