Making the case for relational interactivity in European archaeology
When:
—
Venue:
Hybrid
Sara Perry, Associate Professor, Institute of Archaeology, UCL
What does it mean to meaningfully and systemically weave human and more-than-human data into European archaeology? While community-centred initiatives nurturing pluralism in archaeological research and practice have a long, generative history around the world, normative methods continue to prevail in Europe. These methods tend to privilege the collection of a limited range of data, from a pre-defined past, excluding emotional, sensorial, and embodied experience (e.g., feelings, atmospheres, beliefs) or present-day ecological and technological incursions (e.g., insects, plastics, artificial intelligence). Efforts to evolve existing archaeological methodologies in more inclusive, participatory ways often appropriate indigenous frameworks rather than innovating locally and relationally.
This talk spotlights the work of two projects – Archaeology Otherwise (www.archaeologyotherwise.org) and Transforming Data Reuse in Archaeology (www.tetrarchs.org) – that have been experimenting with community-driven data collection at archaeological sites in Greece, Sardinia, and England. Situating our findings in relation to those working in comparable veins internationally, I reflect on the possibilities that emerge for research and practice when local people intervene in archaeological processes on their own terms. I also consider the inadequacies in normative European archaeological workflows, research designs, recording systems, and digital infrastructures (including digital archives), and ultimately explore the concept of relational interactivity (inspired by the research of Galvão-Ferreira et al. 2026) as a starting point for reassembling European archaeology along more equitable, pluriversal lines.
Galvão-Ferreira, P. et al. (2026) ‘Toward Relational Interactivity: Investigating More-than-Human Engagement in Hybrid Museological Spaces’, International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, pp. 1–38. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2026.2684277.
Sara Perry is a long-time advocate for community rights to cultural heritage. She has a special focus on digital technologies as tools for facilitating and complicating the relationships between people and the past. She is a citizen of both Canada and Britain, lives in London, and is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL).
sara.perry@ucl.ac.uk @archaeologistsp
Web: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/99320-sara-perry
Blog: saraperry.wordpress.com
Contact name: Katy Pettit
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