ARCHAEOBYTOLOGY / 200-LEVEL

Chapter 8: Building Your Practice

From Student to Practitioner: Your First Field Report

Abstract

This capstone chapter synthesizes the complete 200-level curriculum into a practical field guide for independent archaeological work. Where preceding chapters established theory (Chapters 2-3), methodology (Chapters 1, 4, 7), and applied case studies (Chapters 5-6), this chapter provides the operational toolkit for your first excavation. Students receive the Master Field Report Template integrating all seven protocols, a pre-flight checklist ensuring methodological rigor, recommended tools for each workflow stage, and the First Excavation Assignment with evaluation criteria. This is the bridge from coursework to practice, from student to Archaeobytologist.

Preamble: The Transition to Practice

You have completed seven chapters of theory, methodology, and case studies. You understand excavation protocols (Chapter 1), forensic materialism (Chapter 2), custodial ethics (Chapter 3), preservation strategies (Chapter 4), Petribyte analysis (Chapter 5), Umbrabyte sociology (Chapter 6), and Anvil transformation (Chapter 7). You have studied the infographics, absorbed the frameworks, read the citations.

But knowledge without practice is theory without proof. The Archaeobytologist is defined not by what they know, but by what they do—the artifacts they excavate, the classifications they defend, the insights they forge, the scholarship they publish.

This chapter is your bridge. It transforms the seven preceding chapters into operational practice. You will receive the Master Field Report Template that integrates all protocols into one document. You will learn the Pre-Flight Checklist ensuring you don't skip critical steps. You will build your Archaeobytologist's Toolkit with recommended software and resources. And you will receive your First Excavation Assignment—a complete, publishable field report demonstrating mastery of the 200-level curriculum.

"The archaeologist is not simply one who digs; they are one who documents, classifies, preserves, and interprets. The field report is the proof of work."1

By the end of this chapter, you will have produced your first complete field report—a document demonstrating your command of excavation, triage, custodial ethics, forensic reading, and Anvil analysis. This is your certification as a practicing Archaeobytologist.

I. The Master Field Report Template

A complete archaeological field report documents every stage of your work—from initial discovery through final Anvil output. This template integrates all seven chapters into one structured document. Use it for every excavation.

Master Field Report Structure

Section 1: Discovery & Initial Documentation

Source: Chapter 1 (Deep Excavation)

  • Artifact Identification: What did you find? (URL, file path, physical description)
  • Discovery Context: Where/how was it discovered? (Archive search, personal collection, public repository)
  • Excavation Method: Which protocol did you use? (Boolean construction, network analysis, cultural keywords)
  • Initial Assessment: First impressions of significance, completeness, condition

Section 2: Forensic Analysis & Material Reading

Source: Chapter 2 (Forensics & the Tangible Archaeobyte)

  • Technical Specifications: File format, size, encoding, metadata, creation date
  • Material Signatures: What does the format reveal? (Platform assumptions, technical philosophy)
  • Five Forensic Questions: What does it encode? Reveal? Obscure? Require? Resist?
  • Format Philosophy: What argument does this artifact's structure make?

Section 3: Custodial Filter & Ethical Review

Source: Chapter 3 (The Custodial Filter)

  • Privacy Assessment: Does it contain PII? Anonymization required? Consent status?
  • Copyright Analysis: Who owns it? Fair use applicable? Orphan work status?
  • Ethics Testing: Three questions: Should it be preserved? Public? Cited?
  • Clearance Decision: PROCEED / PROCEED WITH MODIFICATIONS / DO NOT PRESERVE

Section 4: Triage & Classification

Source: Chapter 3 (Three-Axis Diagnostic)

  • Technical Legibility: YES / NO / CONDITIONAL (explanation)
  • Functional Integrity: YES / NO / CONDITIONAL (explanation)
  • Contextual Ecosystem: YES / NO / CONDITIONAL (explanation)
  • Classification: VIVIBYTE / UMBRABYTE / PETRIBYTE (with edge case notes)

Section 5: Preservation Strategy

Source: Chapter 4 (Preservation Strategies)

  • Preservation Method: Emulation / Migration / Hybrid (rationale)
  • Technical Implementation: Tools used, environment created, transformations applied
  • Verification: How was success confirmed? What works? What doesn't?
  • Archive Location: Where is it stored? Redundancy strategy? Access policy?

Section 6: Close Reading & Wisdom Extraction

Source: Chapter 7 (The Anvil - Close Reading)

  • What does it PROVE? (Vivibyte lesson - resilient principles)
  • What does it WARN? (Umbrabyte lesson - failure modes)
  • What does it REMEMBER? (Petribyte lesson - extinct functions)
  • What does it ARGUE? (Forensic lesson - encoded philosophy)
  • What does it ENABLE? (Anvil question - intervention possibilities)

Section 7: Anvil Output & Publication Plan

Source: Chapter 7 (The Anvil - Output Paths)

  • Output Path Selection: Monument / Landmark / Synthesis (rationale)
  • Production Plan: What will you build? Timeline? Resources needed?
  • Publishing Strategy: Where will it live? Owned ground confirmed? Licensing?
  • Citation Plan: How will sources be documented? Primary sources listed?

Section 8: Conclusion & Broader Significance

  • Summary of Findings: What did this excavation reveal?
  • Contribution to Field: Why does this matter? Who benefits?
  • Future Work: What questions remain? Next excavations needed?
  • Lessons Learned: Methodological reflections, challenges overcome

This eight-section structure ensures comprehensive documentation. Every excavation should produce a field report following this template. It becomes your portfolio, your proof of work, and your contribution to the discipline's cumulative knowledge.

II. Pre-Flight Checklist: Before You Excavate

Before beginning any excavation, run through this checklist. It prevents methodological errors, ensures ethical compliance, and saves time by catching issues early.

The Archaeobytologist's Pre-Flight Checklist

1

Define Your Research Question

What are you looking for? Why? What will you do with what you find?

⚠️ Without a clear question, excavation becomes aimless collecting.

2

Choose Your Excavation Protocol

Boolean search? Network analysis? Cultural keywords? Match method to target.

⚠️ Wrong protocol = low yield. Review Chapter 1 if uncertain.

3

Confirm Ethical Clearance Intent

Will you be able to publish this? Any obvious PII concerns? Copyright red flags?

⚠️ Don't waste time excavating unpublishable artifacts.

4

Prepare Documentation Tools

Field Report template ready? Screenshot tools installed? Note-taking system set up?

⚠️ Document as you go. Retroactive documentation misses details.

5

Confirm Preservation Capacity

Do you have storage space? Emulation tools? Migration software if needed?

⚠️ Don't excavate what you can't preserve.

6

Plan Your Anvil Output

What will you build with this? Monument, Landmark, or Synthesis? Where will it live?

⚠️ Excavation without Anvil plan creates archives that become morgues.

✓

Ready to Excavate

All six items confirmed? Begin your field work. Document everything.

This checklist takes 10 minutes but saves hours of wasted effort. Treat it as mandatory pre-flight procedure. No excavation begins without completing all six checks.

III. The Archaeobytologist's Toolkit

Effective archaeological work requires appropriate tools. This section recommends software, services, and resources for each stage of the workflow. All recommendations prioritize open-source or vendor-neutral options to avoid platform dependency.

Excavation Tools

  • Internet Archive Wayback Machine - Primary excavation site for archived web content. Learn advanced search operators.2
  • archive.org Collections - Software, audio, video, text archives. Specialized collections for specific eras/platforms.
  • GitHub Archive Search - Code archaeology. Search by language, date range, stars, forks.
  • Google Advanced Search - Date range filters, file type operators, site-specific searches for surface-level discovery.
  • Old Web Resources - Wiby.me (indexed pre-2000s sites), Neocities (contemporary hand-built web), GifCities (GeoCities GIF archive)

Forensic Analysis Tools

  • HxD Hex Editor (Windows) or Hex Fiend (Mac) - Examine file structure at byte level.
  • ExifTool - Extract metadata from files (creation dates, software used, embedded info).3
  • File Format Documentation - FileFormat.info, Library of Congress Digital Preservation formats registry.
  • MediaInfo - Technical details for video/audio files (codecs, bitrates, container formats).
  • DROID (Digital Record Object Identification) - UK National Archives tool for format identification.

Preservation Tools

  • Emulation: Internet Archive's Emularity - Browser-based emulation for DOS, Apple II, Commodore 64, arcade games.
  • Emulation: DOSBox / DOSBox-X - DOS environment emulation. Essential for 1980s-90s software.
  • Emulation: QEMU - Full system emulation for various architectures/OSes.
  • Migration: Pandoc - Document format conversion (Markdown, HTML, PDF, DOCX, etc.).
  • Migration: FFmpeg - Audio/video format conversion and normalization.4
  • Version Control: Git + GitHub - Track changes, maintain redundancy, publish code-based monuments.

Anvil Production Tools

  • Monument Building: HTML/CSS/JS - Learn fundamentals. Monuments require hand-coding for sovereignty.
  • Monument Hosting: Netlify / Vercel / GitHub Pages - Free static hosting with custom domains.
  • Domain Registration: Namecheap / Porkbun / Cloudflare - Own your ground. Avoid platform-bundled domains.
  • Synthesis Writing: Markdown + Static Site Generator - Obsidian, Jekyll, Hugo for owned blog infrastructure.
  • Citation Management: Zotero - Open-source reference manager with web clipper.5

Documentation & Organization Tools

  • Note-Taking: Obsidian / Notion - Linked notes for building knowledge graphs of excavations.
  • Screenshots: ShareX (Windows) / CleanShot (Mac) - Document what you find visually.
  • Web Archiving: ArchiveBox - Self-host your own archive of discovered artifacts.6
  • Spreadsheets: LibreOffice Calc / Google Sheets - Track excavations, build inventories, compare findings.

This toolkit prioritizes tools that respect your sovereignty—open-source where possible, vendor-neutral always, export-friendly universally. Build your practice on tools that won't become Umbrabytes themselves.

IV. Your First Excavation Assignment

This is your certification exercise. Complete this assignment to demonstrate mastery of the 200-level curriculum. You will conduct a full excavation, document it using the Master Field Report Template, and publish an Anvil output on owned ground.

ASSIGNMENT: Complete Field Report + Anvil Output

Objective

Excavate one significant Archaeobyte, document it through all seven workflow stages, and produce a publishable Anvil output. Your submission must include: (1) Complete Field Report following the Master Template, (2) Published Anvil output (Monument, Landmark, or Synthesis), (3) Reflection essay on lessons learned.

Requirements

  • Artifact Selection: Choose an Archaeobyte NOT covered in course case studies (no GeoCities homepages, ICQ, RSS feeds as primary focus)
  • Documentation Rigor: All eight sections of Field Report Template must be completed with evidence
  • Ethical Clearance: Must pass all three custodial filters (or document why modifications were needed)
  • Triage Classification: Defend your Vivibyte/Umbrabyte/Petribyte classification with three-axis diagnostic
  • Anvil Output: Must be published on owned ground (your own domain or guaranteed-export platform)
  • Citation Practice: Minimum 8 academic sources + proper primary source citations for the Archaeobyte itself

Suggested Artifact Categories

If you're unsure what to excavate, consider these fertile territories:

  • Web 1.0 Subcultures: Webrings, guestbooks, hit counters, animated GIFs, textfiles, ASCII art
  • Early Social Media: Friendster profiles, MySpace layouts, LiveJournal communities, Usenet groups
  • File Format Fossils: .SWF Flash files, .WAV tracker modules, .NFO scene releases, .HLP help files
  • Platform Extinctions: Google+, Vine, Delicious, StumbleUpon, Tumblr (pre-2018 adult content purge)
  • Interface Petribytes: Clippy, Windows 95 desktop themes, Winamp skins, Firefox extensions (pre-Quantum)
  • Gaming Ecosystems: Flash game portals, GameSpy servers, forum-based clans, mod communities

Evaluation Criteria

Your submission will be evaluated on:

  • Methodological Rigor (30%): Did you follow all protocols correctly? Is documentation complete?
  • Analytical Depth (25%): Is your close reading insightful? Did you extract meaningful wisdom?
  • Ethical Practice (15%): Did you handle custodial issues appropriately? Citations proper?
  • Anvil Execution (20%): Is your output well-crafted? Does it match the insight? Published correctly?
  • Scholarly Contribution (10%): Does this advance the field? Is it publishable quality?

Submission Format

Submit three components:

  1. Field Report PDF: 3000-5000 words following Master Template structure. Include screenshots, technical diagrams, and all documentation.
  2. Anvil Output URL: Live link to your published Monument/Landmark/Synthesis on owned ground. Must be publicly accessible.
  3. Reflection Essay: 500-1000 words discussing: What you learned, challenges encountered, how methodology evolved, what you'd do differently next time.

This assignment is not busywork—it is your first published contribution to digital archaeology as a discipline. Approach it with the same rigor you'd bring to any scholarly publication. Your field report could become a cited source for future archaeologists working in your chosen territory.

Conclusion: From Student to Archaeobytologist

This chapter has given you the operational infrastructure for independent practice: the Master Field Report Template integrating all seven protocols, the Pre-Flight Checklist preventing methodological errors, the Toolkit providing software resources for each workflow stage, and the First Excavation Assignment certifying your mastery.

You now possess the complete 200-level curriculum:

The theoretical foundation is complete. The methodological training is finished. What remains is practice—the accumulation of excavations, the refinement of technique, the building of your corpus, the forging of your reputation as an Archaeobytologist.

Your Professional Commitment:

As you complete your first field report and publish your first Anvil output, you join a discipline committed to preserving digital culture, extracting wisdom from artifacts, and building tools for wiser futures. Your work documents what would otherwise be lost. Your scholarship gives voice to extinct communities. Your Monuments make the past playable for generations who never experienced it.

The Archive excavates the wisdom of the past. The Anvil forges it into a wiser future. You are now equipped to do both. The field awaits your work.

Go forth and excavate.

You are an Archaeobytologist.

Works Cited

  1. 1 Hodder, I. (1999). The Archaeological Process: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
  2. 2 Internet Archive. (2025). "Wayback Machine." Retrieved from https://web.archive.org
  3. 3 Harvey, P. (2025). "ExifTool: Read, Write and Edit Meta Information." Retrieved from https://exiftool.org
  4. 4 FFmpeg Developers. (2025). "FFmpeg: A Complete, Cross-Platform Solution to Record, Convert and Stream Audio and Video." Retrieved from https://ffmpeg.org
  5. 5 Corporation for Digital Scholarship. (2025). "Zotero: Your Personal Research Assistant." Retrieved from https://www.zotero.org
  6. 6 ArchiveBox. (2025). "Open Source Self-Hosted Web Archiving." Retrieved from https://archivebox.io