Recycling Data
Matthew T Boulanger · 2016
This chapter presents a brief overview of the recycling of data as it pertains to compositional analyses of archaeological ceramic artifacts. Although data recycling has been central to archaeology in general, and ceramic-composition studies in particular, the development of microcomputers with large storage capacities and of the World Wide Web have negated many of the obstacles that previously hindered storage, access, and re-use of data. Drawing from work on the preservation one of the largest ceramic-compositional databases in the world, this chapter argues that a historical perspective provides significant insight into how best to ensure newly generated data remain relevant into the future, and why doing so is an imperative of any scientific endeavor.