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During
the last decades, computers and the programs that give them
"virtual life" have been used as powerful research
tools, even in developing countries. Moreover, the narrow
availability of some devices, such as neutron activation analysis,
or the high investment they involve do not represent an excuse
for avoiding their application in archaeological issues, mainly
thanks to encouragement of multidisciplinary research teams.
Constraints of finance, manpower staff and time all conspire
to limit what may be achieved, and compromises are inevitable.
In this sense, computers and the Internet offer the easiest
and most economic means to communicate our research results,
both, within the academic community and to the society. However,
their "virtual nature" is still argued against "reality"
when archaeological interpretations are evaluated by a scientific
committee.
It is the wide spread of computers in archaeology and the
conservative attitude of academic institutions in South American
centres that are of most interest here since they show the
"biases of integration" of this facility and the
possibilities of avoiding them in the future.
Key words: archaeology, computers, society, South America
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