The Co-evolution of Archaeology and Artificial Intelligence: Beyond Certainty towards Interpretive Meaning and Vagueness

Theoretical developments in archaeology and artificial intelligence, although unfolding in two seeminglyunrelated fields, follow a shared epistemological logic. Both emerged within the context of Western modernity,initially grounded in scientism and claims to certainty, and have subsequently encountered crises of meaning,contextuality, and ethics. Adopting a comparative–analytical approach, this editorial note traces this theoreticalco-evolution and demonstrates that the articles in this issue of the Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies maybe read as concrete manifestations of this epistemic shift, one that moves from reductive certainties toward aninterpretive, multilayered, and ethically responsible form of knowledge.