Digging Digitally

Guide to Authors/Presentations

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Browse the items below (2 pages), or use the following links to go directly to an item. Comments are welcome.

Please visit us at the SAA meeting in St. Louis: Room 227 (AC), on Thursday from 10:45 AM–12:45 PM.

Sara Ayers-Rigsby. Issues of Access Does Publicly Available GIS Information Help or Hinder the Archaeological Record? (here).

Caroline Beebe. The Chau Hiix Archive: Principles, Problems, and Solutions. (here).

Mike Cannon, et al. The Milford Wind Corridor Project: Adventures in Digital Data Recovery Reporting. (here).

Lori M. Jahnke. Changing scholarly communication: the implications of granting copyright for born digital objects. (here).

Erik N. Johanson, et al. PIDBA: Challenges Related to the Curation and Dissemination of Paleoindian Data at a Hemispheric Scale. (here).

Eric C. Kansa and Joshua J. Wells. Quantity has a Quality all its Own: Archaeological Practice and the Role of Aggregation in Data Sharing. (here).

Christopher J. Parr. Keeping Things Simple: Archaeology, the Army, and “Lil’ Benny 2.0″. (here).

Julian Richards, et al. Digging into Data: Text mining of archaeological grey literature. (here).

Dean R. Snow. Making the Most of Cyberinfrastructure. (here).

Glenn Strickland. The Integration and Interpretation of Archaeological Data through Three Dimensional Multi-component Digital Spatial Modeling. (here).

Judith van der Elst and Heather Richards-Rissetto. Rethinking Digital Data Collection and Dissemination from a User Perspective. (here).

Willeke Wendrich. W.M. Keck Program in Digital Cultural Mapping at UCLA. (here).

Stephen J. Yerka, et al. Curing the Data: Managing Information Systems and Digital Data at Tennessee’s ARL. (here).

SAA/DDIG Symposium: Curing the Data: Managing Information Systems and Digital Data at Tennessee’s ARL

Curing the Data: Managing Information Systems and Digital Data at Tennessee’s ARL

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Stephen J. Yerka (1), Nicholas P. Herrmann (2), and Mathew D. Gage (1)

1. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Anthropology, Archaeological Research Lab
2. Mississippi State University, Starkville, Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures

Abstract

The Archaeological Research Laboratory (ARL) at the University of Tennessee actively incorporates archaeological technologies into various educational, public, and private projects. In addition, ARL pursues research opportunities, which will benefit from the integration of digital technology. Potential conflicts relate to a varied stakeholder interface that requires malleable but secure access to cultural resources data including artifact databases, geophysical and GIS layers, and various state and federal historic properties’ site file information. This paper examines the benefits and challenges facing an academically based archaeological research laboratory through the development of an archaeological information system (IS).

Download full paper (here).

The Integration and Interpretation of Archaeological Data through Three Dimensional Multi-component Digital Spatial Modeling

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Glenn Strickland, M.A., R.P.A.

University of Mississippi

Abstract

Parchman Place Mounds (22-Co-511) is a Late Mississippian mound group located in the Yazoo Basin of northwestern Mississippi. The area between the two largest mounds within the complex, identified as the A-B Swale, is digitally rendered into a three dimensional multi-component spatial model. The completed rendering merges data from archaeological excavations, geophysical prospecting, and artifact analysis. The combination of these diverse datasets into a single integrated model serves to substantially increase the capability of spatial analysis and archaeological interpretation.

Download full paper (here).

The Milford Wind Corridor Project: Adventures in Digital Data Recovery Reporting

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Mike Cannon, Ph.D., R.P.A (mcannon@swca.com), David Reinhart, Tanya Johnson, Heather Stettler, Sarah Creer, and Deb Jensen

SWCA Environmental Consultants, Salt Lake City

Abstract

For the “new energy economy” Milford Wind Corridor project, SWCA is attempting to use “new digital media” to produce a data recovery report and public interpretive material that are more user-friendly than the typical CRM document. Issues encountered in developing these materials range from agency acceptance, to selection of appropriate formats for different purposes, to management of a far more complex editorial and production process. Though there are added costs, the benefits of digital CRM reporting should include more appeal to the general public, greater research utility, and better dissemination of the results of technology-intensive analyses like visual impacts assessment.

Download full paper (here).

Quantity has a Quality all its Own: Archaeological Practice and the Role of Aggregation in Data Sharing

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Eric C. Kansa (1) and Joshua J. Wells (2)

1. UC Berkeley, School of Information
2. Indiana University South Bend, Department of Sociology and Anthropology & Department of Informatics

Abstract

Archaeological information on the Web is changing in ways that impact archaeological practice. Technical standards, copyright licensing, and Web services all blur boundaries between disciplines and organizations. They also make data aggregation easier. Consequently, the scope of “archaeological data” may grow beyond traditional field, survey, and collections data. Aggregators can also document how data are combined, navigated, and used. In other fields, aggregation services evolve into primary channels for information retrieval. Because aggregators enjoy increasingly privileged positions in new information environments, this paper explores documented benefits and drawbacks of imminent issues affecting archaeological research opportunities, professional expectations, and ethical challenges.

Download full paper (here).

Changing scholarly communication: the implications of granting copyright for born digital objects

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Lori M. Jahnke

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Abstract:
Changing modes of scholarly communication that incorporate digital methodologies prompt the question of whether or not born digital objects should receive copyright under the Library of Congress system. This change in procedure could have a profound impact on the preservation of digital data, the development of standards, and the distribution of databases as born digital objects. Although copyright ostensibly protects the intellectual creator, it can facilitate information monopolies that stifle scholarly communication. This paper provides a critical review of the legal, social, and academic implications of copyright for born digital objects versus pursuing open access models of publication.

Download full paper (here).

Rethinking Digital Data Collection and Dissemination from a User Perspective

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Judith van der Elst and Heather Richards-Rissetto,
University of New Mexico

Abstract

We are immersed in a data-rich environment, however many educational and research programs still emphasize data collection rather than making use of existing archaeological and anthropological data. We argue that simultaneous changes in database/digital data repositories and in methods and educational goals are needed in order to create sustainable digital environments that will encourage archaeologists to take advantage of existing datasets. While digitization has become an integral part of archaeological work, the ability to integrate large datasets for concrete analytical purposes is still in the formative stages. Our work focuses on using geospatial technologies to address issues of data utility from multiple angles including digital tools, data collection, database design, analytical methods.

Download full paper (here [updated 12 Apr]).

Issues of Access Does Publicly Available GIS Information Help or Hinder the Archaeological Record?

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Sara Ayers-Rigsby

Abstract

Many State Historic Preservation Offices, such as the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) have made archaeological data and GIS maps of site locations available online. In many cases, access to these databases is limited to archaeology professionals, and the general public can only view a soft version where site locations are not given, and artifacts are not specifically mentioned. These databases are an invaluable tool for the CRM professional. In addition, while they inform the general public about loosely defined ‘archaeologically sensitive areas,’ they do not go further than that and provide no guidance for the avocational archaeologist or history buff that is acting in accordance with the law. This paper addresses who the current users of these systems are, and how they can be improved to promote archaeology and attract a wider audience.

Download full paper (here).

KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE: ARCHAEOLOGY, THE ARMY, AND “LIL’BENNY 2.0”

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Christopher J. Parr

Abstract

Since 2006, Fort Benning’s cultural resource management staff has worked to develop a database to administer the installation’s archaeological collection. Lacking permanently dedicated staff, Fort Benning requires a system that will easily and with minimal training allow both interns and term employees (contracted on a yearly basis) to accession and track material within the collection. Opting to utilize already-available software rather than purchasing specialized programs (i.e. PastPerfect), this Access-based system, named “Lil’Benny2.0″, will allow not only for these necessary operations but also for user-defined queries of the artifacts themselves to better facilitate research of Fort Benning’s cultural resources.

Download full paper (here).

THE CHAU HIIX ARCHIVE: PRINCIPLES, PROBLEMS, AND SOLUTIONS

For the 2010 SAA / DDIG Electronic Symposium

Caroline Beebe, Ph.D.
Data Manager, Chau Hiix Project

Abstract

The research design for excavations at Chau Hiix, Belize, is concerned with understanding the Maya Collapse in terms of bureaucratic interference in the exploitation strategies of smallholders (PI is Dr. Anne Pyburn, Indiana University). A regional comparison of data from other sites such as Altun Ha and Lamanai, as well as chronological comparisons, would facilitate an understanding of the similarities and differences in various sites and the complexity of their development and eventual demise. Digital technology provides an ideal tool to facilitate data comparisons through time and space. Digital data collection, management, and archiving, however, are wrought with new operational logistics, lack of established methodologies, and ever changing technology developments that represent yet another area of expertise to be developed by a principal investigator. Large institutions and businesses have well established systems in place for all stages of digital workflow, but individuals and small projects (sometimes referred to as “small science”) must design these systems themselves without the aid of built-in supercomputer systems or large number crunching grants.

Download full paper (here).