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A method for space archaeology research: the International Space Station Archaeological Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2021

Justin St P. Walsh  and
Alice C. Gorman
Justin St P. Walsh
Affiliation:
Chapman University, Orange, USA
Alice C. Gorman*
Affiliation:
Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ alice.gorman@flinders.edu.au
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Abstract

How does a ‘space culture’ emerge and evolve, and how can archaeologists study such a phenomenon? The International Space Station Archaeological Project seeks to analyse the social and cultural context of an assemblage relating to the human presence in space. Drawing on concepts from contemporary archaeology, the project pursues a unique perspective beyond sociological or ethnographical approaches. Semiotic analysis of material culture and proxemic analysis of embodied space can be achieved using NASA's archives of documentation, images, video and audio media. Here, the authors set out a method for the study of this evidence. Understanding how individuals and groups use material culture in space stations, from discrete objects to contextual relationships, promises to reveal intersections of identity, nationality and community.

Keywords

outer spaceInternational Space StationNASAimage analysismaterial culture
Type
Method
Information
Antiquity , Volume 95 , Issue 383 , October 2021 , pp. 1331 - 1343
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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