Archaeobytology

Definition

Etymology

The term was coined in 2024 by Josie Jefferson and Felix Velasco as the capstone concept for a taxonomy of digital artifacts based on their lifecycle state. The construction deliberately parallels traditional archaeological disciplines (Egyptology, Assyriology) while asserting that digital artifacts—even those mere decades old—can be "ancient" in terms of technological obsolescence and cultural distance.

The neologism addresses a disciplinary gap: media archaeology studies old media but often theoretically; library science preserves but rarely excavates or engineers; computer science archives technically but not culturally. Archaeobytology synthesizes these traditions while adding the Anvil dimension—building sovereignty infrastructure to prevent future platform murder.

Origin and Development

The term emerged from Unearth Heritage Foundry's work documenting platform shutdowns and developing digital sovereignty infrastructure. The framework was systematically developed through a comprehensive 18-chapter textbook covering theory, methodology, institutional design, and professional practice.

The discipline is anchored by a taxonomic innovation: four artifact types (vivibyte, archaeobyte, umbrabyte, petribyte) that map the lifecycle from endangered to monumental, plus a methodological duality (Archive + Anvil) that integrates preservation with prospective infrastructure building.

The Archaeobyte Taxonomy

Archaeobytology introduces a four-stage taxonomy for classifying digital artifacts based on their existential state:

Vivibyte [DOI]

A digital artifact that is currently alive (accessible, functional) but exists on vulnerable infrastructure facing existential threats. The "living endangered species" of digital culture. Requires active monitoring and triage preparation.

Example: Content on Twitter/X during ownership instability; Tumblr blogs post-NSFW purge; YouTube videos targeted by copyright claims.

Archaeobyte [DOI]

A digital artifact that was once alive, died through platform shutdown or obsolescence, and has been preserved in some form. Exists in liminal state between death and potential resurrection through emulation or migration.

Example: GeoCities pages saved by Archive Team; Flash games preserved by Flashpoint; Vine videos archived by community efforts.

Umbrabyte [DOI]

A digital artifact that is technically dead (inaccessible, non-functional) but has not been properly preserved. Exists in fragmentary or corrupted form, haunting the present through memory and partial remnants. Represents preservation failure.

Example: Lost MySpace music from 2003-2013 server migration; deleted Tumblr posts with no archive; early YouTube videos purged during copyright sweeps.

Petribyte [DOI]

A digital artifact so old that its original context is historical, has been durably preserved by institutions, and is treated as cultural heritage. Has achieved monumental stability and requires only maintenance, not rescue.

Example: ARPANET documentation preserved by Computer History Museum; early email protocols archived by Internet Engineering Task Force; first web pages maintained by CERN.

Nullibyte [DOI]

A digital artifact that is confirmed to have existed but is currently lost. A "missing persons report" for data. The artifact is known through metadata, citations, or broken links, but the content itself is missing. The void where data used to be.

Example: A cited URL that now returns a 404; a deleted tweet known only by its ID; a lost database referenced in documentation.

Cryptobyte [DOI]

A digital artifact whose existence is rumored but unverified. The "Bigfoot" of the digital world. It lives in folklore, screenshots, and anecdotal testimony but has not been scientifically confirmed or captured in the Archive.

Example: The rumored "Director's Cut" of a game; a legendary "dark web" server that may have never existed; features described in beta tests but never seen in production code.

The Archive and the Anvil

Complete archaeobytological practice requires two complementary modes:

The Archive (Retrospective)

The practice of excavating endangered artifacts, preserving them with technical and cultural fidelity, curating collections, interpreting for future generations, and providing access. Looks backward to save what's endangered. Employs triage methodology to decide what to preserve when resources are finite.

The Anvil (Prospective)

The practice of forging tools, protocols, and institutions that embody digital sovereignty and resist the forces that murdered previous platforms. Looks forward to build alternatives. Named for the blacksmith's anvil where new things are forged from raw materials and heat.

The Dual Soul integrates both practices: Archives without alternatives accept defeat; building without remembering repeats mistakes. The complete archaeobytologist excavates what was lost while engineering sovereignty infrastructure to prevent future loss.

The Three Pillars of Digital Sovereignty

The Anvil dimension builds on three foundational principles:

1. Declaration (I Am)

You should be able to declare your identity and existence without permission from platforms or intermediaries. Self-owned identity (username@yourdomain.com), persistent presence, uncensorable voice.

2. Connection (Instant Message)

You should be able to communicate directly with others without platform mediation, monitoring, or monetization. Peer-to-peer communication, portable relationships, intentional discovery.

3. Ground (Digital Real Estate)

You should own the infrastructure your digital life is built on, not rent it from landlords who can evict you. Data ownership, infrastructure control, persistence independent of platform survival.

Digital Sovereignty is achieved by embodying all Three Pillars simultaneously—the ability to exist, communicate, and build in digital space without corporate gatekeeping.

Platform Murder

A central concept distinguishing archaeobytology from passive digital preservation: platform murder is the deliberate erasure of digital artifacts by platforms through shutdown, terms of service purges, or acquisition-and-closure.

This is distinguished from:

• Passive obsolescence – technological formats naturally decaying
• Neglect – link rot and server abandonment
• Censorship – removal of specific prohibited content

Platform murder represents an active corporate choice to kill content that users created and communities relied upon. Examples include GeoCities shutdown (2009), Google Reader closure (2013), Vine shutdown (2017), Tumblr NSFW purge (2018), and ongoing Twitter/X content volatility.

Archaeobytology treats platform murder as a systemic problem requiring not just preservation response but prospective infrastructure alternatives—the Anvil must address root causes, not just symptoms.

Core Methodologies

Triage Protocol

The methodology for deciding what to preserve when you cannot save everything. Borrowed from emergency medicine. Employs the Custodial Filter—five ethical questions:

1. Cultural Significance – Does this represent something that would otherwise be lost?
2. Technical Fragility – How close to disappearance?
3. Rescue Feasibility – How difficult to preserve?
4. Existing Redundancy – Is someone else saving this?
5. Consent and Ethics – Should we preserve this?

Excavation Protocols

Technical methods for artifact recovery: web scraping, API harvesting, emulation, format migration. Requires navigating legal gray areas (fair use, terms of service violations) and technical challenges (JavaScript rendering, authentication walls, rate limiting).

Custodial Ethics

Framework for responsible stewardship addressing consent, privacy, context collapse, and community consultation. Recognizes that preservation carries power—deciding what future generations can know about the past.

Discipline Formation and Institutional Design

Archaeobytology positions itself as an emerging academic discipline requiring:

• Intellectual coherence – Shared questions, methods, and theoretical frameworks
• Institutional infrastructure – Departments, journals, conferences, professional associations
• Professional pathways – Degree programs, certifications, career tracks
• Boundary work – Defining what archaeobytology IS and ISN'T
• Canonical texts – Core readings establishing disciplinary foundation
• External recognition – Funding, academic legitimacy, public awareness

The comprehensive textbook serves as founding document, establishing theoretical frameworks (Chapter 1-4), methodologies (5-9), institutional economics (10-13), memory institution partnerships (14), political economy (15), and movement building (16-18).

Usage and Context

The term is primarily used in:

• Digital preservation and archival science
• Platform studies and critical internet research
• Digital sovereignty and decentralization movements
• Media archaeology and internet history
• Cultural heritage stewardship
• Academic programs in digital humanities and library science

Example usage: "Archaeobytology provides frameworks for preserving GeoCities artifacts while building federated alternatives to prevent future platform murder."

Related Concepts and Companion Terms

Novel Terms in the Archaeobytology Framework

• Archaeobyte: Dead but preserved digital artifact. [Full definition] [DOI]
• Vivibyte: Living but endangered digital artifact. [Full definition] [DOI]
• Umbrabyte: Dead and unpreserved artifact existing as fragment. [Full definition] [DOI]
• Petribyte: Monumentally preserved cultural heritage artifact. [Full definition] [DOI]
• Nullibyte: Confirmed lost artifact (the void). [Full definition] [DOI]
• Cryptobyte: Unverified legendary artifact (the rumor). [Full definition] [DOI]
• The Anvil: Prospective practice of sovereignty engineering. [Full definition]

Comparison to Existing Fields

• Media Archaeology: Studies old media theoretically; archaeobytology adds hands-on preservation and sovereignty engineering.
• Library Science: Focuses on institutional preservation; archaeobytology includes grassroots excavation and platform alternatives.
• Digital Humanities: Uses digital tools for humanities research; archaeobytology makes digital artifacts themselves the object of study.
• Computer Science: Archives technically but not culturally; archaeobytology integrates technical methods with cultural interpretation.

The Archaeobytology Textbook

The discipline is documented in a comprehensive 18-chapter textbook covering:

Plus five appendices: Glossary, Tools and Resources, Sample Syllabi, Teaching Resources, and Professional Resources.

Educational Resources

The archaeobytology.org site includes structured courses:

• Archaeobytology 101: Foundations – Introductory course covering taxonomy, Archive/Anvil, triage protocols
• Archaeobytology 200: Methods – Advanced course on excavation techniques, preservation workflows, institutional design
• Case Studies – Documented examples of platform shutdowns and preservation responses
• Professional Practice – Resources for archaeobytologists in academic, institutional, and grassroots contexts

Glossary of Key Terms

Core terminology developed within the archaeobytology framework. Full glossary →

Platform Murder

Deliberate erasure of digital artifacts by platforms through shutdown, terms of service purges, or acquisition-and-closure. Active corporate choice to kill content, distinguished from passive obsolescence or neglect.

Triage

Methodology for deciding what to preserve when you cannot save everything. Employs the Custodial Filter to evaluate cultural significance, technical fragility, rescue feasibility, existing redundancy, and ethics.

Custodial Filter

Five-question ethical framework for triage decisions: Cultural Significance, Technical Fragility, Rescue Difficulty, Existing Redundancy, Consent and Ethics. Ensures preservation decisions are thoughtful rather than arbitrary.

Dual Soul

Integration of Archive (retrospective preservation) and Anvil (prospective sovereignty engineering) as complementary practices. Complete archaeobytology requires both—remembering what was lost while building alternatives.

Custodial Responsibility

Ethical burden of preservation: by choosing what to save, you decide what future generations can know about the past. Every preservation decision is also a decision to let something else die.

Federated Architecture

System design where multiple independent servers interoperate using open protocols without central authority. Example: Mastodon, email. Enables sovereignty through distribution.

Bit Rot

Gradual degradation of digital storage media over time. Hard drives fail, CDs deteriorate, flash memory loses charge. Requires active preservation through redundant copies and periodic migration.

Context Collapse

When content created for one audience becomes visible to different audience. Common in archives when private/semi-private content is preserved and made accessible to public or future researchers.

Visual Resources