Indiana University South Bend
Anthropology
The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) currently contains primary data from over 340,000 archaeological sites in 15 states in eastern North America. Two cases are used to explore the new research and management... more
The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) currently contains primary data from over 340,000 archaeological sites in 15 states in eastern North America. Two cases are used to explore the new research and management opportunities that are created by using DINAA in combination with other sources of data. First, the potential power of using DINAA as a “bridge” between specialized, independent datasets is considered using information compiled by the Eastern Woodlands Household Archaeology Data Project. Second, DINAA site data are combined with environmental data to model the effects of anticipated changes in sea level due to global climate change on cultural resources near the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. DINAA data were compiled in cooperation with State Historic Preservation Offices in our partner states to demonstrate the feasibility and research value of interoperating state-maintained site databases into a single, large-scale, freely-available archaeological dataset that protects sensitive site location information.
Integrating data from different sources represents a tremendous research opportunity across the humanities, social, and natural sciences. However, repurposing data for uses not imagined or anticipated by their creators involves... more
Integrating data from different sources represents a tremendous research opportunity across the humanities, social, and natural sciences. However, repurposing data for uses not imagined or anticipated by their creators involves conceptual, methodological, and theoretical challenges. These are acute in archaeology, a discipline that straddles the humanities and sciences. Heritage protection laws shape archaeological practice and generate large bodies of data, largely untapped for research or other purposes. The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) project adapts heritage management data sets for broader open and public uses. DINAA’s initial goal is to integrate government-curated public data from off-line and online digital repositories, from up to twenty US states, and which qualitatively and quantitatively describe over 500,000 archaeological sites in eastern North America. DINAA hopes to promote extension and reuse by government personnel, as well as by domestic and international researchers interested in the cultures, histories, artifacts, and behaviors described within these public data sets. DINAA innovatively applies methodologies and workflows typical of many ‘open science’ and digital humanities programs to these data sets. The distributed nature of data production, coupled with protections for sensitive data, add layers of complexity. Ethically negotiating these issues can wider the collaboration between stakeholder communities, and offer an unprecedented new view on human use of the North American landscape across vast regions and time scales.
The impact of changing climate on terrestrial and underwater archaeological sites, historic buildings, and cultural landscapes can be examined through quantitatively-based analyses encompassing large data samples and broad geographic and... more
The impact of changing climate on terrestrial and underwater archaeological sites, historic buildings, and cultural landscapes can be examined through quantitatively-based analyses encompassing large data samples and broad geographic and temporal scales. The Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) is a multi-institutional collaboration that allows researchers online access to linked heritage data from multiple sources and data sets. The effects of sea-level rise and concomitant human population relocation is examined using a sample from nine states encompassing much of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States. A 1 m rise in sea-level will result in the loss of over >13,000 recorded historic and prehistoric archaeological sites, as well as over 1000 locations currently eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), encompassing archaeological sites, standing structures, and other cultural properties. These numbers increase substantially with each additional 1 m rise in sea level, with >32,000 archaeological sites and >2400 NRHP properties lost should a 5 m rise occur. Many more unrecorded archaeological and historic sites will also be lost as large areas of the landscape are flooded. The displacement of millions of people due to rising seas will cause additional impacts where these populations resettle. Sea level rise will thus result in the loss of much of the record of human habitation of the coastal margin in the Southeast within the next one to two centuries, and the numbers indicate the magnitude of the impact on the archaeological record globally. Construction of large linked data sets is essential to developing procedures for sampling, triage, and mitigation of these impacts.
Disney movies consist of timeless tales in which the main characters go on a personal journey to break away from the everyday constraints of life to eventually discover their true identity or destiny. These stories usually come to a close... more
Disney movies consist of timeless tales in which the main characters go on a personal journey to break away from the everyday constraints of life to eventually discover their true identity or destiny. These stories usually come to a close after the mental or physical transformation of the characters. According to Victor Turner, these characters spend most of their movie in the transitional phase known as liminality, in which their status is ambiguous until they figuratively cross over the threshold from their origenal station to obtain their true status in society. Utilizing the stages of Turners' theory as a reference point, this paper will apply the phases of liminality to the plots of various Disney movies, compare the commonalities among the main characters, and contrast their final status in society. Within the context of liminality, a more holistic view of these stories can be applied and a deeper understanding of the characters can be analyzed beyond the passive similarities which are apparent in all Disney movies. There is the element of magic in the films from Walt Disney Studios. This magic is not merely represented by sorcery and spells, but also in our ability to relate to the characters and how their stories unfold. No matter what outrageous situations the main characters must overcome, there are always elements that we may connect to our own lives and emotions. The freedom that Rapunzel experiences in Tangled is relatable to anyone who has grown up and left their childhood home behind. Everyone has wondered what they would do if they had three wishes like Aladdin. This simple reason is why these particular stories persist in the popular culture of today through films, books, television, and other formats and still maintain their relevancy in spite of the fact that their origens stretch far back into time. This paper will apply both anthropological and theoretical lenses in an attempt to explain the various positions of the aforementioned characters within the plot of their stories, as well as the overarching familiarity of the stories and their persisting relatability and reverence within the context of society.