Chapter 2. Deep Triage

The Microscope of Classification

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Course: Archaeobytology 200: Advanced Triage & Methodology

Section: Part I - The Trowel

Status: Final Academic Draft

Abstract

This chapter establishes the advanced classification methodology of the Archaeobytologist: the Triage Protocol. While the foundational theses defined the three states of the Archaeobyte (Vivibyte, Umbrabyte, Petribyte), this chapter addresses the operational challenge of classification in practice. The digital artifact does not arrive with a label; it must be diagnosed. This text provides the formal decision framework for moving from the "find" (Chapter 1's Excavation Protocol) to the "diagnosis" (the act of Triage). Drawing on diagnostic frameworks from library science, information architecture, and digital preservation theory, this chapter establishes the "tests" and "edge cases" that allow the practitioner to navigate the ambiguous boundaries between living, liminal, and petrified states.

Preamble: The Microscope and the Crisis of Ambiguity

The Excavation Protocol (Chapter 1) provided the Trowel: the methodology for finding a discrete Archaeobyte within the "crisis of noise." The practitioner has successfully isolated an artifact. It sits before them—a file, a screenshot, a fragment of code. The first question has been answered: "What is this?"

Now comes the second, more profound question: "What state is this?"

This is the moment of Triage. The term itself comes from the French trier, meaning "to sort" or "to select." In emergency medicine, triage is the process of rapidly assessing patients to determine priority of treatment based on severity.[1] In Archaeobytology, triage is the process of rapidly assessing artifacts to determine their state of preservation and, therefore, their path through the Archive and toward the Anvil.

The foundational theses established three classifications:

These definitions are philosophically sound. But in practice, the boundaries blur. The digital artifact is a shape-shifter. A Flash .swf file was a Petribyte for a decade—completely unreadable after Adobe killed the player in 2020. But then the Ruffle emulator emerged, "resurrecting" the format. Did the artifact change its state? Or did the ecosystem change around it?

This is the "crisis of ambiguity." The practitioner cannot simply memorize a list of file extensions and their states. They must develop a diagnostic methodology—a set of tests, questions, and frameworks that can be applied to any artifact, regardless of format, to determine its true state.

This chapter provides that methodology. It is the Microscope: the tool that allows the practitioner to examine the artifact at a granular level and render a formal diagnosis.

The Diagnostic Framework: Three Axes of Analysis

The Triage Protocol is not a flowchart with simple yes/no questions. It is a three-dimensional diagnostic framework. Every artifact must be examined along three distinct axes to determine its true classification.

Axis 1: Technical Legibility (Can It Be Read?)

This is the most straightforward axis. It asks: Can a modern system parse and render this artifact without additional intervention?

The Test: Open the artifact in a standard, unmodified, current-generation environment (a modern browser, a current OS, a standard media player). Does it render? Does it execute? Does it function?

The Nuance: This test reveals the first edge case. An HTML file from 1996 may "render," but modern CSS rules may break its layout. It is technically legible but visually corrupted. This is not a Petribyte (it's not "stone"), but it's also not a pure Vivibyte. This ambiguity points to the need for the second axis.

Academic Grounding: This axis aligns with the concept of "format obsolescence" in digital preservation theory. The Digital Preservation Coalition defines technical obsolescence as occurring when "the combination of media, hardware, and software required to access digital materials is no longer available."[2] This test measures whether that obsolescence has occurred.

Axis 2: Functional Integrity (Does It Do What It Was Meant To Do?)

This axis moves beyond mere rendering to ask: Does the artifact fulfill its original purpose?

The Test: Identify the artifact's native function. Then test whether that function still operates in the modern environment.

Examples:

The Nuance: This axis reveals the Umbrabyte. An artifact can be technically legible (Axis 1: YES) but functionally broken (Axis 2: NO). This is the "fly in amber"—the artifact whose form is preserved but whose purpose is extinct.

Academic Grounding: This test applies the concept of "significant properties" from digital curation theory. Scholars like Margaret Hedstrom argue that preservation must focus not just on bitstream integrity, but on maintaining the "properties of digital objects that affect their quality, usability, rendering, and behavior."[3] Axis 2 tests whether those significant properties—the artifact's purpose—remain intact.

Axis 3: Contextual Ecosystem (Does the World Around It Still Exist?)

This is the most abstract and most critical axis. It asks: Is the artifact's native cultural and technical ecosystem still alive?

The Test: Identify the artifact's original context—the platform, the community, the protocols, the rituals that gave it meaning. Does that context still exist?

Examples:

The Nuance: This axis is where the Umbrabyte fully reveals itself. An artifact can be technically legible and even functionally intact, but if its ecosystem is extinct, it is still liminal. This is the "ghost in the machine"—the artifact that works but no longer means what it once meant.

Academic Grounding: This test draws on the anthropological concept of "context collapse" as defined by danah boyd. She argues that social media flattens the "imagined audience," removing the contextual boundaries that once shaped communication.[4] In Archaeobytology, Axis 3 measures whether an artifact's original "imagined ecosystem" has collapsed.

The Classification Matrix: Applying the Three Axes

With these three axes established, the practitioner can now render a formal diagnosis. The artifact's state is determined by its performance across all three tests.

Vivibyte: The Triple Pass (Yes/Yes/Yes)

Diagnostic Criteria:

Classification: Vivibyte (Living Archaeobyte)

Specimen: A 1999 MP3 file of a Radiohead song.

Preservation Strategy: Episodic capture and format migration if needed. Minimal intervention.

Petribyte: The Triple Fail (No/No/No)

Diagnostic Criteria:

Classification: Petribyte (Petrified Archaeobyte)

Specimen: A RealPlayer .rm streaming video file from 1999, before Ruffle-like emulation existed for this format.

Preservation Strategy: Emulation or format migration required. High intervention. Treat as "fossil" requiring full contextual reconstruction.

Umbrabyte: The Mixed State (The Liminal Cases)

This is where the diagnostic framework proves most valuable. The Umbrabyte occupies the ambiguous middle ground. It is defined by partial success across the three axes. There are multiple patterns:

Pattern 1: Technical Success, Functional Failure (Yes/No/No)

Diagnostic Profile:

Specimen: A GeoCities homepage HTML file on a mirror archive.

Classification: Umbrabyte (Type: Ecosystem Extinction / "Fly in Amber")

Significance: This is the classic Umbrabyte. The file is a Vivibyte, but the artifact (the homestead as a living, editable space) is an Umbrabyte. This is what makes the Umbrabyte tragic—it is preserved perfectly, yet fundamentally broken.

Pattern 2: Technical & Functional Success, Contextual Failure (Yes/Yes/No)

Diagnostic Profile:

Specimen: A six-second Vine video, now hosted on YouTube.

Classification: Umbrabyte (Type: Conceptual Ghost / "Statue in the Town Square")

Significance: This is the most philosophically profound Umbrabyte. The artifact works, yet it is still liminal. Its meaning has been severed from its form. As media theorist Lev Manovich notes, when digital objects are "remediated" into new contexts, they undergo "transcoding"—a transformation of their cultural logic.[5] The Vine-on-YouTube is transcoded; it is a shadow of its former self.

Pattern 3: Emulation-Dependent Revival (Conditional Yes/Yes/No)

Diagnostic Profile:

Specimen: A Flash .swf game, playable via Ruffle emulator.

Classification: Umbrabyte (Type: Resurrected Fossil / "The Lazarus Artifact")

Significance: This reveals that classification is dynamic, not static. The Flash file was a Petribyte (2020-2021), then became an Umbrabyte (2021-present via Ruffle). The artifact didn't change; the ecosystem around it did. This proves that triage is not a one-time event but an ongoing practice of re-assessment.

Edge Cases and Diagnostic Challenges

The three-axis framework handles most artifacts, but the digital past is full of edge cases that test the boundaries of classification.

Edge Case 1: The Partial Artifact (Fragments and Dependencies)

The Problem: Many artifacts are not self-contained. A 2008 blog post may be intact, but it contains an embedded YouTube video that has been removed. What is the classification?

The Solution: Treat the artifact as composite and classify each component separately.

Academic Grounding: This approach aligns with the concept of "compound digital objects" in digital library science. Scholars like Seamus Ross note that many digital artifacts are assemblages of multiple files, each with its own preservation requirements.[6]

Edge Case 2: The Living Dead (Zombie Artifacts)

The Problem: Some artifacts appear to be Vivibytes but are actually "living dead"—they function only because of hidden dependencies or backwards-compatibility quirks that could break at any moment.

Specimen: A website built with jQuery 1.x in 2010. It still works in 2025, but only because modern browsers maintain backwards compatibility. If browsers dropped support for deprecated JavaScript APIs, it would instantly become a Petribyte.

The Solution: Introduce a fourth diagnostic criterion: Resilience Horizon.

Significance: This acknowledges that "living" is not binary. Some Vivibytes are more resilient than others. An HTML 4 page with no JavaScript is more resilient than a jQuery-dependent site, which is more resilient than a Flash site. Triage must account for this spectrum.

Edge Case 3: The Conceptual Archaeobyte with No File

The Problem: Some artifacts are purely conceptual—behaviors or rituals that left no single file behind. How does one triage a "concept"?

Specimen: The "AIM Away Message" ritual. There is no .away file to analyze. The artifact is the practice.

The Solution: Apply the three axes to the evidence of the practice, not a single file.

Classification: Petribyte (Conceptual Petribyte)

Significance: This extends the triage framework to non-file artifacts. The "away message" is as much a fossil as a .rm file. Both are extinct functions preserved only in documentation.

The Triage Report: Formal Documentation

Triage is not complete until it is documented. The practitioner must generate a Triage Report for each artifact, ensuring that future archaeobytologists understand the classification rationale.

Required Elements of a Triage Report:

  1. Artifact Identifier: File name, URL, or unique descriptor
  2. Classification: Vivibyte / Umbrabyte / Petribyte (with subtype if applicable)
  3. Three-Axis Diagnosis:
    • Axis 1 (Technical Legibility): YES / NO / CONDITIONAL
    • Axis 2 (Functional Integrity): YES / NO / PARTIAL
    • Axis 3 (Contextual Ecosystem): YES / NO / DEGRADED
  4. Edge Case Flags: Composite artifact, zombie artifact, conceptual artifact, etc.
  5. Preservation Recommendation: Migration, emulation, episodic capture, or contextual reconstruction
  6. Rationale: 2-3 sentences explaining the classification decision
  7. Date of Triage: Because classification is dynamic, the date matters

Example Triage Report:

Artifact: myspace_profile_2006_screenshot.png

Classification: Umbrabyte (Type: Ecosystem Extinction)

Diagnosis:

Edge Case: This is a screenshot of an artifact, not the artifact itself. The underlying MySpace profile (the HTML/CSS) would require separate triage.

Preservation Recommendation: Maintain screenshot for visual reference. Seek original HTML/CSS if possible for functional analysis.

Rationale: While the image file is technically a Vivibyte (a PNG is alive), the content it preserves is an Umbrabyte. The MySpace profile as a living, editable, social space is extinct. This is a photograph of a ghost.

Triage Date: November 21, 2025

Conclusion: From Diagnosis to Action

The Triage Protocol transforms the "find" into actionable intelligence. By applying the three-axis diagnostic framework, the Archaeobytologist moves from uncertainty ("What is this?") to clarity ("This is a Vivibyte/Umbrabyte/Petribyte, and here's why").

This clarity is not academic pedantry. It is the foundation for every subsequent action:

The Microscope of Triage is not the end of the work. It is the gateway. With the artifact now classified, bagged, and tagged with its formal diagnosis, the practitioner can move to the next phase: preservation (Chapter 3's Custodial Filter) and, ultimately, application (the Anvil).

The artifact has been found. It has been named. Now it must be preserved, studied, and—when wisdom demands it—forged into a tool for the future.

Works Cited

  1. [1] ↑Iserson, K. V., & Moskop, J. C. (2007). "Triage in medicine, part I: Concept, history, and types." Annals of Emergency Medicine, 49(3), 275-281. The medical origins of triage provide the conceptual framework for rapid classification under conditions of scarcity.
  2. [2] ↑Digital Preservation Coalition. (2015). Digital Preservation Handbook (2nd ed.). Retrieved from https://www.dpconline.org/handbook — The authoritative guide to format obsolescence and technical preservation challenges.
  3. [3] ↑Hedstrom, M., & Lee, C. A. (2002). "Significant properties of digital objects: Definitions, applications, implications." Proceedings of the DLM-Forum, 218-227. Foundational work on preserving not just bits, but the properties that make digital objects meaningful.
  4. [4] ↑boyd, d. (2011). "Social Network Sites as Networked Publics: Affordances, Dynamics, and Implications." In Papacharissi, Z. (Ed.), A Networked Self (pp. 39-58). Routledge. boyd's concept of context collapse is essential for understanding Axis 3 failures.
  5. [5] ↑Manovich, L. (2001). The Language of New Media. MIT Press. Manovich's concept of "transcoding" explains how digital artifacts transform meaning when moved between contexts.
  6. [6] ↑Ross, S., & Gow, A. (1999). Digital Archaeology: Rescuing Neglected and Damaged Data Resources. British Library Research and Innovation Report. Early work recognizing that digital objects are often compound assemblages requiring component-level preservation.