Merging Minecraft and Archaeology (ft. Pixlriffs!) | ArGaCon 2022

How does approaching Minecraft from an archaeological perspective change the way we play the game? Pixlriffs and I chatted about building the past on Empires SMP, cultures of preservation in Minecraft and the importance of preserving emerald ore at this year's ArchaeoGaming Conference 2022! We also built Al-Khazneh, or the Treasury at Petra, Jordan. Come take a look!

Follow these wonderful people!

0:00 – Building the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) at Petra
3:30 – Citing our sources
5:50 – Stewardship of Minecraft worlds
10:20 – SolidarityGaming’s Diamond Fossil
14:35 – Different types of preservation in Minecraft
20:09 – Preserve the emerald ore!!!
23:04 – Preservation in Minecraft vs preservation in real life
28:50 – Memory in Minecraft and bringing builds from one server to the next
30:45 – World downloads and the choice of when to make them
33:52 – How often do players leave no trace in Minecraft?
35:60 – Lack of decay vs. systematic creation of ruins in world generation
41:00 – Ancient Cities!
42:50 – Lack of similar iconography between existing structures in Minecraft
46:30 – Building archaeological sites in Minecraft helps our understanding of those sites
50:00 – Mechanisms in Minecraft encourage learning about those mechanisms in real life

Find me Here!

#minecraft #archaeology #creative

[ArchaeoPlays]

We had several great questions and comments in chat that we didn’t see during the talk, so I thought I’d highlight them in these comments!

Theshadiertwin made an important point about archaeology being connected to anthropology (and in the US archaeology is a subdiscipline of anthropology!). Given that, they asked whether we should have a way to ask the villagers about the ruins players find across their Minecraft worlds. I think this is a really cool idea, though I’m guessing it might take a lot to implement. But perhaps in villages with libraries, there are books that talk about them, for example, or trading enough with a villager (the only interaction we really have) might occasionally get you a piece of paper with a name or location or detail on it. At the very least, it’s a great idea for a mudpack or for a server of your own, hiding items around the villages that are less immediately useful, but lead to interesting stories or lore (and possibly valuable tools/items!).

lazugod asked if there similar sandbox games that can teach archaeological concepts. I’m honestly not super sure! I know Second Life was used in a number of archaeology classrooms, but more as an experiment for building ancient sites or societies like we’ve done here, rather than to teach specific archaeological concepts like I do in some of my other series. A lot of non-sandbox games also connect to archaeological concepts very well, as you’ve probably seen from the rest of this conference! But I’m not aware of archaeologists necessarily using other sandbox games to teach archaeological concepts per se…

There were also some excellent points made by emeraldlapin, dani_d58 and leopardmask: Emeraldlapin said that it's a bit eerily nostalgic to walk through world downloads of major SMPs, because you as a viewer have memories of the place and you know that what you're walking through isn't the final product, but a moment in time. Dani_d58 added that there's also an eeriness in the absence of all the people through whose perspectives we as viewers have come to know this world, so it is very much like walking through a landscape that was quickly abandoned - we can come in and make our own use of the world, but those who created these structures are no longer there. Leopardmask then noted that they have actually never touched the Hermitcraft Season 8 world download, in part because of what emeraldlapin and dani_d58 said, but also because there is an impending doom that we know as viewers of the series, so there is an overwhelming sense in the world download of time being frozen in that moment before catastrophe struck. 'It doesn't feel right to see it all intact.'

And finally, theshadiertwin asked: how many years of being a librarian before you're issued a laser beam like the warden? I think that question must go to actual librarians, but my guess is that it’s a closely guarded secret!

[BooksMusicMe]

Just an aside - despite what Pix said, there IS a functional reason to destroy emerald ore if you spawn in a mountain, as it enables you to trade with the wandering trader early game even if you haven't found a village yet, which would otherwise be impossible as the wandering trader ONLY accepts emeralds but won't trade to give the player emeralds.

[tanjimtusher]

Okay, I am building it in my heardcore world. my base is in a badlands a good place to build city of petra. Tnx for the video.