EAA2020: Abstract

Archaeology in the United States is managed by a variety of Federal, State, and Tribal agencies, universities, and private sector organizations. The decentralized nature of North American archaeology results in a lack of standard requirements for digital data documentation, accessibility, curation, and preservation. In contrast, European Union initiatives, such as Europeana, SEADDA, and ARIADNEplus provide useful examples of the advantages of implementing coordinated approaches to the responsible stewardship and management of archaeological data. Along these lines, the Center for Digital Antiquity at Arizona State University has developed a robust infrastructure that supports open access, reproducible science, and synthetic research through their domain repository, the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR). Using case studies of projects that utilize tDAR for their archival needs, I discuss the advantages and pitfalls of archiving digital archaeological data in the context of North American archaeology, while looking towards potential collaboration and learning opportunities from our European colleagues.

Digital Curation, Repositories, North America

 Abstract (PDF)

Rachel Fernandez¹