UMSI Master's Thesis: Motivations and Expectations for Central Database Creation at an Egyptian Archaeological Site

Abstract

With increasing advancements in technology, archaeologists are adapting new methods and equipment to supplement or entirely replace traditional, paper-based methods of data collection. For example, some excavations are replacing traditional paper field notebooks with electronic tablets to automatically record and upload site data online. As archaeologists seek new ways to collect, store, and visualize data, they also find themselves dealing with issues of data curation and management during excavations and surveys. To address these issues, some archaeologists, with the help of outside specialists, have created databases to store and manage data for specific archaeological sites. ¶ Though archaeology teams all over the world have implemented databases for their work, the literature on this topic from both an information science and archaeology perspective is limited, especially focusing on Egyptian archaeology. In this paper I explore the motivations behind the upcoming creation of a central database for an archaeological excavation in Egypt, and the impact the team believes a central system will have on their work. Currently, various members on the team use their own systems for curating data, ranging from commercial databases to excel sheets. With an information science perspective, the team hopes to bring their various systems together to form one database that is usable for all team members.