Browsing by Author "Biittner, Katie"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    A German rifle casing and Chief Mkwawa of the Wahehe: the colonial and post-colonial significance of Mlambalasi rockshelter, Iringa Region, Tanzania
    (2019) Willoughby, Pamela R.; Biittner, Katie; Bushozi, Pastory M.; Miller, Jennifer M.
    During the 2010 excavations of Mlambalasi rockshelter, Iringa Region, Tanzania, a single rifle bullet casing was recovered. Analysis of this casing found that it was manufactured in 1877 at the munitions factory in Danzig for the German infantry’s Mauser 71 rifle. This casing is thus directly linked to the period of German colonization of Tanganyika, during which Iringa was a key centre of anti-colonial resistance. Mlambalasi was the location of the last stand of Chief Mkwawa of the Hehe people, and this bullet casing provides a tangible link to his uprising during the 1890s. In light of this colonial context and our ongoing research at Mlambalasi, this find is used to illustrate that a single artifact can reinforce multiple narratives about the past and the significance of an archaeological site.
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    Detail of exploring queer joy: the importance of positive LGBTQ+ narratives
    (2020) Heber, Janine; Biittner, Katie
    Media is a powerful tool for socializing society about norms. Media portrayals of LGBTQ+ narratives often reinforce heteronormative ideals in society. Lack of representation or narratives that exploit the trauma of LGBTQ+ characters can lead to associations of queerness with negative outcomes and unhappiness. However, LGBTQ+ narratives that focus on the joy and happiness between characters can serve as a catalyst for acceptance. As such, it is important to celebrate and highlight series like Schitt’s Creek which intentionally show the tenderness, happiness, acceptance, and love of LGBTQ+ characters. The centre of the hoop is the hand embroidered image from the show's billboard. In an interview, Daniel Levy, the co-creator of Schitt’s Creek, shared that he wanted to do something bold for the final season and that his younger self would never have dreamed of seeing a billboard with two men kissing. Many fans have taken photos in front of the billboard to share their acceptance and celebration of queer love. When young sunflowers grow, they turn towards the direction of the sunlight during the day and reverse course at dawn so they are ready for morning. A study by Harmer in 2016 found that restricted sunflowers that were unable to turn were smaller in size and had fewer petals. In the same way, lack of positive LGBTQ+ narratives negatively impact the lives of LGBTQ+ people. Here, the border of sunflowers represents a collective turning towards LGBTQ+ joy, health, and happiness. When we celebrate and support positive and healthy LGBTQ+ media representations, like the sunflowers in sunlight, we can all flourish and grow.
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    Ethics in research: An overview of universal ethics and the perpetuation of inequality in academia
    (2021) Wiseman, Brittany; Biittner, Katie; Davis, Monica
    Ethics govern how research is conducted by Western institutions, though there are limitations in how effective codes of conduct can be in ensuring that research practice is truly ethical in all situations. Though practices have improved, there are several considerations that must still be met to ensure that research is both beneficial and respectful to all involved. The historical lack of repercussions that have accompanied Western research practice has functioned to further disadvantage Indigenous People, People of Color, and women. This has allowed for sexism, harassment, racism, and discrimination to continue. Existing ethical protocols are limited based on the inherent subjectivity in how ethics are perceived, where supplementary protocols should be created on a case by case basis that actively include and empower voices from local community members and researchers. Additionally, recognition of the past and present inequalities faced by marginalized groups is necessary to rectify the issues that these people face while they establish themselves in academic disciplines. This research project addresses the problems associated with “universal” ethical protocols, the disconnect that exists in the construction and ideological view of ethics between disciplines, and the ways that Western research practice has been shaped, including how the hierarchy present in academic institutions continues to marginalize and disadvantage certain groups of people, with particular emphasis on the perpetuation of racism and sexism.
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    Exploring queer joy: the importance of positive LGBTQ+ narratives
    (2020) Heber, Janine; Biittner, Katie
    Media is a powerful tool for socializing society about norms. Media portrayals of LGBTQ+ narratives often reinforce heteronormative ideals in society. Lack of representation or narratives that exploit the trauma of LGBTQ+ characters can lead to associations of queerness with negative outcomes and unhappiness. However, LGBTQ+ narratives that focus on the joy and happiness between characters can serve as a catalyst for acceptance. As such, it is important to celebrate and highlight series like Schitt’s Creek which intentionally show the tenderness, happiness, acceptance, and love of LGBTQ+ characters. The centre of the hoop is the hand embroidered image from the show's billboard. In an interview, Daniel Levy, the co-creator of Schitt’s Creek, shared that he wanted to do something bold for the final season and that his younger self would never have dreamed of seeing a billboard with two men kissing. Many fans have taken photos in front of the billboard to share their acceptance and celebration of queer love. When young sunflowers grow, they turn towards the direction of the sunlight during the day and reverse course at dawn so they are ready for morning. A study by Harmer in 2016 found that restricted sunflowers that were unable to turn were smaller in size and had fewer petals. In the same way, lack of positive LGBTQ+ narratives negatively impact the lives of LGBTQ+ people. Here, the border of sunflowers represents a collective turning towards LGBTQ+ joy, health, and happiness. When we celebrate and support positive and healthy LGBTQ+ media representations, like the sunflowers in sunlight, we can all flourish and grow.
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    Fourteen years of archaeological and heritage research in the Iringa Region, Tanzania
    (2020) Miller, Jennifer M.; Werner, J. J.; Biittner, Katie; Willoughby, Pamela R.
    The Iringa Region is famous among archaeologists for the Acheulean site of Isimila, and among historians as the stronghold where Chief Mkwawa led the Hehe resistance against German colonial forces. However, our research reveals that Iringa has a rich archaeological record that spans the period from the Stone Age into the recent past. This article summarizes the results of 14 years of research by our team, the Iringa Region Archaeological Project (IRAP). Since 2006, IRAP members have recorded 67 sites, and this only scratches the surface of the archaeological potential in the area. These sites, some of which were recorded in conjunction with local participants, have archaeological component characteristic of the Early, Middle, and Later Stone Age, the Iron Age, and the recent past. We consider the archaeological and historical value of Iringa to be high and hope that this work inspires future research, tourism, and conservation efforts in the area.
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    Inspecting the foundation of Mystery House
    (2019) Aycock, John; Biittner, Katie
    Computer games are recent artifacts that have had, and continue to have, enormous cultural impact. In this interdisciplinary collaboration between computer science and archaeology, we closely examine one such artifact: the 1980 Apple II game Mystery House, the first graphical adventure. We focus on implementation rather than gameplay, treating the game as a digital artifact. What can we learn about the game and its development process through reverse engineering and analysis of the code, data, and game image? Our exploration includes a technical critique of the code, examining the heretofore uncritical legacy of Ken Williams as a programmer. As game development is a human activity, we place it in a theoretical framework from archaeology, to show how a field used to analyze physical artifacts might adapt to shed new light on digital games.
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    LeGACy code: studying how (amateur) game developers used Graphic Adventure Creator
    (2020) Aycock, John; Biittner, Katie
    How did game programmers use early game development tools, and how does this fit into the bigger picture of how humans use tools and technology? To help answer these questions, we embark on an interdisciplinary collaboration between archaeology and computer science. Graphic Adventure Creator (GAC) was released in the mid-1980s for a number of microcomputers; we focus here on the 1986 version for the ZX Spectrum, a popular UK computer of that era. GAC was a game-development tool for creating text adventure games, optionally with graphic images. We have amassed a corpus of nearly all known GAC-produced games for the Spectrum – over 130 – and reverse-engineered the game format. We extracted out all the games’ data, and built a software framework to perform static and dynamic analysis of all these games at scale. This empirical data, plus contextual information from some interviews we conducted, gives us unique insight into the nature of how this tool was used to make games.
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    LeGACy code: studying how (amateur) game developers used Graphic Adventure Creator
    (2020) Aycock, John; Biittner, Katie
    How did game programmers use early game development tools, and how does this fit into the bigger picture of how humans use tools and technology? To help answer these questions, we embark on an interdisciplinary collaboration between archaeology and computer science. Graphic Adventure Creator (GAC) was released in the mid-1980s for a number of microcomputers; we focus here on the 1986 version for the ZX Spectrum, a popular UK computer of that era. GAC was a game-development tool for creating text adventure games, optionally with graphic images. We have amassed a corpus of nearly all known GAC-produced games for the Spectrum – over 130 – and reverse-engineered the game format. We extracted out all the games’ data, and built a software framework to perform static and dynamic analysis of all these games at scale. This empirical data, plus contextual information from some interviews we conducted, gives us unique insight into the nature of how this tool was used to make games.
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    Still entombed after all these years: The continuing twists and turns of a maze game
    (2022) Newell, P. A.; Aycock, John; Biittner, Katie
    The Atari 2600 video game Entombed (1982) left open questions in the design and implementation of its efficient maze-generation algorithm that, through serendipity, we are able to address at last. We have analysed almost 500 artefacts that capture the development process leading up to Entombed, artefacts that have not been seen for decades, including a distinct, unreleased Atari 2600 game. This work is interdisciplinary between the fields of archaeology and computer science in the area of archaeogaming; computer science has allowed informed technical analysis of the artefacts, with processes from archaeology used to manage and organise the large number of artefacts, as well as view game development in a human, archaeological context. The deliberate inclusion of a co-author who was a first-hand participant in the game development additionally raises interesting questions about autoethnography, authorship, and objectivity.
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    The Solutrean hypothesis: an examination of a lesser known model for the peopling of the Americas
    (2016) Woodford, William; Biittner, Katie
    The objectives for this research project are to investigate the "Solutrean Hypothesis", which is often overlooked within the field of Anthropology, as well as by the general population as a whole. A summary of the model as well as evidence used to support and to challenge this model are presented. This model and the associated evidence used to support and to challenge the Solutrean Hypothesis are presented. This poster examines the published evidence for the peopling of the Americas and evaluates various models. Through this examination the intention is to gain a broader view on ancient humans and their capabilities to migrate vast distances. This will include a better understanding of the potential technologies they could have used to cross the North Atlantic Ocean.
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    Weaving heritage: the baskets of Iringa, Tanzania
    (2020) Greene, Liam; Biittner, Katie
    This exhibition displays the technology of Iringa basket making through various media (i.e. raw materials, individual basket segments) and a variety of finished baskets. These are presented in order to display variation in both weave design and vessel function, while also giving viewers a better understanding of both the craft and ability of Iringa basket weavers. Photographs are used to present the tradition and cultural heritage value of Iringa baskets through the makers actions and abilities. The current poster was shown in combination with spoken word, various photographs capturing basket weaving technology and weaver abilities, and both physical basket components and finished baskets.