Teija OIKARINEN
(University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland)
Keywords: archaeological data management, interdiciplinary, case study
Abstract:
Typically, even a single digital data collection (i.e. a report) recorded in an archaeological excavation consists of various kinds of processed data, which is either digitized or digital-born data. The original paper-based documents and non-processed digital data are rarely available. The collected data represents the archaeological site using verbal, numerical or visual media and exploiting different techniques such as printed reports, databases and digital images. These diverse (re)presentation modes are a synthesis of the archaeological field work and the related research and interpretation.
When the understanding of the whole archaeological excavation process and the details of the collected data are needed, one needs to be able to utilize the digital data collection as a whole. If the amount of data is considerable and dispersed in separate documents or files the utilization of the data is likely to be difficult, even when the content is organised.
A local case study in question is a part of an ongoing dissertation research in which interdisciplinary approaches are applied to develop the production and the use of the archaeological data. The case study has three aims: (1) to collect and synthesise the preconditions, recommendations and experiences related to digital archaeological excavation data from various sources, (2) to study and analyse a free and open source archaeological data management software and (3) to analyse a local and mostly digitized archaeological data collection in the light of the synthesised generic requirements and the data management software analysed, and vice versa (i.e. the requirements the local digital data collection sets to the software). In the presentation some results of the case study will be discussed. In a long run an organised digital data collection is a basic component needed in the development of the archaeological digital infrastructures, so the nature of the archaeological local data collections needs to be studied.