Chapter 0
FoundationThe Archaeologist's Blind Spot
Why this discipline exists. Digital Archaeology is failing—fragmented between Physicalists and Preservationists, neither saving meaning. The 350:1 Pompeii-to-GeoCities disparity. Archaeobytology provides the corrective lexicon and dual Archive-Anvil mandate.
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Chapter 1
Deep Excavation
The foundational methodology of the Archaeobytologist: the Excavation Protocol. Finding signal in the noise.
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Chapter 2
Forensics & the Tangible Archaeobyte
File formats as philosophical arguments. Reading material signatures through forensic materialism—from .MOD trackers to .BMP headers.
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Chapter 3
The Custodial Filter
The ethics of excavation. Navigating PII, copyright, and the ghosts of abandoned data through three filters and the triage diagnostic.
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Chapter 4
Preservation Strategies
Emulation vs. migration strategies for format obsolescence. When to recreate environments, when to transform artifacts.
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Chapter 5
Case Studies in Petrifaction
Petribytes as design fictions. Extracting blueprints from extinct functions—manual saves, desktop icons, RSS feeds, scroll bars, offline status.
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Chapter 6
The Warning of Rented Land
Umbrabyte sociology and platform collapse. Vine, Google Reader, Delicious, GameSpy, Flash—the architecture of ecosystem extinction.
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Chapter 7
The Anvil: Applied Analysis
From artifact to intervention. Close reading methodology, three output paths (Monument/Landmark/Synthesis), and publishing strategies.
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Chapter 8
Building Your Practice
Synthesizing the complete workflow. Your field report template, toolkit checklist, and first excavation assignment.
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Visual Resources & Infographics
Interactive Infographic
The Triage Protocol
Visual guide to the three-axis diagnostic: Vivibyte, Umbrabyte, Petribyte classification.
Interactive Infographic
The Excavation Protocol
Visual guide to deep excavation: dig sites, targets, and advanced methodology.
Interactive Infographic
The Anvil Workflow
Visual guide to applied analysis: five-stage pipeline from artifact to intervention.