The Ups and Downs of Uploading Data to the Eastern Archaic Faunal Database with the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR)

Summary

Uploading faunal data from eastern Archaic sites to the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) as members of the Eastern Archaic Faunal Working Group (EAFWG) was a very exciting prospect. We are pleased to be involved in a project that will address significant questions about animal use during the Archaic period. However, making the data comparable entailed some challenges and compromises. While most zooarchaeologists agree on taxonomic designations, developing ontologies for elements, portions, fragments, modification, and other areas proved challenging. For example, decisions had to be made about using existing ontologies or creating new ontologies. In the case of the taxonomic designations, much of the existing ontology could be used. Conversely, a new ontology for the Eastern Archaic subperiods had to be developed. The sites of Dust Cave and site 40DV7 illustrate how data from two different sites collected by two different zooarchaeologists can be integrated to answer questions regarding the use of aquatic vs. terrestrial taxa during the Archaic period in the southeast.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Methodologies for Integrating Eastern Archaic Faunal Databases Using the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage