Pedagogical Principles for Productive Digital Collaboration: Frameworks and Prior Knowledge

Overview Archaeologists promote the use of digital methods and data management principles such as FAIR and CARE to democratize and decolonize the discipline and our projects. Digital archaeology offers the potential to enhance accessibility, improve opportunities for data sharing, and foster multivocal interpretation while avoiding colonialist dynamics in international collaborations. In June 2024, the authors’ discussions about digital archaeology in Armenia highlighted the importance of addressing collaborators’ prior knowledge and knowledge frameworks in digital archaeological projects. These discussions, along with a case study about an earlier digital survey in the Azat River valley, demonstrated that varying levels of familiarity with tools such as geographic information systems (GIS) and different training traditions can limit successful collaboration and data interpretation if not addressed explicitly. This review argues that successful digital archaeology requires a focus on understanding and integrating the diverse knowledge frameworks and prior experiences of all team members into all aspects of the digital workflow.