Multi-Sited Field Curation Methods: The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Digital Archive Project

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Since 1988, the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project has actively excavated archaeological sites throughout the Belize River Valley, resulting in a plethora of archaeological material elucidating nearly 3,000 years of human occupation. Beginning during the 2017 field season, the BVAR Digital Archive Project aims to curate, consolidate, and centralize 30 years of archaeological material and artifact analyses into a single database. Field curation methods include: assigning site specific accession numbers and object identification numbers to each special find, photographing, and entering provenience information for each artifact into a centralized database using the PastPerfect® Museum Software platform. This approach allows researchers to examine regional trends in the creation and usage of artifacts while also making the information readily accessible to researchers. Although in its infancy, the BVAR Digital Archive Project has already elucidated artifactual connections between archaeological sites and time periods within the Belize River Valley, providing researchers with a more holistic, regional picture of Ancient Maya lifeways.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23090