Archaeology and Open Source Learning: Uses of DINAA for University Courses in Culture Areas, GIS, Heritage Management, and Outreach

Bryan Dull1, Joshua J. Wells1, Eric Kansa2, Stephen J. Yerka3, David G. Anderson3, Sarah W. Kansa2, Kelsey Myers4,

R. Carl DeMuth4, and Thaddeus Bisset3

1. Indiana University South Bend; 2. Open Context; 3. University of Tennessee; 4. Indiana University Bloomington

The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) provides public domain data on archaeological sites that are useful for research and linked data publication, but also have tremendous interpretive value for university students, or for public outreach. o CULTURE AREA & HISTORY COURSES o GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

o HERITAGE MANAGEMENT

o PUBLIC OUTREACH

NOTE: Although DINAA materials are useful for illustrating aspects of the archaeological compliance process, DINAA is not designed, nor accepted, to be used as a resource for an archaeological compliance process. In order to provide site records as public data, sensitive data fields have been redacted. DINAA visualizations are limited to 20x20 km grid cells that prevent unauthorized geographic access.

Further Information http://ux.opencontext.org/blog/

archaeology-site-data/

ABOVE: Visualization of a query for Middle Woodland sites through the DINAA Web application. ABOVE: Visualization of a Middle Woodland query

filtered for only sites within Indiana. DINAA queries can be filtered by culture history categories, geographic locations, or key terms, to create broad areas of interest. These tools are publicly available to any user with a Web browser.

ABOVE: Query results for individual Indiana site records, as unique linked open data objects that are visualized in the density graphic to the left. Batch download options will soon be available.

ABOVE & RIGHT: Selected examples of linked open data fields currently available for the Mann Site (12PO2), a multicomponent site most famous for its Middle Woodland Hopewellian complex of earthworks, and world class artifactual preservation that has helped to place it on the National Register of Historic Places. Through DINAA, links to online data sets, reports, or publications hosted anywhere can be added to any site record and become part of the query process. Because DINAA does not directly host extra materials, and is based on open government data, site data are public domain.

LEFT: Examples of “standard” county level GIS maps, based on county name identifiers that are available in DINAA, produced through QGIS. Users can manipulate query returns through downloads of the DINAA grid, or by relating sites to their own spatial data for political jurisdictions. Because of DINAA’s free and open source availability, linked open data architecture, and commitment to coordination with successful open source tools, researchers, students, and stakeholders are free to engage DINAA data through the Web application or their own software. Growth of DINAA data links and coverage will improve these possibilities. Encourage use of DINAA to link and cite your data.

ABOVE: Middle Woodland DINAA visualization exported to QGIS or other GIS software as a GEOJSON file to be further analyzed (or exported to shapefile) with other geographic data sets.

ABOVE: The QGIS website (formerly Quantum GIS) contains cross-platform downloads of the complete application that is readily comparable to ArcGIS. QGIS is completely free and open source, with robust instructional literature, and a vibrant user community. Complete QGIS instructions will soon be available through the DINAA blog.

• Investigate culture areas or specific names • Visualize distributions of site use types • Search for key terms of interest • Consider uses of definitions and ontologies

• Use real archaeological data to illustrate and teach GIS concepts

• Compare regularized distributions • Introduce students to open data sources • Compatible with ArcGIS or other software

• Compare jurisdictional strategies for site description with original data

• Search for references to available reports • Examine investigative techniques • Consider sampling strategies at large scales

• Use DINAA for public education • Link DINAA queries to online artifact catalogs

or other available data and reports • Use stable DINAA identifiers to organize and

publicize your own collections