| Title: |
Pofatu, a curated and open-access database for geochemical sourcing of archaeological materials. |
| Authors: |
Hermann, Aymeric, Forkel, Robert, McAlister, Andrew, Cruickshank, Arden, Golitko, Mark, Kneebone, Brendan, McCoy, Mark, Reepmeyer, Christian, Sheppard, Peter, Sinton, John, Weisler, Marshall |
| Source: |
Scientific Data; 5/11/2020, Vol. 7 Issue 1, p1-9, 9p |
| Subject Terms: |
GEOCHEMICAL cycles, ISOTOPES, METADATA, SCIENTIFIC community, SAMPLING (Process) |
| Geographic Terms: |
ISLANDS of the Pacific |
| Abstract: |
Compositional analyses have long been used to determine the geological sources of artefacts. Geochemical "fingerprinting" of artefacts and sources is the most effective way to reconstruct strategies of raw material and artefact procurement, exchange or interaction systems, and mobility patterns during prehistory. The efficacy and popularity of geochemical sourcing has led to many projects using various analytical techniques to produce independent datasets. In order to facilitate access to this growing body of data and to promote comparability and reproducibility in provenance studies, we designed Pofatu, the first online and open-access database to present geochemical compositions and contextual information for archaeological sources and artefacts in a form that can be readily accessed by the scientific community. This relational database currently contains 7759 individual samples from archaeological sites and geological sources across the Pacific Islands. Each sample is comprehensively documented and includes elemental and isotopic compositions, detailed archaeological provenance, and supporting analytical metadata, such as sampling processes, analytical procedures, and quality control. Measurement(s) isotopic composition • chemical composition • contextual information for archaeological sources • contextual information for stone artefacts Technology Type(s) digital curation • computational modeling technique Factor Type(s) archaeological provenance • artefact attribute Sample Characteristic - Location Region (Papua New Guinea) • Vanuatu Islands • Solomon Islands • Fiji islands • Tonga Archipelago • Samoa • American Samoa • Wallis and Futuna Islands • Tuvalu Islands • Tokelau Islands • Rotuma Island Group • Cook Islands • Society Islands • Marquesas Islands • Archipel des Tuamotu • Gambier Islands • Austral Islands • Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands • Easter Island • State of Hawaii • Micronesia • New Zealand Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.12073116 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: |
Complementary Index |
