The Site Problem: A Critical Review of the Site Concept in Archaeology in the Digital Age

Abstract

While the site concept continues to be fundamental to archaeology there are a number of known practical and theoretical problems with sites as units of observation. In the digital age, geospatial technologies give us the capacity to detect, record, index, and analyze sites at scales impossible in the analog age when the notion of a site entered our lexicon. Using examples from recent research, I present a critical review of how geospatial technologies have complicated how we think about sites, specifically centering on three trends: 1) increasing application of remote sensing; 2) the new ways we make field observations with high resolution recording techniques, like 3D scanning; and 3) site indices that must balance the inherent conflict between obscuring site locations to protect them from unwanted visitation and damage, and displaying site location as a necessary prerequisite of advocating for their protection.