From mud to the museum: Metadata challenges in archaeology

Henninger, M

From mud to the museum: Metadata challenges in archaeology

Henninger, M

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Information Science, 2018, 44 (5), pp. 658 - 670
Issue Date:: 2018-10-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Henninger, M https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8366-3867	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-10-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Information Science, 2018, 44 (5), pp. 658 - 670	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0165-5515	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/120365
dc.description.abstract	© The Author(s) 2017. An archaeological site is a palimpsest in which the evidence of the depositional episodes is destroyed through the excavation processes; all that remains are the artefacts and their documentary evidence manifested in registers, datasets, dig diaries and reports. While the reports may represent the end product of a specific excavation, the archaeological record tells a story; it is interpretative and dynamic, with later excavations adding new knowledge and narratives. Museums preserve the artefacts but unless the documentary evidence is preserved in standard formats, it cannot be easily re-used by the archaeology community to create that knowledge; nor can museums provide the narratives for the general public whose cultural heritage it is. This article presents a case study from the Ness of Brodgar excavations that examines possibilities for reconciling one part of the data of an archaeological dig, the small finds register (SFR) and its sparse amount of descriptive metadata, with the potentiality of data re-use and with the requirements of a museum that may have custody of the artefacts. It maps and enriches messy domain-specific ontologies to standard archaeological and cultural heritage ontologies and taxonomies using simple natural language processing, linked open data and the museum CIDOC conceptual reference model (CRM). This research, in examining the application of ontology mapping tools, explores common practices and processes that are useful in any discipline within the cultural heritage domain.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Information Science	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/0165551517741790	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Information & Library Sciences	en_US
dc.title	From mud to the museum: Metadata challenges in archaeology	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	5	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	44	en_US
utslib.for	0807 Library and Information Studies	en_US
utslib.for	08 Information and Computing Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/e-Press
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/IKM and Digital Studies Program
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	5	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	44	en_US

Abstract:

© The Author(s) 2017. An archaeological site is a palimpsest in which the evidence of the depositional episodes is destroyed through the excavation processes; all that remains are the artefacts and their documentary evidence manifested in registers, datasets, dig diaries and reports. While the reports may represent the end product of a specific excavation, the archaeological record tells a story; it is interpretative and dynamic, with later excavations adding new knowledge and narratives. Museums preserve the artefacts but unless the documentary evidence is preserved in standard formats, it cannot be easily re-used by the archaeology community to create that knowledge; nor can museums provide the narratives for the general public whose cultural heritage it is. This article presents a case study from the Ness of Brodgar excavations that examines possibilities for reconciling one part of the data of an archaeological dig, the small finds register (SFR) and its sparse amount of descriptive metadata, with the potentiality of data re-use and with the requirements of a museum that may have custody of the artefacts. It maps and enriches messy domain-specific ontologies to standard archaeological and cultural heritage ontologies and taxonomies using simple natural language processing, linked open data and the museum CIDOC conceptual reference model (CRM). This research, in examining the application of ontology mapping tools, explores common practices and processes that are useful in any discipline within the cultural heritage domain.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/120365