ABSTRACT
Archaeology and photography have been closely linked ever since the development of photography in the 1830s. In the nineteenth century, the camera’s ability to record traces of the ancient past played a crucial role in the emergence of archaeology as a field of practice. Archaeology in the twentieth century used photographic technology to create, record, and circulate its evidence. This process led to the formation of sizeable photographic archives and the adoption of standards for taking photographs on excavations. Archaeologists still adhere to many of these standards, at the same time as digital technology has changed what camera work can do and enabled the digitization of earlier excavation archives that challenge archaeology to reflect on its colonial and imperial history. Tracing the relationship between archaeology and photography up to the present day, this chapter explains how archaeology has relied on photography to shape its methodology and self-identity.
