Peter Cobb
Kowalski Family Teaching Specialist for Digital Archaeology, Classical Studies and the Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials
Digital Tools for Archaeological Fieldwork in Turkey
Digital Tools for Archaeological Fieldwork in Turkey
Project Start Date:
March, 2017
Research Assistants:
John Sigmier and Petra Creamer, PhD Students, Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
Western Anatolia (modern Turkey) is a region of river valleys separated by parallel mountain ranges that run in an east-west direction. Research in this project uses a variety of approaches to study how this particular landscape impacted travel and interactions within, beyond, and through this area in order to better understand diachronic human activity. In this digital humanities project, researchers are developing Android applications to support archaeological fieldwork in this region. These apps will enable the efficient and high-accuracy collection of primary data about archaeological spaces and objects. They are also collecting, organizing, and analyzing remote sensing data that will support our research on the landscapes of western Anatolia.
The development of these apps also provides an opportunity for humanities students to gain experience with engineering processes and for engineering students to gain exposure to humanities challenges. By working directly with Penn Engineering students, the archaeology students are gaining an understanding of the software development process and how programmers work. This will give them the knowledge to be able to plan their own digital projects in the future. They also learn about the time restrictions, infrastructure needs, and other challenges that programmers face on a daily basis.
