DANA (Digital Archive Network for Anthropology)
Jeffrey T. Clark, Brian M. Slator, Aaron Bergstrom, Francis Larson, Richard Frovarp, James E. Landrum, William Perrizo, William Jockheck · 2002
This is a report of work on an internet-based digital library called the Digital Archive Network for Anthropology (DANA). DANA provides a model for a generalized method for implementing digital archives. This federation of databases will link researchers, students, and the general public to distributed databases that include realistic, accurate, three-dimensional (3D), visual representations of artifacts, fossils, and other objects, along with 2D digitized documents (e.g., maps, plan views, excavation profiles, and photographs) and various associated data. DANA will have a strong data mining component which will allow users to find relationships in the data which correspond to facts about the actual artifacts and fossils. The data mining techniques involve a new spatial data mining structure called the Ptree. DANA is being created through development and implementation of cross-platform, open standards that will facilitate interoperability and exchange of information between remote systems. DANA enables dynamic use of digital models, virtual measurement tools, and an array of data supplied by contributing content providers (collaborators) for education and scholarly research.