Project: Psychological aspects of creating and acquiring knowledge about the past

  • Principal Investigator: Dr. Tomasz Michalik

    Contact: t.michalik@uw.edu.pl

    Project term:

    April 2021 to December 2023

    Funding:

    POB IV: The Humanities: Crossing Borders, Extending Capabilities
    Archaeo-Oriental studies (Action I.3.10)

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  • Psychological aspects of creating and acquiring knowledge about the past

    The past is not only the times gone by. It is also a type of knowledge that is produced by specialists and acquired by interested individuals. Human mind plays a key role in creating and acquiring knowledge as it shapes the way we process information. The mental strategies used in this process influence, among other things, how archaeological data are analyzed, interpreted and understood.

    In the framework of the project it is planned to conduct studies on understanding the psychological processes involved in the creation and acquisition of knowledge about the past. These studies are aimed to help: (1) improve the work of specialists dealing with the analysis of archaeological data, and (2) recognize the ways of thinking about the past among people from different cultures, which is to improve the accessibility of archaeological heritage.

    As part of the study, research tools and methodologies, such as eye tracking, corpus research or behavioral research will be used. The key aspect of the project is its interdisciplinarity, which combines the achievements of cognitive sciences with the methodology of archaeology. Such an approach is to result in the creation of unique knowledge concerning the mental foundations of archaeology and different ways of understanding the past.

    Associated events:
    • Research conducted within the project were placed on the open-air-exhibition presented during the 15th International Conference for Nubian Studies. [LINK]
    Lectures and conference presentations:
    • September 1, 2022: 15th International Conference for Nubian Studies, Michalik, Ryndziewicz: Looking at medieval Soba. The use of the eye-tracking method in understanding the strategies of searching for archaeological objects on archaeological magnetic data
    • June 6, 2022: Archeo-Oriental Seminar: Jak zobaczyć przeszłość? Badania nad wzrokowymi strategiami analizy danych archeologicznych [How to see the past? Research on visual strategies for archaeological data analysis]. [VIDEO][LINK]
    • September 16, 2021: PCMA Seminar: Patrząc na przeszłość. Wykorzystanie metody eye trackingowej w warsztacie badawczym archeologa [Looking at the past. The use of the eye tracking method in the research workshop of an archaeologist]. [LINK]
    Project bibliography:

    Links

 

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