Beyond the Archive: Bridging Data Creation and Reuse in Archaeology

by:  Ixchel Faniel, Anne Austin, Eric Kansa, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, Phoebe France, Jennifer Jacobs, Ran Boytner, and Elizabeth Yakel

This paper presents research on archaeological data creation and management practices at two excavations in Europe in order to gain a better understanding of how to align these practices with the data reuse needs of a broader research community. The Secret Life of Data (SLO-data) project follows the lifecycle of data from the field to the digital repository to better understand opportunities and challenges in data interpretation, publication and preservation. Our "slow data" approach focuses not on maximizing the speed and quantity of data, but rather on emphasizing curation, contextualization, communication, and broader understanding. Through a mixed-methods approach of interviews, field observations, and excavation data assessments, we recommended changes (both technical and organizational) to improve data creation and management practices. We report our findings and offer readers guidance on streamlining data collection for reuse during their excavation projects.

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Advances in Archaeological Practice

This version of the article was accepted for publication and appears in a revised form, after peer review and/or editorial input by Cambridge University Press, in Advances in Archaeological Practice published by Cambridge University Press.

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