Present Archaeology Pedagogy | SIGGRAPH 2026 Educators Forum

Abstract

Present Archaeology Pedagogy (PAP)

This SIGGRAPH Engaging Education Technique and Assignment introduces Present Archaeology Pedagogy (PAP), which reframes the present as an archaeological site—students excavate living traces and map memories to preserve cross-cultural digital heritage before it vanishes.

PAP positions students as archaeologists rather than designers, requiring two methodological pillars before digital production: (1) Field Excavation—community-embedded research including interviews, oral histories, and sensory documentation; (2) Memory-Mapping—visualizing intangible heritage elements (rituals, sounds, social bonds) and their interconnections.

Cross-cultural validation occurred through the M-NODE workshop (DIMA Korea × RMIT Vietnam, January 2026), funded by Korea's RISE initiative. Six mixed Korean-Vietnamese teams addressed heritage themes; evaluation by eight international judges confirmed PAP's transferability: teams demonstrating stronger field excavation evidence produced higher-quality heritage outcomes.

Present Archaeology Pedagogy Digital Heritage Memory-Mapping Cross-Cultural Education EETA M-NODE

Methodology

The PAP Framework

Present Archaeology Pedagogy positions students as archaeologists of living heritage. The framework emerged from DIMA's Korean heritage projects, where community-embedded students produced work capturing "intangible souls"—rituals, sounds, social bonds.

Field Excavation Protocol

Before digital tools open, students embed themselves in communities: conducting interviews, collecting oral histories, recording ambient soundscapes, observing daily patterns. Students must return with local context evidence—primary materials proving embodied engagement.

Memory-Mapping Methodology

Students translate field evidence into memory-maps: visual diagrams plotting intangible heritage elements (rituals, sounds, smells, social bonds) and their interconnections, targeting UNESCO's "practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills."

Evidence Gate

A Planning & Strategy rubric functions as a production gate: teams submit Excavation Packets before prototyping. Without demonstrated community engagement, teams cannot proceed to digital production.

Validation

Case Studies: M-NODE Workshop

M-NODE (January 18–23, 2026) connected DIMA and RMIT Vietnam, funded by Korea's RISE initiative. Six mixed Korean-Vietnamese teams addressed the "Lost Places, Living Stories" theme. Eight international judges evaluated five categories (/20 each).

Memories of Water

Team E: 599/800

Interactive installation with body recognition, shallow water basin, and 2-channel LED screens.

Field Excavation: Korean students documented Suwon's historic riverside laundries—communal spaces where women gathered, washed, and exchanged stories. Vietnamese students excavated oral histories of Hàm Nghi canal—filled in during urban development, erasing waterside communities.

Memory-Mapping: Team mapped the "Spirit of Water" as connective tissue between both sites, identifying parallel rituals of gathering, cleansing, and storytelling. Visitors step into shallow water to trigger projections, becoming the Spirit who bridges past and present.

Planning & Strategy Score: 15.25/20 (highest among all teams)

Memories of Water - Installation view showing water basin and dual screens

Memories of Water - Detail of projection interaction

Video Documentation

Project Resources

📹 Video (Google Drive) 📋 Documentation (Figma) 🎨 Presentation (Figma)

Still Current

Team M: 526/800

Blender+Unity real-time demo with hand-tracking navigation.

Field Excavation: Comparative documentation of Vietnamese floating houses and Korean shanty houses—both impermanent dwellings facing erasure.

Memory-Mapping: Focused on dwelling rhythms and spatial rituals within precarious structures.

Planning & Strategy Score: 13.38/20

Still Current - Vietnamese floating house 3D reconstruction

Still Current - Korean shanty house comparison

Video Documentation

Project Resources

▶️ Video (YouTube) 📋 Documentation (Figma) 🎨 Presentation (Figma) 📝 Documentation (Notion) 📊 Presentation (Notion)

For Educators

Materials for Adoption

Field Excavation Protocol
Interview guides, observation templates, sensory documentation checklists (sound recording, texture photography, smell notation), archival research frameworks.
Memory-Mapping Templates
Node types (rituals, sounds, objects, relationships, emotions), connection taxonomies, temporal layering strategies.
Evidence Gate Rubric
Indicators for excavation quality, memory-map depth, narrative coherence. Teams cannot proceed to production without rubric approval.
Demo-Day Protocol
10-minute presentation template, critique guidelines for international jury panels.
Cross-Cultural Facilitation Guide
Bilingual team management, cultural bridge-building activities, communication protocols.

Assessment Rubric

Five-category rubric by 8 judges from Korea and Vietnam, available at https://mnode.onl/

Media

Press Kit

About M-NODE

M-NODE is a cross-cultural digital heritage workshop connecting Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts (Korea) and RMIT University Vietnam, funded by Korea's Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) initiative through Anseong local government.

Key Facts

• Workshop dates: January 18–23, 2026
• 6 mixed Korean-Vietnamese teams
• 8 international judges
• 5 evaluation categories
• Theme: "Lost Places, Living Stories"

Media Contact

Yunkyung Bae
vision7yk@dima.ac.kr

Bin Youn
bin.youn@rmit.edu.vn

Citation

Bae, Y. & Youn, B. (2026). Digital Archaeology of the Present: A Pedagogy for Cross-Cultural Digital Heritage Education. SIGGRAPH 2026 Educators Forum.