Archaeobytology Protocol v1.0

The Field Guide

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Preamble: The "How-To" for the "Why"

This document is the formal, open-source methodology for the Archaeobytologist. It is the practical "field guide" that complements the "Anvil" thesis (the "why"). This protocol provides the "how-to" for excavation and triage.

It is a decision engine designed to answer the practitioner's two core questions:

  1. 1."I see 'digital dust.' Where do I even begin?" (Excavation Protocol)
  2. 2."I have found an artifact. What do I do now?" (Triage Protocol)

Part 1: The Excavation Protocol (The Trowel)

Before the "Triage Protocol" (The Microscope) can be engaged, the practitioner must first find a discrete artifact. The "digital past" is not a curated museum; it is a "crisis of noise," a field of "undifferentiated dust."1

The Excavation Protocol is the "Field Guide for the Trowel." It is a formal, three-phase methodology for turning a chaotic "junkyard" into a defined "dig site" and finding a discrete "signal" (an Archaeobyte) within that noise.

It answers the practitioner's first question: "I see 'digital dust.' Where do I even begin?"

START: The "Digital Dust" (Crisis of Noise)
Phase 1: Define Dig Site (The "Where")

Scope the "field" to turn a "junkyard" into a "dig site." Where are you looking?

Curated Archive A known, structured collection. e.g., Internet Archive, GeoCities Mirror
"Wild" Archive An unstructured, abandoned site. e.g., Old FTP servers, dead sites
Conceptual Site A "living" platform, excavated for its "ghosts." e.g., Twitter, Reddit, GitHub
Phase 2: Define Target (The "What")

What *kind* of artifact are you hunting for?

Tangible (The File) Hunting for specific files, formats, or code. e.g., "Find all .swf files," "Look for guestbook.cgi"
Conceptual (The Ghost) Hunting for lost behaviors, rituals, or concepts. e.g., "Find examples of 'Away Messages'"
Phase 3: Sifting Methodology (The "How")

Apply a formal method to find the "find."

Keyword Sifting e.g., "guestbook," "home page"
Relational Mapping e.g., Following "blogrolls," "Webrings"
Stratigraphic Sampling e.g., "Only GeoCities 1999"
OUTPUT: The "First Find" (An Archaeobyte)

Section 1.1: Phase 1: Define Dig Site (The "Where")

The first act of excavation is to scope the "field." The practitioner must define the boundaries of their search.

  • Path 1: Curated Archive

    A known, structured, and often-cataloged collection. This is the most common and lowest-friction dig site.
    Examples: The Internet Archive, a specific GeoCities Mirror (e.g., Restorativland), a museum's digital collection, a specific "Archive Team" rescue.

  • Path 2: "Wild" Archive

    An unstructured, abandoned, or "living" site that is not formally preserved. This requires more skill and often involves "404-hunting" or server exploration.
    Examples: Abandoned FTP servers, dead (but still hosted) websites, expired forum domains.

  • Path 3: Conceptual Site

    A "living" platform that is not "ancient" but is excavated for the "ghosts" of its own past rituals.
    Examples: Excavating GitHub for the README.md ritual, studying Twitter for "Conceptual Petribytes" (like the "retweet-with-comment" vs. the original "RT"), or Reddit for "forum signature"-like user flairs.

Section 1.2: Phase 2: Define Target (The "What")

Once the "dig site" is defined, the practitioner must define what they are hunting for.

  • Target 1: Tangible (The File)

    This is a hunt for specific files, formats, or code. The query is technical.
    Methodology: The practitioner is looking for "potsherds."
    Examples: "Find all .swf (Flash) files," "Look for guestbook.cgi scripts," "Isolate all .mp3 files encoded before 1999."

  • Target 2: Conceptual (The Ghost)

    This is a hunt for lost behaviors, rituals, or concepts. The query is cultural and anthropological.
    Methodology: The practitioner is looking for "cultural ghosts."
    Examples: "Find examples of the 'AIM Away Message' ritual," "Trace the social connections of a 'Webring'," "Document the visual language of 'Forum Signatures'."

Section 1.3: Phase 3: Sifting Methodology (The "How")

With a "dig site" and "target" defined, the practitioner applies a formal method to find the first "find."

  • Method 1: Keyword Sifting

    The most basic method. Searching the "dig site" for specific terms that act as "index fossils" for a time or behavior.
    Examples: "guestbook," "home page," "under construction," "blogroll," "about me."

  • Method 2: Relational Mapping

    A more advanced method. This involves following the "hand-built bridges" of the past to map a community, rather than just finding a single file.
    Examples: Following every link in a "blogroll," mapping the users in a "Webring," tracing a rel="friend" network.

  • Method 3: Stratigraphic Sampling

    A precise, "core sample" method. The practitioner isolates a specific "slice" of time or technology to find a representative artifact.
    Examples: "Only artifacts from the 'GeoCities/Vienna' neighborhood in 1999," "Only Flash 5 games from Newgrounds," "Only README.txt files from the 1980s demoscene."

The output of this three-phase protocol is the "First Find": a discrete Archaeobyte that has been successfully excavated from the "digital dust."

This artifact is then handed off to the next protocol: the Triage Protocol (The Microscope).

Part 2: The Triage Protocol (The Microscope)

This protocol engages after the "Excavation Protocol" is complete. It answers the practitioner's second question: "I have found an artifact. What do I do now?"

START: The "First Find" (An Archaeobyte)
Phase 1: Classification (The "What")

Classify the artifact's "state of being" to determine the preservation strategy.

Vivibyte (Living) An active, changing artifact. Strategy: Episodic Capture
Umbrabyte (Liminal) A static but "lost" artifact. Strategy: Discrete Capture & Context
Petribyte (Fossilized) An artifact whose context is dead. Strategy: Object Migration & Reconstruction
Phase 2: Preservation Triage (The "How & Can I")

Determine the technical and ethical path to preservation.

Filter A: Contextual
Path 1: Object-based Action: Migration
Path 2: Experience-based Action: Emulation
Filter B: Custodial
Question: Privacy (PII)? Action: Redact or Embargo
Question: Copyright? Action: Cite & "Fair Use"
Phase 3: Academic Synthesis (The "So What")

Determine the artifact's final scholarly output and value.

Path 1: Digital Dust (No Resonance) Action: Archive (Log metadata)
Path 2: Curio (Resonance, No Rigor) Action: Preserve & Document
Path 3: Landmark (Resonance & Rigor) Action: Amplify & Synthesize

Section 2.1: Phase 1: Classification (The "What")

The first act of the Triage Protocol is to define the "find." The practitioner must classify the artifact's "state of being" using the Archaeobyte Lexicon (as defined in Theses 1-4).

  • Vivibyte (Living): An active, changing artifact.

    Preservation Strategy: Episodic Capture (e.g., periodic web-harvesting of a living site).

  • Umbrabyte (Liminal): A static but "lost" artifact.

    Preservation Strategy: Discrete Capture and Contextual Documentation (noting how it was found and what is broken).

  • Petribyte (Fossilized): An artifact whose original context is dead.

    Preservation Strategy: Object Migration and Contextual Reconstruction (e.g., emulation).

This initial classification is the practitioner's first practical "so what." It defines the urgency and the technical challenge of the preservation required.

Section 2.2: Phase 2: Preservation Triage (The "How & Can I")

Once classified, the artifact enters a two-filter Triage to determine the technical and ethical path to preservation.

Filter A: The Contextual Filter (How to Preserve)

This filter forces the practitioner to decide if the true artifact is the object or its environment.

  • Path 1: Object-based (e.g., .mp3, .txt, source code). The file is the artifact.

    Action: MIGRATION. Save the file to a stable, modern repository and document its source.

  • Path 2: Experience-based (e.g., a Flash game, an interactive website). The file alone is useless.

    Action: EMULATION. Preserve the entire software and hardware environment (using tools like OldWeb.today or Ruffle) required to run the artifact as it was intended.

Filter B: The Custodial Filter (Is it Ethical & Legal?)

This filter addresses the real-world barriers to preservation.

  • Question 1: Privacy (PII). Does the artifact contain Personally Identifiable Information (e.g., a forum database, private emails)?

    Action: REDACT. The practitioner must scrub all PII, or place the artifact under an Embargo restricting access to cleared researchers.

  • Question 2: Copyright. Does the artifact have clear copyright limitations (e.g., a commercial .mp3, proprietary software)?

    Action: CITE & "FAIR USE". The practitioner's action is to archive the artifact under the academic principle of "fair use for research and preservation," and to meticulously Cite the original copyright holder in the metadata.2

Section 2.3: Phase 3: Academic Synthesis (The "So What")

This is the final decision engine. The artifact is now classified, preserved, and cleared. This phase answers the practitioner's ultimate question: "What is the scholarly output?"

This is a three-path filter to determine the artifact's final value.

  • Path 1: Digital Dust (No Resonance)

    Definition: The artifact has no discernible human story or cultural value (e.g., a corrupted file, a machine-generated log, spam).
    Action: ARCHIVE. The practitioner logs the artifact with minimal metadata and moves on.

  • Path 2: Curio (Resonance, No Rigor)

    Definition: The artifact has a clear human story but has no verifiable "echo" or relevance to a modern cultural conversation (e.g., an inside joke from a dead forum).
    Action: PRESERVE & DOCUMENT. This is the "museum piece." The scholarly output is a "Digital Monument"—a paper or exhibit that explains the artifact's story and preserves its context for future researchers.

  • Path 3: Landmark (Resonance & Rigor)

    Definition: The artifact's story is highly relevant today (e.g., the GeoCities Guestbook as the "ancestor" of all social media).
    Action: AMPLIFY & SYNTHESIZE. This is the "thesis-driver." The scholarly output is a new thesis, book, or framework that connects this "fossil" directly to the "living" present.

Works Cited