Digital Field Instrumentation for Archaeological Excavation and Mapping

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With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Mark Aldenderfer will develop a multiuse system which will allow archaeologists to electronically record a variety of data types in the field and then manipulate, analyze, store, share and publish them without reliance on traditional pen and paper technology. The essential parts of the system consist of a Leica TCR 1107 total station for mapping and survey, software for mapping integration, a Fujitsu 2300 computer with penMap software, Nikon CoolPix 950 digital cameras, field station laptop computers as well as printers and related peripherals. Although many archaeologists currently employ information technology (IT) tools, basic field data collection which is essential to archaeological research, remains firmly in the pre-digital, paper based era. There is good reason for this - paper recordkeeping has withstood the test of time, is reliable, costs relatively little and is easy to use. It can also withstand the environmental extremes in which archaeologists often work. However the limitations are also increasingly clear and these involve difficulties in data integration, dissemination, publishing and archiving. IT tools have the potential to revolutionize these archaeological practices. Dr. Aldenderfer will construct a system which takes disparate types of data - field forms, photographs, archaeological sections and quantitative and qualitative information which results from artifact analysis - and combine them so that they can be used as an analytic whole. He will attempt to develop standards for data recording as well as an easily replicable system amenable to widespread use and will make the information available via the worldwide web. He currently conducts research in Peru and Tibet, and through application in two very different archaeological contexts it should be possible to develop a versatile system. This award will meet several goals. It will provide Dr. Aldenderfer with recording and analysis instrumentation which will facilitate his currently funded NSF supported research. It will also help him to develop a system of more general value and amenable to widespread archaeological use.