Expanding the Archive: The Creation of the Salmon Pueblo Archaeological Research Collection (SPARC)
By Carolyn Heitman, Salmon Pueblo, and Paul Reed
In this paper, we discuss the goals, collaborations, and methods associated with the creation of the Salmon Pueblo Archaeological Research Collection (SPARC). The primary motivation for this project is to preserve and make accessible incomparable legacy data from the important excavations of Salmon Pueblo. Built around 1090 CE, this ancestral Pueblo site was the first major colony outside of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico and was a cultural center on the north bank of the San Juan River 45 miles north of Chaco.
Online Coins of the Roman Empire: An Open Resource for Roman Numismatics
By Andrew Robert Meadows
Abstract: This paper will present the Online Coinage of the Roman Empire (OCRE) project based at the American Numismatic Society, funded under a three-year NEH Preservation and Access grant awarded in 2014. The project aims, using principles of Linked Open Data to provide a multilingual reference and cataloguing tool aimed at curators and archaeologists, while at the same time providing the framework for amalgamation of specimens of Roman coinage from a distributed set of numismatic collections.
Who Owns the Past? Evidence, Interpretation and the Use of Digital Archaeological Data
By Jon Frey
While the move to digital collection and storage of archaeological evidence is generally seen as a positive development, the transformation of pre-digital records into an electronic format has raised a number of significant issues for many traditional projects. The question of open access is particularly problematic. In this presentation, I discuss three specific areas of concern that have been raised in conjunction with the development of the Archaeological Resource Cataloging System (ARCS), an open source digital asset management system for archaeological legacy data.
The Giza Project at Harvard: Consolidated Access to the Pyramids
By Peter Der Manuelian
The Giza Project, a collaborative international initiative based at Harvard University, has as its ultimate goals the collection, electronic preservation, study, and presentation of all records from the world’s most famous archaeological site: the Giza Pyramids and their surrounding cemeteries and settlements (3rd millennium BCE–present). Giza’s archaeological and historical contexts, including an artifactual record of tens of thousands of objects and the decorated, inscribed walls of Giza tombs, provide glimpses into every aspect of Egyptian culture.