The ROCEEH Out of Africa Database: A Case Study in Reusing Archaeological Data Sensibly

In this talk, we discuss our experience in aggregating archaeological data from the past 150 years into the ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD). We offer ROAD as a case study for learning how to reuse previously published information and integrating its content into a robust digital framework. By assimilating data written in many languages from sites in Africa and Eurasia spanning from three million years until 20,000 years ago, we add value and also preserve information for future generations to use and reuse. By linking ROAD with ARIADNEplus, we made the data more findable. The data are digitally accessible to scholars and the public through an open license and user interface. The data can be linked and downloaded in several formats, making them interoperable with other systems. Finally, the data have been both reused through their integration into ROAD, and are now ready to be reused by others.

To reuse the data, we first developed a method to distill the elements that we thought would be most informative based on the collective experience of our team consisting of archaeologists, paleoanthropologists, paleontologists, paleobotanists and geographers, as well as data scientists. To overcome vast differences in research traditions, we had to decide upon a least common denominator that would be available regardless of when and where data were collected and published. We also needed to harmonize the data to ensure that their entry into the database would flow smoothly. We learned to standardize data formats, wrote detailed specifications, and developed vocabularies to ensure as much consistency as possible. In the end, we discovered the perils and pitfalls of data reuse and applied what we learned in real time to optimize their entry into ROAD. Through this process, we feel that we created a database that is robust, sustainable and multidisciplinary.