E.T. phone home, or from pit to surface: intersections between archaeology and media archaeology

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the possibilities of intersection between archaeology – as a discipline, as a field – and media archaeology, taking as a case study the excavation of the Atari cartridges held in Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA, on April 2014. It also indicates how the conjunction of these two archaeologies can provide new (and alternative) historical narratives to “facts” crystallized by time and often accepted as unquestionable truths, opening possibilities for new understandings about cultural, social, and economic aspects concerning certain media phenomena.