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The Application of Decolonial Digital Archaeology: Creating a Set of Recommendations for Future Works

Shepherd, Grace Quincy Emerson LU (2026) ARKM34 20261
Department of Archaeology and Ancient History
Abstract
Colonialism has been a significant influence on the shape of our modern world.
Colonialism creates power structures and social systems that continue to inform
contemporary institutions and systems of knowledge production. Archaeology has
historically been connected to these colonial structures by privileging hegemonic and Eurocentric epistemological research structures. In efforts to acknowledge these legacy ties to colonial harm and dismantle it going forward, there is increasing questions of how we, as archaeologists, can implement these changes. One of the emerging solutions is decolonial theory. Decolonial theory challenges colonial structures and institutions by dismantling traditional structures of research and refocusing on... (More)
Colonialism has been a significant influence on the shape of our modern world.
Colonialism creates power structures and social systems that continue to inform
contemporary institutions and systems of knowledge production. Archaeology has
historically been connected to these colonial structures by privileging hegemonic and Eurocentric epistemological research structures. In efforts to acknowledge these legacy ties to colonial harm and dismantle it going forward, there is increasing questions of how we, as archaeologists, can implement these changes. One of the emerging solutions is decolonial theory. Decolonial theory challenges colonial structures and institutions by dismantling traditional structures of research and refocusing on the benefits and interests of the communities archaeology works with. Digital methods within archaeology make these conversations increasingly nuanced. Common critiques are that the digital development in archaeology is much faster than theoretical and ethical developments. As a result, colonial structures stand to be perpetuated in digital archaeology unless decolonial theory is included.

This research aims to create a set of flexible decolonial recommendations that will
make meaningful changes to the future of digital archaeology. This work will
approach this goal by using a qualitative study to develop a decolonial analytical
framework and applying them to a diverse collection of three case studies. The
findings of these case study analyses are that much of the work in digital
archaeology needs to reprioritize data governance standards at every stage of
research. The outcome of this qualitative research is that decolonial
recommendations can be created and still be adaptable to very different
archaeological and cultural contexts. This can be done while maintaining data-driven digital research goals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Shepherd, Grace Quincy Emerson LU
supervisor
organization
course
ARKM34 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Colonialism, Decolonial Theory, Digital Archaeology, Community Engagement, Archaeological Theory, Ethical Archaeology
language
English
id
9249108
date added to LUP
2026-10-01 13:22:54
date last changed
2026-10-01 13:22:54
@misc{9249108,
  abstract     = {{Colonialism has been a significant influence on the shape of our modern world. 
Colonialism creates power structures and social systems that continue to inform 
contemporary institutions and systems of knowledge production. Archaeology has 
historically been connected to these colonial structures by privileging hegemonic and Eurocentric epistemological research structures. In efforts to acknowledge these legacy ties to colonial harm and dismantle it going forward, there is increasing questions of how we, as archaeologists, can implement these changes. One of the emerging solutions is decolonial theory. Decolonial theory challenges colonial structures and institutions by dismantling traditional structures of research and refocusing on the benefits and interests of the communities archaeology works with. Digital methods within archaeology make these conversations increasingly nuanced. Common critiques are that the digital development in archaeology is much faster than theoretical and ethical developments. As a result, colonial structures stand to be perpetuated in digital archaeology unless decolonial theory is included.
 
This research aims to create a set of flexible decolonial recommendations that will 
make meaningful changes to the future of digital archaeology. This work will 
approach this goal by using a qualitative study to develop a decolonial analytical 
framework and applying them to a diverse collection of three case studies. The 
findings of these case study analyses are that much of the work in digital 
archaeology needs to reprioritize data governance standards at every stage of 
research. The outcome of this qualitative research is that decolonial 
recommendations can be created and still be adaptable to very different 
archaeological and cultural contexts. This can be done while maintaining data-driven digital research goals.}},
  author       = {{Shepherd, Grace Quincy Emerson}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Application of Decolonial Digital Archaeology: Creating a Set of Recommendations for Future Works}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}