Exposing and embedding; Archaeological analysis and design

The fields of Archaeology and of Design both have a keen understanding of objects.  Whether their makers were aware of it or not, objects are vehicles for the encapsulation and transfer of information, revealing not only why they exist but also who they represent, informing of the greater cultural context.

Design embeds information into objects through choices of material, technology, form, use scenario, color, cost, human factors, life cycle, etc. Archaeology extracts or exposes such information often for the sake of understanding a greater picture; group identity and practices, trade and communication over geographic expanses, reasons for change and so forth.

To accomplish this the field of archaeology employs various methods of study; excavation, experimentation, computation, ethnographic/textual referencing, material analysis etc. of the many scientific analysis technologies used are; carbon14 dating, DNA extraction, wear analysis, residue analysis, isotope degradation, X-ray, fMRI imaging, data set processing as well as others. New and significant discoveries are constantly being made by revisiting artifacts archived for years, in parallel to discoveries unearthed in new excavations.

The course proposes engagement with the archaeological field on two levels; once, through some of the methods of archaeology, and second, by designing objects with an information-embedding mindset. The archaeological context offers up a rich expanse of continual human material culture making, with design carrying the torch forward. Gazing backwards to propel forwards.