Joe Cronwall, 2026 1st Place Research

Submissions in the research category are open to research topics in any field: STEM, Social Sciences, Business, Humanities, etc. Submissions should use the documentation style appropriate to the discipline and should not exceed 20 pages. Joe Cronwall wrote the 1st place submission in the Research category for the 2026 President’s Writing Awards.

About Joe

Joe is a sophomore from Meridian, Idaho, pursuing an English Literature BA with a certificate in Culture and History through Film, and is a student in the Honors College. He wishes to pursue an MA and doctorate, with the long-term goal of becoming a literature professor. Joe was homeschooled, and his parents gifted him a love of literature and learning, which drove him to reach college to explore the field of literature and its connections to other forms of entertainment and storytelling. Joe has a deep interest in the overlap of film and literature, looking into how stories are adapted and the importance of accuracy. He is also passionate about integrating video games, particularly story-rich fantasy games, into academic discourse, using them as a means to explore philosophical concepts, scientific portrayals, and the power of entertainment. In his free time, Joe enjoys watching movies, playing video games, and reading fantasy and classic literature.

Winning Manuscript – Pixelated Delving: Archaeology’s Accuracy in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and its Influence on Archaeological Interest

Abstract

This paper examines the accuracy of the portrayal of archaeology within The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and how archaeogaming, as coined by Reinhard (2018), has affected the people who engage with this game. Archaeology within video games has many portrayals, and fantasy games often embrace aspects of archaeogaming in their exploration of sites and artifact recovery. Skyrim is the focus of reflection within this paper and associated study, as it has incorporated aspects of archaeology into the game’s universe. The study observes player interest in the historical locations within Skyrim and their perception of the representation of archaeology in the game. The study also demonstrates that players have an interest in further learning about archaeology as a result of their interaction with these in-game locations and artifacts. The accuracy within Skyrim of archaeological artifact recovery, along with analysis of methodology and exploration, will be discussed. The effect of archeogaming on the desire of individuals to further educate themselves about archaeology will be investigated as it pertains to the labor crisis of cultural resource management (CRM), which has been predicted to become more exacerbated in the coming years (Altschul 2022). This study will seek to prove the effect that having in-game archaeological experiences can have on individuals, their desire to learn more about the field, and how this increased interest can positively affect the projected real-world labor crisis in cultural resource management.

Keywords: Archaeogaming, accuracy, CRM

Pixelated Delving: Archaeology’s Accuracy in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and its Influence on Archaeological Interest

Video games have become a staple of modern society and entertainment. Dragons scream through skies, armies tear each other apart, and castles are built. Throughout these games, there is often a rich history that lies in wait for the player to uncover, full of ancient ruins and treasured artifacts. Players often interact with these elements and they are a key part of many games. In Andrew Reinhard’s book Archaeogaming, he defines the term archaeogaming as “the archaeology both in and of digital games” and that “any game. . .can be studied archaeologically” (2018, p. 2). Players interact with locations and concepts involving archaeology throughout video games. While these are often enjoyable parts of the games, how much accuracy is there in this portrayal, and how do they influence the players? Do players feel a stronger connection to archaeology because of archaeological ideas in these video games?

In the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), the ruins of an ancient technologically advanced culture known as the Dwemer are scattered throughout the game’s landscape and underground (Scrolls, n.d.-a). Players access abandoned Dwemer cities to find valuable items or recover knowledge. Skyrim lacks a standard system of archaeology, and looting is extremely common throughout the game. Old mines and burial sites also become areas where the player can interact with artifacts and the people who currently inhabit the nearby areas.

Players also actively want to engage with the culture and history of the in-game world (Johnson, 2013); Skyrim’s carefully developed cultures have unique language, architecture, and customs to create a rich interactive world (Virta, 2024), and many artifacts throughout the game reflect that history. The influence of archaeology on Skyrim can be seen through the various locations within

the video game, where players engage in the recovery of artifacts and in the research and study of those artifacts.

This study observes reactions of active players of Skyrim to archaeology and its perceived accuracy in the game, along with how it influences them to explore archaeology as a topic and field. The labor crisis of archaeology has been predicted to increase (Altschul, 2022), and the influence of video games on the perception and interest in the field may influence people to engage further, and possibly provide some relief to the industry in the coming years.

While Skyrim’s cultures are unique to the game, some, particularly the human races, draw inspiration from real-life cultures and can have accurate portrayals (Majewski, 2018). The exploration of the ruins from a wide variety of these cultures allows for the recovery of artifacts, and is a key part of the game and of learning about the lore surrounding the locations and artifacts (Scrolls, n.d.-b). Extraction of various artifacts from these sites can contribute to a body of knowledge, such as Skyrim’s Arcaneum, an in-game library, where quests can be completed to recover books from lost locations (Scrolls, n.d.-c; Scrolls, n.d.-d). This study shows that interest in these areas in the game encourages people to learn more about archaeology, mirroring the way museums work to increase interest in real-life archaeological finds.

Altschul (2022) showed that there will be a lack of people entering the archaeology workforce with proper degrees and training for cultural resource management, or CRM, going forward. Altschul shows that the majority of archaeologists in CRM hold an MA or PhD, and that because of the economic growth in the industry, there are more jobs opening for those positions than there are people completing higher degrees (2022, p. 363). Video games may have the potential to influence people to seek out educational or employment opportunities in the field of archaeology.

Study Method

Respondents

Respondents of this study are 49 Reddit users who have played Skyrim, with the majority (n = 36) being between the ages of 19 and 30 (see Figure 1). No reward was provided for answering the survey. Respondents were random viewers of the post who decided to participate via clicking on the Reddit post, then opening the Google Form link. No respondents were excluded from the survey for any reason. A Google account was required in order to fill out the survey.

Survey

Respondents for the study completed a Google Form, titled “Survey on Archaeology and the Accuracy of the Representation in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim”, with eight questions, three of which were self-descriptive. The other questions were in relation to Skyrim and gaming, and how they have interacted with the game and the portions which can have archaeological relevance. It consisted of three multiple choice questions, and five linear scale questions. The amount of responses on the multiple choice questions varied, and the linear scale questions were on a scale of 1 through 5. All questions were required responses when filling out the survey. The Google Form was posted on Reddit’s r/skyrim and r/elderscrolls. These two online forums are active and contain players who continually engage in Skyrim content and discussion around the game, and I determined them to be suitable places to post the Google Form. The Google Form opened 2/13/2025, and closed 4/7/2025. It was originally posted on the 2/13/2025 date, and was reposted on 2/23/2025 on both Reddit forums. The survey was left open without further postings until the closing date. These respondents were able to fill out the survey at their leisure, at any given time of day. The survey’s eight questions were filled out by all respondents, and could be

answered in any order. The questions covered age, hours playing Skyrim, if the respondent had any background in archaeology, interest in the in-game history and possible archaeological site/artifacts, if they feel it is a realistic portrayal of archaeology, if the accuracy of archaeological aspects matter to them in games, if they have learned anything about archaeology from Skyrim, and if learning about the lore and history in Skyrim encourages them to learn more about archaeology.

Study Results

The majority of respondents had played the game extensively, with 67.3% having over 600 hours (n = 33) (see Figure 2), with the majority of these also being in the 19 – 30 age range (n = 26). 88.2% of respondents (n=45) also either had no knowledge in archaeology or minimal through classes or informal topic research (see Figure 3). Respondents showed interest in the Dwemer ruins within the game and other locations where artifacts can be found, which was determined by a linear scale question (M = 4.18, SD = 0.92) (see Figure 4). However, respondents felt that archaeology was generally not accurately portrayed within Skyrim (M = 2.45, SD = 0.82) (see Figure 5). The accuracy of archaeology within Skyrim was not a major priority to the players (M = 2.73, SD = 1.05), and most did not feel they learned anything about archaeology from it (M = 2.35, SD = 1.08) (see Figures 6 and 7). The lack of accuracy did not discourage people from having interest in the areas of the game where some form of archaeology would be implemented, as reflected by the interest in the lore and locations. Respondents also showed some interest on average in further learning about archaeology after being influenced by the game (M = 3.57, SD = 1.19) (see Figure 8). Only a small portion of respondents (n = 2) picked 1 as their level of interest in those ruins, and commensurately did not show an interest in further learning about archaeology. Of the respondents, 56.9% (n = 29) answered 4 or 5 when

asked about further interest in archaeology, and those respondents also showed an increased interest in the ruins and sites you can explore in-game (M = 4.24, SD = 0.67).

Players who have not learned about archaeology in any cohesive manner (n = 21) showed a below average interest in further learning about archaeology (M = 3.29, SD = 1.18) in comparison those who had learned a little about archaeology (n = 23), who showed an above average interest (M = 4, SD = 1). Having some knowledge in the field of archaeology has led to those respondents having an increased interest in furthering their knowledge in this field. The majority of both of these groups also had selected 4 or 5 in relation to their interest in ruins and sites within the game (n = 38).

Discussion

The results of the study have shown that, while players do not always feel that archaeology is portrayed accurately or that it is necessary for the in-game atmosphere, they are willing to engage with it as a topic and are interested in learning more. With the majority of players being under 30, this could lead to video games influencing educational and/or employment pursuits in the field of archaeology, because younger people are more likely to enter or switch into a new job or field (Mortensen & Pissarides, 1994). Mortensen and Pissarides (1994) also highlighted how economic conditions can increase the employment opportunities within businesses and firms. With recent economic growth, CRM firms have begun to increase in size and have significantly more openings (Altschul, 2022). Altschul (2022) also predicts that there will be an increase of approximately 8,400 jobs for MA or PhD-level positions in CRM, but the number of individuals seeking those degrees is not increasing at the same rate.

Portrayal In-Game

Within Skyrim, there is no formal archaeological procedure for players to use, nor are

there any official archaeological organizations keeping artifacts safe and regulating conditions for excavation, as observed in modern real-life archaeological scenarios. A singular character, discussed later in this section, represents the entirety of proper archaeology in the game. The player can enter various ruins, abandoned cities, crypts, and other locations that have artifacts available to collect for various in-game purposes (see Figures 9 and 10). The player is essentially a treasure hunter or antiquarian, a looter if you will, gathering materials or objects for collection or use. While you cannot usually destroy any actual environment, the player can knock objects over, disturb sites, and interact with some portions of these areas that would be ill-advised or illegal in a real-life setting. Unlike a real archaeological site (see Figure 11), there is usually no actual excavation or planning. Surface artifacts are removed by hand, and often may be discarded or sold at various cities throughout the game.

The game does provide a quasi-structured organization for the holding of literary artifacts found. The Arcaneum is the Library at the College of Winterhold, a magical school in the northern section of the game’s eponymous province of Skyrim. The librarian of the Arcaneum, Urag gro-Shub, provides players with quests to go obtain books for the library- in a way, this is a pseudo-archaeological venture, as it is gathering the books in order to build upon the overall body of knowledge and preserve it. While this system does not reflect a proper method of archaeology, or at least in the modern sense of the field, it provides a basis for players interacting with the history of the in-game world and learning about that history for knowledge, rather than wanting objects for value.

In one of the cities you can visit in-game, Markarth, there is an Altmer, a ‘High Elf’, named Calcelmo, who is a scholar and keeper of artifacts. He runs the Dwemer Museum, a small private museum with the recovered artifacts carefully organized (Skyrim: Understone Keep, n.

d.). Calcelmo represents the only experienced scholar who treats artifacts with care and respect, and serves as a more accurate representation of the behavior of an archaeologist. Given the lack of proper archaeological structure elsewhere in the game, he serves as the best example of proper archaeological process.

Real world sites drastically contrast in-game sites in presence of regulations and restrictions on archaeological practice to prevent damage and looting. The government of the province of Skyrim, both through its provincial High King and the imperial Emperor, do not have set laws for the looting of abandoned historic sites such as the Dwemer cities. Without a structured set of laws for looting ancient sites, the abandoned cities in the game are known for being looted with minimal effort to preserve it. Calcelmo remains the sole character in the entirety of the game with a modicum of archaeological respect towards artifacts, in spite of a lack of structured government regulation. This differs extremely from the strict sets of laws around modern archaeology in the United States. Under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, “No person may excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface, or attempt to excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any archaeological resource located on public lands or Indian lands unless such activity is pursuant to a permit” (United States 16 U.S.C.

§ 470ee, 1979). Laws in the US regarding the preservation of sites and artifacts dates back to 1906, when President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Antiquities Act (United States Congress, 1906), now codified at 54 U.S.C. §§ 320301–320303 (United States Congress, 2014). While the in-game freedom of artifact discovery is exciting and captivating, it lacks the real world responsibility of real archeological practices.

Labor Crisis

Altschul (2022) delves into the issue of archaeology not having a sustainable number of

people entering the field in order to satisfy the growth of CRM, especially in positions that require higher degrees. Altschul estimates that roughly 75% of jobs in CRM are in the field of archaeology, and that 70% of those need a MA or PhD (2022, p. 363), and that there will be a deficit of roughly 2,400 workers for job positions (2022, p. 356). The forecast highlights the need for more advanced degree holders to enter archaeology, and provides various inter-industry solutions for approaching this crisis.

The survey I conducted demonstrates that a video game that has aspects of archaeology encourages people to learn more about the field as a whole. The majority of respondents in my study, as mentioned above, were within the prime age range to enter a new vocation. Video games such as Skyrim, that have elements of archaeology, can encourage some people to enter archaeology as their work or field of study. These games, along with how they incorporate archaeogaming, may have an impact on increasing the amount of people entering the CRM workforce.

Conclusion

The results of this study demonstrate that, while players did not find Skyrim as a whole to portray archaeology in an accurate manner, the lore and culture throughout the video game has encouraged them to learn more about archaeology. Given the majority of respondents are within the age range most likely to enter a field of study (Mortensen & Pissarides, 1994) and showed interest in archaeology, it may encourage them to further their knowledge in archaeology through education or vocation. From this influence, it may be possible to relieve a portion of the pressure on the CRM industry’s deficit in workers, as this has only been predicted to worsen (Altschul, 2022). Skyrim’s presentation of historical locations and artifact recovery has led players to have

an increased desire to engage with the field of archaeology, and introduces the field to possible future job candidates.

References

Altschul, J. H., & Klein, T. H. (2022). Forecast for the US CRM Industry and Job Market, 2022–2031. Advances in Archaeological Practice, 10(4), 355–370. https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2022.18.

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Majewski, J. (2018). The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and its audience as a world-building benchmark for indigenous virtual cultural heritage (Vol. 16). PhD thesis, Bond University.

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