#Shesc asu mail code series#

Therefore, lack of effective data management and research design has potentially dire consequences for the long-term use and availability of archaeological data. Even for those working outside of impending modern construction, ongoing looting, and natural resource mining, everyday destructive forces are always significant components of immediate research concerns. A key aspect of modern archaeological research and design pedagogy should include the creation of electronic data both for current analyses and the creation of legacy data for future researchers. As we explain below, this neglect is more often a function of how archaeological data ―best practices‖ are handed-down rather than classroom taught, a situation which we propose to directly address. However, archaeologists have been slow to take complete advantage of relational architecture, in spite of the fact that it often mirrors the way archaeological data are structured. As database technology evolved, archaeologists have been eager to adopt new methods in the interest of increasing the efficiency and flexibility of their datasets (Carroll 1988). The architecture of these database programs allowed access through a wide variety of ‗front end‘ user interfaces, from off-the-shelf database applications to GIS programs to web browsers, increasing their utility to archaeological projects.

However, it was the introduction of a variety of RAD (Rapid Application Design) products, such as Microsoft Access, FoxPro, DBASE, and FilemakerPro, each readily available for personal computers, that gave most archaeologists easy access to the creation and maintenance of electronic relational databases. The introduction of relational database technology during the 1970‘s provided an important addition to the archaeologist‘s repertoire of analytical tools. Introduction The storage and retrieval of archaeological data within computer databases is a basic component of modern archaeological research. Archaeological Issues in Database Organization VII. Basic Archaeological Database Architecture V.

Database Creation as a Component of Research Design IV. Email Alanna Ossa at for questions, comments, and suggestions. Please do not cite without permission of the authors.

#Shesc asu mail code series#

Arleyn Simon School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University Archaeological Research Institute SHESC Graduate Workshop Series