Delaney Carlson, Sarah Wawrzyniakowski and Abigail Haider, “Animal Bone Comparative Collections: Best Practices for Digital Osteological Database Hosting and Management at UWM”
Mentor: Jean Hudson, Anthropology, Letters & Science (College of)
Poster #78
Whether a bone is being studied in a lab or found on a random hiking trail, comparative collections are an important resource in identifying the type of bone and the species to which it belongs. With its extensive zooarchaeological collection and student research opportunities, UWM has a great opportunity to host a student-run comparative collection that will help scholars and the public. As a group, the Digital Image Database (DID) team set out to explore this opportunity. To start, a study of existing public collections, their structure, and their methods of hosting and maintenance took place. In addition, the DID team conducted a series of interviews with on-campus personnel to learn about existing infrastructure, support, and resources available to students, including Omeka, and open-source digital collection management system. UWM maintains OMEKA accounts through both the library and through the school of Letters & Science, which the DID team was able to access and use with the assistance of the UWM Library Digital Collections staff. With OMEKA, the DID team created a sample public-facing database, which can continue to be built upon. Through the review of existing public-facing collections and a series of intra-campus interviews, a sample zooarchaeology database to assist students, archaeologists, and the public was created. As a tool, this database allows for improved access to UWM’s zooarchaeology collection and sets an example for other campus groups who wish to host their own digital database.