The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR): An Archive for 21st Century Digital Archaeology Curation

Archaeological research both produces and uses substantial amounts of data in digital formats. Researchers undertaking comparative studies need to be able to find existing data easily, efficiently, and in formats that they will be able to access and utilize. Researchers creating or recording data need a repository where they can place the data they generate so that it will be discoverable, accessible, and preserved for long-term use. The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) is a broadly accessible domain repository for archaeological and archaeologically-related data and information. tDAR is especially helpful and useful for Cultural Resource Management (CRM) firms, public agencies, individual scholars, and research organizations that are not affiliated with, and therefore unable to access and use, institutional digital repositories, such as are maintained by some major research universities. Researchers with access to institutional repositories still may prefer to use tDAR since it is tailored to archaeological and other cultural heritage data and information. Current users of tDAR include academic researchers, public agencies, CRM firms, and others organizations responsible for archaeological data and resources.

For more information about tDAR and examples of its content, see the article from Advances in Archaeological Practice also contained in this tDAR record.