Project biography: an archival approach to large digital cultural resource management datasets

Methods for extracting archaeological information from large, digital databases of cultural resource management (development-led archaeology) records are frequently quantitative or aggregative. This approach can struggle to capture the details of how archaeological knowledge is produced socially. Here, the authors draw on archival science to describe ‘project biography’ as a means to understand how archaeological records—and their silences—are produced through decisions weighing the risks of development. This approach is illustrated using examples from South Africa’s digital heritage records database (SAHRIS), while also considering ethical entailments and the need to better understand the social worlds of cultural resource management.