A Quandary for Future Archaeologists
Despite the fact that the internet has enabled our societies to be inundated with information, what are we actually leaving behind? (in the long run, not including anything related or consequential to global warming?) What has new technology done with the age-old artifact?
When it comes to conventional publishing we have the artifact of the book. For music we have records or cassettes and CDs – had, at any rate. Now we have itunes. And while that is a brilliant invention as well, one lost hard-drive and there’s nothing left of your music. No artifacts which reminded you of a birthday party or a really gorgeous summer day. The accelerated digitalisation which characterises our contemporary technologies operate to abandon the permanence of the artffact.
I find it interesting that on the one hand we have a society which is awash with information where everyone is seemingly making their mark (in manner of Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame), while all at the same time our advanced technologies may actually be rendering us untraceable…Obviously this is all a bit dramatic, but still, its something to think about…
