All collections curated by ARI are inventoried in a uniform, relational database system. The core ARI catalog draws provenience information and other categories (such as materials type: ceramic, lithic, etc.) from the research databases of the projects. Research database files received as part of a collection are uploaded and reformatted as necessary to comply with this system. Information needed for the ARI catalog that is not received in digital form requires manual entry. The ARI catalog is the inventory and collection management tool of the repository. As the collections are inventoried, the contents of the collection are verified and further detail added to each inventory record.
This file stores information about each accessioned collection relevant to its proper management and to the repository's ongoing relationship with the owner, principal investigator, sponsor and any other outside parties who have connections to, or interests in, the particular collection.
Each record describes a single collection. A single field will contain a unique accession identifier for that collection. The accession records are linked to the various catalogs via the collection's accession ID. The accession ID is generated based on the year of accession and sequential number assigned to each collection obtained in a given year. For example, ARI Accession 1996.001 for the Roosevelt Community Development Study is the first collection transferred to ARI in 1996. In addition, the management functions of this catalog numbering system are compatible with similar files maintained by the ASU Museum of Anthropology Collections.
Certain portions of the accession catalog are compatible with the national archival database standard proposed by the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR). If this standard becomes widely adopted, it will eventually ensure compatibility with other anthropological repositories and museums.
CoPAR-compatible fields carry information about collection title, ownership, sponsoring agencies, project, PI, general access restrictions, category and quantity of materials, gross temporal, spatial, and subject context of material, and the preservation status of the collection.
All physical objects such as artifacts, architectural remains, human remains, faunal remains, ethnobotanical remains, and soil samples are inventoried in the specimen catalog.
The primary key field for this catalog is the specimen catalog id of the form accession_id.specimen_id. Other fields include the accession ID, the original specimen id assigned by the principle investigator, an ASM-compatible site number, a specimen type and subtype, handling requirements, inventory and loan status, storage location.
Information in the Specimen Catalog is related to the Accessions catalog on Accession ID, the Site Inventory on ASM # (or compatible), and to the Loans and Access Log via a Loan ID field. The original specimen id assigned by the PI provides the key to relating the specimen log to data files included in the Research Database System.
It may become necessary in the future to incorporate separate, second-level files for discrete specimen types if the kind of information to be stored becomes overly specialized within material categories. Likely divisions include artifacts, faunal remains, human remains, ethno-botanical samples, etc. In such a case, each record would contain the supplementary information and would link to the specimen catalog by specimen id.
All photographs will be cataloged in a separate data file. This database is designed with three primary objectives: to maintain inventory of all photographic holdings, to facilitate searches for photographic data via indexed links to specimen and provenience information, and to minimize direct handling of photographic materials by providing an Image Library of digital facsimiles. The latter objective will be accomplished by digitization of images onto CD-ROM or comparable media when and if external funds are acquired to support these efforts.
The primary key field is a unique photo ID of the form accession_id.photo_id , other fields include accession id, site ID, specimen id, original photo id assigned by the PI, technical details, subject, filename and CD path of scanned image, inventory status & location, pointer link to thumbnail of actual photo.
One-to-one relation to Image Library. Many-to-one relation to Collection catalog on Accession ID, Many-to-one link to Site catalog on ASM # (or compatible). Many-to-many links to Specimen catalog will be supported by intermediary file to handle multiple cross-links.
This file inventories all paper and maps curated by CAPR (not including maps stored as records such as sketch maps on the back of level forms). As with photographs, efforts will be made to preserve paper map data by conversion to suitable digital format as time, resources, and availability of external funding permit.
Each record contains a unique map ID in the form accession_id.map_id, the collection accession ID, projection and scale information, information, subject matter, ASM ID, inventory and loan status, storage location. For maps and plans submitted electronically, this file will provide a thumbnail image and pointer(s) to the electronic file(s).
Many-to-one relationship to Collection catalog on Accession ID, Many to-one link to Site inventory on ASM # (or compatible).
This is a bibliographic database of all published and unpublished manuscripts pertaining to CAPR collections or research related to them, including deliverable copies of reports curated by CAPR.
This database will be compatible with the bibliographic database used by the National Archaeological Data Base developed by the US Park Service and implemented by the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, University of Arkansas. This format is compliant with basic requirements for MARC format, an national standard for library and archival database exchange.
Each record contains fullbibliographic data, CAPR inventory status & location, the collection accession ID.
Many-to-one relationship to Collection catalog on Accession ID
This catalog maintains an inventory of all unpublished written notes and documentation accompanying a collection. These may include field excavation and survey forms, logs, analysis forms, sketches. Documents will be organized into appropriate lots, or volumes, upon accession and will be assigned a catalog number consisting of accession_id.report_id. The database will indicate the content, format and number of pages for each volume.
The box inventory lists the location and specimen class for numbered boxes so that the specimen catalog need only list the box number rather than repeat this information for every specimen in a box.