Assistant Professor, Anthropology

The University of British Columbia, Okanagan

I am Assistant Professor in Anthropology at The University of British Columbia. My research programme examines and addresses geospatial and digital methods in anti-colonial and Indigenous studies of heritage (including archaeology). My research interests are geovisualization and GIS, place-based heritage, data practice, community governance of data, anti-racism and archaeology in India and Canada. I build and expand on these interests through DARE | Digital Archaeology Research Environment, a Canada Foundation for Innovation laboratory at UBC Okanagan.

Interests
  • Digital and Geospatial Methods
  • Postcolonial, decolonial, anti-colonial and Indigenous studies of heritage
  • Archaeology in India and Canada
Education
  • PhD Anthropology, 2012

    McGill University

  • MSc GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology, 2002

    University College London

  • BSc (Hons.) Archaeological Sciences, 2001

    University of Toronto

Recent Publications

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(2024). Digital Methods in the Collection, Management, Reuse, Sharing, and Circulation of Indian Heritage Data. Practices of Digital Humanities in India: Learning by Doing.

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(2024). A Systems-Thinking Model of Data Management and Use in US Archaeology. Advances in Archaeological Practice.

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(2023). The CARE Principles and the Reuse, Sharing, and Curation of Indigenous Data in Canadian Archaeology. Advances in Archaeological Practice.

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(2023). Will It Ever Be FAIR?: Making Archaeological Data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Advances in Archaeological Practice.

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(2022). Being Seen, Being Heard: Ownership of Archaeology and Digital Heritage. Archaeologies.

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Teaching

Course syllabi available

  1. Digital Arts and Humanities Seminar (Graduate level)
  2. Introduction to World Archaeology (100-level)
  3. Archaeological Inquiry & Practice (200-level)
  4. Digital Methods in Archaeology & Heritage (300-level)
  5. Settling Down: An Archaeology of Early State Societies (300-level)
  6. Digital Anthropology (400-level)
  7. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (200-level)
  8. Scientific Applications in Archaeology (400-level)

Projects

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FAIR+CARE Network for Cultural Heritage
The project will support a network of participants who will investigate, develop, demonstrate, and promote more equitable cultural heritage data curation practices, with the aim to reconcile the CARE and FAIR data governance principles.
FAIR+CARE Network for Cultural Heritage
Anti-Racism in the Canadian context
Collaborations make visible racism and race-based discrimination in the Canadian context. The first project focuses on the heritage sector, and the second project aims to make visible every day experiences of racial discrimination.
Anti-Racism in the Canadian context
Digital Heritage Governance at Westbank First Nation
A collaborative project between Westbank First Nation Archaeology and UBC Okanagan that focuses on enacting Indigenous data governance principles such as OCAP® (ownership, control, access and possession) in digital heritage. The principles can help guide appropriate ways to share digital heritage within and beyond Westbank First Nation, while simultaneously supporting community caretaking of its digital heritage.
Digital Heritage Governance at Westbank First Nation
Indigenous Data Governance in Digital Heritage
Indigenous data governance draws from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) to re-center Indigenous rights and aspirations in research, policy and practice. In a digital environment, greater attention and deliberate efforts are needed in the governance of data, specifically heritage data that relate to and represent Indigenous communities.
Indigenous Data Governance in Digital Heritage
Materializing Indigenous Histories
The project connects four Indigenous partners (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm [Musqueam], Metlakatla, Sts’ailes, Métis Nation of Alberta) with materials analysis researchers from UBC and the University of Alberta to address Indigenous-led research questions through the exploration of materials held in repositories.
Materializing Indigenous Histories
Visualization of Digital Archaeological Collections
Visualizations summarize large amounts of digital information and allow the grouping and filtering of data. With visualization tools, archaeologists and community members can interact with digital archaeological information to see patterns and gain insight into data collection and curation practices.
Visualization of Digital Archaeological Collections
ODATE Open Digital Archaeology Textbook Environment
ODATE is an e-textbook project funded by the Province of Ontario’s eCampus Ontario Open Content Initiative. Digital archaeology encourages innovative and critical use of open access data and the development of digital tools that facilitate linkages and analysis across varied digital sources.
ODATE Open Digital Archaeology Textbook Environment
Northern Kerala Archaeology Project
Northern Kerala Archaeology Project, NorKAP for short, is a collaboration with the University of Kerala. The project, led by Dr Neha Gupta and Dr Rajesh SV (Kerala) examines long-term change in the social and political organization of past societies in the Bharathapuzha River Valley in northern Kerala. Preliminary results were presented at the Society for American Archaeology meetings in April 2017.
Northern Kerala Archaeology Project
MINA | Map Indian Archaeology
MINA is a public digital Web-based platform that maps Indian archaeology through time and that can enable linking with other dynamic and static geographically-referenced sources of information such as newspapers, journal articles and archaeological reports.
MINA | Map Indian Archaeology
Circles of Interaction
Circles of Interaction aimed to enhance collaboration between archaeologists and the Huron-Wendat Nation and to facilitate discussion between them regarding the collection and interpretation of archaeological data and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Circles of Interaction
Social and Political Factors in Indian archaeology
A study of archaeology in Sanghol, Punjab, as part of my doctoral research. The study highlights the influence of social and political factors on the interpretation of archaeological data and the preservation of cultural heritage in post-1947 Independent India.
Social and Political Factors in Indian archaeology
Practice of Indian Archaeology
A study of the practice of Indian archaeology as part of my doctoral research. Indian archaeology is neither evenly distributed nor uniformly practiced over time.
Practice of Indian Archaeology
Health & Social Services for Linguistic Minorities in Quebec
The Training and Human Resources Development Project at McGill University aimed to address inequalities in the availability of health and social services for linguistic minorities in Quebec, Canada. Availability was visualized and assessed using maps.
Health & Social Services for Linguistic Minorities in Quebec
Parc Safari Burial Detection
The project aimed to develop tools and technologies in the detection of clandestine graves at the Parc Safari animal cemetery, and 3-dimensional documentation of graves and occupants.
Parc Safari Burial Detection

Contact

Email me: neha(dot)gupta(at)ubc(dot)ca