A Minimalist Approach to Archaeological Data Management Design

Abstract

If archaeology is to deal with the “big questions” of the human past, large datasets are required with common data structures that allow for comparison of data derived from markedly different times and places. However, archaeological comparisons using datasets consisting of lots of detailed records remain elusive. Large archaeological datasets are difficult to integrate because it is often functional and therefore interpretative categories that are recorded rather than the phenomena upon which these interpretations are based. Here, we describe a system that maintains a structural separation between recording a simple set of archaeological phenomena, and the functional, behavioral meanings, and temporal associations of these phenomena. Rather than construct a schema that integrates the description of high-level units and relationships, we consider what minimum data entities that might be needed to integrate datasets in relation to archaeological phenomena while still offering the flexibility needed to allow for regional variability in unit construction. We describe the implementation of this system to field recording on Ahuahu (Great Mercury Island), New Zealand, and consider examples of comparative analyses of material recorded using this system from our projects in Australia and Egypt.