For this Digital Data Stories (DDS) Series on Series entry, we (the Data Literacy Program) are introducing our Creative Series. One might assume that creativity rarely enters discussions of archaeological data literacy. However, the complex skills required to create art and story are perfect for the palimpsest that is archaeology. Knowing this, we thought it would be great to incorporate creativity into a series of Digital Data Stories.
While archaeologists study art in the past, they sometimes make assumptions about it in the present. For example, they might use art to communicate their conclusions but then forget to acknowledge it as an important way to engage with and generate data. Or, they’ll draw artifacts, or even hire archaeological illustrators, and then assume quality photography or graphic design are tasks anyone can do.
To acknowledge that illustration, photography, and many other creative skills are integral to archaeological data literacy, Creative Series Digital Data Stories provide non-traditional, intellectually rigorous exercises that incorporate open archaeological data. These resources engage learners of all kinds through artistic expression and introspection as well as experiential learning with accessible open data.
One way we did this was by selecting an open archaeological data set and generating words associated with it. Then, we ordered them into a prompt calendar, with one word for each day of the month, so that people could use the words to inspire their creative work. By creating something based on that word, they explored and actively engaged with themes from the data set. They could also use the calendar on their own or alongside with other month-long creative events.
We chose these data-driven prompts to get people to see creativity as an atypical but important data literacy skill. We also know that art is a craft that takes dedication and time to create. With that in mind, we felt that a daily prompt list was a great way to inspire people to cultivate a creative craft. Then, combining it with archaeological data, we encouraged them to see their short term creative project as another way to engage with data.
More generally, the Digital Data Stories in the Creative Series explore the five components of data literacy—reading, working with, analyzing, arguing, and communicating—through a creative lens. They do this by leveraging existing literacies in creative media to re-examine how the five components allow us to see creative works, such as haiku, as another way to share and engage with archaeological knowledge. This approach appeals to many learners and acknowledges how creativity is an important part of humanizing the past.
In addition, Creative Series Digital Data Stories draw from existing practices that inspire people to create new works and incorporates best practices. For example, each Digital Data Story has, and links to, tips for safely sharing content online to ensure people share their work ethically and in ways that protect their creative rights. They also incorporate additional resources to support creative engagement. These include search tutorials that help people find more data-driven inspiration and a daily creative writing log that tracks their progress.
Furthermore, we wrote and licensed these resources so that anyone can adapt them. They’re ready to reuse with different archaeological data sets, in various educational settings, and engage diverse archaeological audiences. That way we can all work to improve our archaeological data literacy, letting our minds play and enjoy making something archaeology-inspired. We hope you feel the same and are excited to incorporate these practices into your own pedagogy!
Page updates: This article was originally published on 2 February 2023. In September 2025, it was updated. This included editing the article for clarity, replacing images, checking for broken links, adding additional links to published Digital Data Stories, and adding credits for the images.
Image credits: “TOC_Series_Highlight_creative_2025” by Paulina F. Przystupa from the Data Literacy Program (DLP) / CC BY includes “DLP data literacy components” by L. Meghan Dennis and Paulina F. Przystupa from the DLP / CC BY with quoted text from Bhargava et al. (2016) and icons “Reading Icon-Color”, “Working with Icon-Color”, “Arguing Icon-Color”, and “Communicating Icon-Color” by L. Meghan Dennis / CC BY. Dennis adapted these from from “Books” (https://thenounproject.com/icon/books-4439922/), “File” (https://thenounproject.com/icon/file-1331311/), “Debate” (https://thenounproject.com/icon/debate-776656/), and “Internet” (https://thenounproject.com/icon/internet-1771870/) by Made by Made (Made x Made) from the Noun Project under a royalty free license. “DataLiteracyImage” by Paulina F. Przystupa from the DLP licensed / CC BY and adapted from an Adobe Stock Image. “AAI-OC_DataStoryPublished_Header-AllIntheWrist_2025” by L. Meghan Dennis and Paulina F. Przystupa from the DLP / CC BY includes copies of “DLP Sticky Note” by L. Meghan Dennis from the DLP with attribution information forthcoming.
