Event Details

Francis P. McManamon is the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Antiquity at Arizona State University. Issues and topics related to the management of archaeological data and information are among his professional focuses. Digital Antiquity develops and maintains tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), an international repository for data and documents related to archaeology and other kinds of cultural heritage.

Leigh Anne Ellison is the Program Manager at Digital Antiquity, where she has carried out and overseen many digital curation projects. She also is an experienced advocate for the long-term preservation and access to archaeological data. She received her Master’s degree in Anthropology from Northern Arizona University. She has conducted archaeological investigations in Mexico, Honduras, the Pacific, and the American Southwest.

Archaeological research and resource management use and rely heavily on digital data, including: photographs taken in the field; GIS data recording site location and intra-site proveniences; analytical and descriptive data sets, project reports, etc. Without a well thought-out approach for managing these digital data, important information will be lost because it is overlooked, misplaced, or damaged. Good digital data management requires attention to the means of data version control, file format types, appropriate metadata, data backup and storage, and providing for long-term access to and preservation of data. In order for data to be used and re-used in the future, they need to be curated so that they are discoverable, accessible, and in file formats that remain usable over time. This online seminar describes the practical aspects of good data management: how to organize materials during the life of a project, tools and methods to adapt for research projects, and workflows to ensure that data are prepared for accessibility and preservation once a project is complete. Case studies and examples using archaeological projects and collections in tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record) repository are used as illustrations.

1. Briefly discuss the importance of effective and efficient management for digital archaeological data;
2. Outline good principles and practices of data management; and
3. Explore these principles in depth by look at the interrelated aspects of data management: storage, archiving, preservation, and curation.