Interfacing archaeology and the world of citizen sensors: exploring the impact of neogeography and volunteered geographic information on an authenticated archaeology

Emerging out of Web 2.0 there have been almost breath-taking technological advances in the geospatial web spurred on by developments in neogeography and the inter-connectivity provided by published open-source application programming interfaces. In addition, the greater availability of location-intelligent devices, social media technologies and the advent of volunteered geographic information promises to further revolutionize traditionally conceived geospatial technologies and empower a world of spatially aware citizen sensors. Together, these new Web 2.0 geospatial platforms and citizen-generated geotagged media pose significant opportunities and challenges to the traditional geospatial framework of GIS and standards-based spatial databases, and to archaeology. The new Web 2.0 geospatial capabilities enable communities of stakeholders and interest groups to contribute, participate, and draw upon spatial data and mapping services formerly in the domain of expert geospatial and archaeological communities.