The Center for Digital Antiquity has a new Digital Curator position open and we invite qualified applicants to apply. The position of Digital Curator plays a vital role within our organization. Not limited to one specific function, we seek a well-organized, knowledgeable person who will provide services to clients, including drafting administrative and substantive metadata for digital files to be deposited in tDAR, recommending and carrying out redaction for confidential or sensitive data in files, assisting in the planning of digital collections within tDAR for clients, and other services. 

This person will also assist in the Center for Digital Antiquity’s development, improvement and maintenance of tDAR digital repository. This will involve work on project documentation, cleaning up existing data and entering new data/documents. Digital curators are also involved in creating instructional text and web pages to improve information for tDAR users.

To learn more and to apply, visit the Arizona State University employment website. Applications will be accepted through September 15, 2015.

Congratulations to our colleague, Dr. Paul Green, Cultural Resources Specialist for the East Region Support Team (RST), part of the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center.  The Secretary of Defense has recognized Paul’s excellent professional work with the 2015 Department of Defense Cultural Resources Management award.

At Digital Antiquity we are particularly happy to learn of this award and that one of the many major accomplishments for which his service is recognized involved a program that we have had a hand in.  Paul had a key role in establishing

Together with Dr. Jim Wilde, Archaeologist and Cultural Resource Management Subject Matter Expert at the US Air Force Environmental Center, Paul is overseeing the continuing growth of important documents, data, images, and other digital data in tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record).

More information about the US Air Force digital archive in tDAR is available at: https://www.tdar.org/news/2014/03/shaw-afb-and-avon-park-afr-archaeology-archives-now-in-tdar/; and https://www.tdar.org/news/2013/02/digital-antiquity-announces-the-dyess-air-force-base-archaeology/.

About the Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards program (from the Cultural Resource Update Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 4-5): Since 1962, the Department of Defense Environmental awards have honored individuals, teams, and installations for their outstanding achievements and innovative work protecting the environment while sustaining mission readiness.  A diverse panel of judges with relevant expertise representing federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector evaluated all nominees to select one winner for each of the nine categories that cover six subject areas: natural resources conservation; environmental quality; sustainability; environmental restoration; cultural resources management; and environmental excellence in weapon system acquisition.

The Cultural Resources Management award recognizes individuals and teams making significant and lasting contributions to DoD CRM. This award acknowledges efforts to promote cultural resources stewardship in DoD by highlighting outstanding management activities and showcasing DoD’s extensive cultural resources, including archaeological sites, the historic built environment, and cultural landscapes. Desired initiatives include partnering with external stakeholders such as Native Americans, SHPOs, and local communities, and working with internal stakeholders in the areas of master planning, public works, and range management.  More information on the Awards can be found at: http://www.denix.osd.mil/awards/FY14SECDEF.cfm.

We’ve got great news! We have reduced prices significantly. As of 14 July 2015, it costs only $10 to upload a single file (up to 10MB) to tDAR. This is a significant decrease compared to the former price of $50 per file.

In recent months, we undertook a careful evaluation of operating costs and reviewed the consistent stream of new tDAR clients and DIY digital preservation customers.  Based on these factors, The Center for Digital Antiquity’s Board of Directors and Arizona State University’s financial administrators approved a significant reduction in price to upload digital content to tDAR for long term access, discoverability, and preservation.

This change will be of interest particularly for contributors who upload small quantities of digital files and create the metadata records on their own. Larger clients also will benefit because the low rate of $5/file now applies for purchases of 100 or more files. Check out the full new price list below or visit our new pricing page.

*Each tDAR file comes with 10MB of space.  To upload digital resources larger than 10MB simply purchase additional tDAR files.

You can easily purchase exactly the number of files and storage space that you need using our price calculator and your credit card just like before.  Of course, our digital curators, project managers, and technical staff are always happy to work with you on a customized project for an hourly rate as well. 
 
Digital preservation fees fund the long-term care of files in tDAR; access to public data and protection of confidential information; data security; customer service; and, advocacy and professional training for proper digital curation of all archaeological materials.

tDAR is a domain repository in which data and information about and from archaeological resources, investigations, and related topics. In tDAR, data and information are curated, discoverable, accessible, and preserved for future use.  tDAR is developed and maintained by the Center for Digital Antiquity, a not-for-profit center at Arizona State University.
 
Our promise to broaden the access to archaeological data and dedication ensuring preservation will continue to thrive with your support!

Recently over 200 reports of archaeological investigations in South Carolina were added to tDAR by the Office of the State Archaeologist, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA).  Dr. Jonathan Leader and several of his students created a tDAR collection that is organized to hold all the archaeological grey literature and related data for South Carolina from the last 50 years. Within the statewide collection, reports are organized by county with the majority of reports so far included from Aiken, Charleston, and Beaufort counties, but other reports from around the state also can be found.  The plan is to build content using this geographic framework.

Leader and his team have uploaded both complete reports, for which access can be requested by contacting his office, and redacted versions of the reports.  The latter are available through tDAR to registered tDAR users.

This project, enabling easier access to archaeological information, is expected to alleviate a large number of time-consuming requests.  The intent is to provide a major research tool for people conducing archaeological work and historical research in South Carolina and the adjacent states. Numerous groups and teams of people will benefit from these available records including, researchers, land stewards, county planners, agency staff (state, local federal), non-profits, tribal archaeology and preservation organizations, educators, and interested members of the public.

The Center for Digital Antiquity is pleased to have worked with the  Office of the State Archaeologist on this use of tDAR to provide a means of managing South Carolina’s archaeological data. We look forward to collaborating on additional future projects with SCIAA and other State Archaeologist offices and SHPOs.

In collaboration with the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Digital Antiquity has begun a partnership to include tDAR’s Arctic data into the NSIDC’s Arctic Data Explorer. The Arctic Data Explorer is a web application that searches for research data across a number of repositories. Including data from tDAR furthers Digital Antiquity’s mission of enabling discovery and use of digital archaeological data. The new functionality in Arctic Data Explorer ensures that when scientists search for Arctic data, archaeological data will be discovered alongside interdisciplinary data from NOAA, NASA, USGS and other repositories. Try a search now and let the Arctic Data Explorer team know what you think (contact Digital Antiquity at comments@tdar.org or NSIDC at support@aoncadis.org).

Excitement is in the air at Arizona State University as graduation is upon us. One of our very own, Mike Karam, will receive his Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from ASU today. The staff at The Center for Digital Antiquity has been fortunate to work with Mike, an undergraduate Research Apprentice, since August 2014. He excelled in his work on improving the content of archaeological data in tDAR, specifically improving access and preserving legacy data from the Dolores Archaeological Program. Mike also updated over 30 other digital files and metadata records within tDAR. He greatly enhanced the content of tDAR and provided other tDAR users with more detailed information about important archaeological investigations. Congratulations, to Mike and his family, from all of us at The Center for Digital Antiquity!