Digital literacy and archaeology: open learning, open access, open knowledge.

In the scenario of the knowledge society, the progressive diffusion of open approaches in archaeology stimulates stronger relationships and interconnections among such fields as higher education/training/lifelong learning, productive chains, businsess activities and territorial assets. This paper focuses on this scenario identifying the need for new approaches to create, share and disseminate archaeological knowledge, in order to meet the emerging requirements generated by the disciplinary innovative dynamics, and to support the progressive integration of education, training, research and business systems. Some promising starting points for this study derive from researches in the field of elearning and educational technologies, that brough to the definition and application of the concept of digital literacy, a concept related to the analysis of the new skills necessary to cope with the complex and evolving knowledge system, and to the processes of structuring and achieving these competences. With these premises, the opportunity of characterizing an archaeological digital literacy is proposed as a preliminary focus on some discipline peculiarities, in particular paying attention to the need of combining traditional knowledge with new competences and skills and to harmonize the requirements of the different stakeholders and communities involved in archaeological knowledge making and sharing processes. The main purposes of this approach are: - to facilitate constant transmission of methods, contents and informations always updated and aligned with the cultural and archaeological heritage field needs; - to impact territorial innovation by facilitating diffusion of disciplinary innovation and domains integration.