17th February 2014, 02:28 PM
Dino, fair enough - at only a few decades old "SCR" is probably the new term on the block...
Kevin, I agree we often lose sight of the real goal of archaeology. The problem, however, runs much deeper than just being misled by the "completeness" of the recording method - ultimately our Curators ought to be demanding more dissemination. We cannot blame the bulk of archaeologists for thinking their deposited paper SCR is the be-all if a) they never get to write reports 'cos they're only lowly diggers rather than POs, and b) the Curators don't demand full-blooded dissemination in the Brief. After all, the mantra of the entire Commercial world is "the least we can get away with, to satisfy the brief and receive the cash", regardless of sector.
As for future development of SCR principles, it all comes down to common sense (which sadly ain't that common) to apply the tools in a useful way, rather than "learn by rote" recording. There's no reason why we can't use digital mapping (traced off APs, outlined by GPS, etc) to capture drawn data for our contexts in whizzy GIS or even in 3D VR, and integrate it with text and pics in any number of ways. However, it needs to fit a purpose in order to unlock funds...
Kevin, I agree we often lose sight of the real goal of archaeology. The problem, however, runs much deeper than just being misled by the "completeness" of the recording method - ultimately our Curators ought to be demanding more dissemination. We cannot blame the bulk of archaeologists for thinking their deposited paper SCR is the be-all if a) they never get to write reports 'cos they're only lowly diggers rather than POs, and b) the Curators don't demand full-blooded dissemination in the Brief. After all, the mantra of the entire Commercial world is "the least we can get away with, to satisfy the brief and receive the cash", regardless of sector.
As for future development of SCR principles, it all comes down to common sense (which sadly ain't that common) to apply the tools in a useful way, rather than "learn by rote" recording. There's no reason why we can't use digital mapping (traced off APs, outlined by GPS, etc) to capture drawn data for our contexts in whizzy GIS or even in 3D VR, and integrate it with text and pics in any number of ways. However, it needs to fit a purpose in order to unlock funds...