(Re)Presenting the Past: Archaeological Influences on Historical Narratives in Video Games
Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2022
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "(Re)Presenting the Past: Archaeological Influences on Historical Narratives in Video Games," at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Video games provide a means for the lay audience to engage with history and, in many cases, with archaeology; and archaeogaming serves as an avenue for scholars to investigate the archaeology of and within games. Through the lens of archaeogaming, this session explores the representation of archaeology in video games ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, and its resulting influence on the historical narratives present within these games. How do these games interrogate the past, and how do they use archaeology as a tool for doing so? Do they question or reinforce the biased narratives reflected in real-world history? We pay particular attention to the impacts of such narratives on racist, classist, and colonialist representations of the past and their relationships with the present, both in the game world(s) and the real world.
Other Keywords
Archaeogaming •
video games •
Colonialism •
Repatriation •
Public Outreach •
digital archaeology •
decolonizing methodologies •
community-based archaeology. •
archaeo-gaming
Geographic Keywords
North America •
Digital Archaeology
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-4 of 4)
- Documents (4)
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American "Civilization" - Contact and Post-Contact American and Native American Culture in Sid Meier's Civilization (2022)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "(Re)Presenting the Past: Archaeological Influences on Historical Narratives in Video Games" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Civilization is a turn-based strategy game in which players lead a civilization over the course of millennia, developing technology, exploring and conquering lands and nations, and practicing diplomacy and trade. There have been a total of six iterations, from Civilization I in 1991,...
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Elder Scrolls and Modern Perspectives: The Power of Historical Archaeological Data in (Re)Telling Narratives of the Past (2022)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "(Re)Presenting the Past: Archaeological Influences on Historical Narratives in Video Games" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Drawing on this year’s conference theme, historical archaeology is indeed a powerful means of pulling injustices into the light of examination and of addressing them in both the past and present. The field not only provides data on the recent past but also fosters meaningful...
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The Mass Effect of Manifest Destiny: Exploring themes of Colonialism in the Mass Effect Series (2022)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "(Re)Presenting the Past: Archaeological Influences on Historical Narratives in Video Games" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The first scene in video game series, Mass Effect, introduces archaeology and material culture as fundamental to the narrative. Over a hundred years into our future, an ancient alien artifact unearthed on Mars propels humanity into faster-than-light travel via mass relays. The human...
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A Mission of Repatriation: How Red Dead Redemption Creates A Platform To Introduce The Public To Archaeology (2022)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "(Re)Presenting the Past: Archaeological Influences on Historical Narratives in Video Games" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In the 2018 video game, Red Dead Redemption 2, gamers continued their ventures in the fictional late 19th Century – early 20th Century American West first created by Rockstar Games in 2010. While dealing with a fictional version of the United States, the game makes an effort to include...