Case Studies/Remixing Çatalhöyük
“The public are going to engage in archaeology only when we share with them the process of what we do and how we think, recognize the diversity of their voices, and allow them to make a contribution to the interpretive process.” — Ruth Tringham Director, Berkeley Archaeologists at Çatalhöyük
Remixing Çatalhöyük is an experiment in the open construction and dissemination of knowledge about the past.
This website has been developed using data and interpretations from recent archaeological research and excavations at the 9,000-year-old settlement mound of Çatalhöyük, in central Turkey. In addition to in-depth documentation and analyses, the Berkeley Archaeologists at Çatalhöyük (BACH) project has also created a spectrum of digital visual media designed to make their explorations accessible to a broad public audience, as well as to the scientific research field. The BACH team believes that the principles and techniques of unrestricted sharing, and the repurposing of research data as demonstrated by this project, can be applied to any research data set, whether about archaeology, history, anthropology, and the humanities, or about ecology, biology, or the physical and chemical sciences.
Remixing Çatalhöyük highlights and supports a multi-vocal approach to history, where the global, online community is invited to participate in the dialogue alongside the physical, local community. It has grown out of an interest we have had for many years in finding ways to incorporate our research into public education at all levels. We feel that the best way to keep our research data alive and in good condition is to foster public engagement through direct experience with the process of data interpretation, creating different contexts and meanings through digital remediation.
As part of this website, we have provided “starter themes” as guides to exploring and remixing the data. The thematic collections offered here are drawn from the research media archives of the Çatalhöyük Research project, which—for this grand experiment in open publishing—is made freely available under Creative Commons NonCommercial Attribution Licensing. This license specifies that others may reuse materials to create videos, websites, and other multimedia “remixes” for noncommercial purposes, so long as they credit the © Çatalhöyük Research Project.
Remixing Catalhoyuk Website http://okapi.berkeley.edu/remixing/
Website Launch Announcement http://okapi.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/remixing-catalhoyuk-launches/
Open Archaeology Prize http://okapi.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/okapi-receives-open-archaeology-prize/
