ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores diverse experiences of community involvement with heritage by means of digital technologies, viewed from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. It provides an account of local community projects making use of remote sensing technologies linking these practices with the broader thematic of community archaeology. The book discusses how online maker communities create new spaces of engagement with cultural heritage in crafts-based areas. It focuses on adjusting technological support to user needs, resulting in simple, low-key technology in a bricolage approach. The book reflects on how engagement models can help understand and support participation in citizen science in cultural heritage. It examines how a community of Native Hawaiians used online platforms and social media as a means of cultural protection and indigenous empowerment to challenge political agendas that were unaware of traditional indigenous values in Hawai'i.