Unveiling the Potential of “Minor” Archaeological Documentation: Digital Tools and Methodological Advances
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2532-8816/21254Keywords:
Faunal Remains, Legacy Data, Memory, Digital Heritage, AIUCD 2024Abstract
The development of digital archaeology has provided new perspectives on the management, archiving, and sharing of archaeological data. This paper explores the use of digital management tools for archaeological data related to category of finds that have historically been overlooked in traditional archaeological research yet have considerable informative potential. The case study presented focuses on zooarchaeological data, which includes information derived from the study of faunal remains found in excavation contexts. The digital management of this dataset raises methodological issues that are not easily addressed. To overcome these issues, a data management system was developed with a focus on handling the largely unstandardized data. The relational database, REFOCUS (Re-evaluating Faunal and Object Collections for Unrecognized Significance), designed for the management of so-called minor archaeological finds, was created to preserve the integrity, provenance, transparency, and reproducibility of the data, while avoiding oversimplification. Additionally, it aims to provide legacy data that is both accessible and usable for synthetic archaeological research. Through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the research was also widened to focus on the digital archiving of data and the standardization of data acquisition procedures with the development of documentation tools within the CHANGES project.
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