More than Just Another Number: Use of the Smithsonian Trinomial System and the Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) to Link Open Information about Archaeological Sites Across the Web

Summary

Archaeological sites in the United States are often associated with alphanumerical identifiers known as Smithsonian trinomial numbers (STNs). Developed in the mid-Twentieth Century, STNs consist of patterned alphanumeric sequences, potentially recognizable in spreadsheets, archival records, and research literature. The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA), a linked open data hub for archaeological site information, is attempting "named entity recognition" (a form of text mining) to identify STNs in archaeological literature. The grand challenge undertaken here will ultimately allow a DINAA user to browse, via map-based visualizations, cross-references between DINAA site file information and publications containing related STNs. This initiative includes human-guided cataloging of STNs from recent American Antiquity offerings, and software-enabled text mining of STNs from the entire run of American Antiquity through the JSTOR for Research program. Challenges include: variation in STN formatting, inclusion of STNs in various elements of research articles (abstract, body text, tables, figures, notes, etc.), and publication of competing identification strategies (e.g. state and museum systems). We will present results of this pilot study to inform future linked open data use of STNs in other archaeological literature, governmental records (e.g. Federal Register), museum collections, and archives.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• A Link to the Past: Text Mining and Entity Reconciliation with the Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA)   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16859