Databases, Data Access, and Data Sharing in Paleoanthropology: First Steps

[S. L. Wang]

This is a small step toward FREE public and academic access of important (fossil) data - we are talking about hi-res photographs, CT-scans, radiographs (and whatever that's available or permissible) in additional to traditional metrics. But free data sharing is a very radical idea (in any establishment), so only time will tell where this will lead...

- Steve


Eric Delson, William E.H. Harcourt– Smith, Stephen R.Frost and Christoper A.Norris
Evolutionary Anthropology 16(5) :161–163,  Sept-Oct 2007

[trehinp]

Thanks a lot Steve,

This will be a tremendous tool for researchers and for dedicated amateurs like me...

Reading the paper, I couldn't understand if documents such as pictures and raw data concerning sites, tools, rock art and any artifacts would be part of the data base project. Such data is often extremely difficult to obtain.

One other data sharing that should be encouraged is the participation to discussions such as the ones that take place in PALANTH and other forums. The value of such discussion grows considerably with the number of participants... In fact it is more than data sharing it should be a way to test one's hypothesis or theory in front of a knowledgeable audiance.

Let's hope this data base project will soon become a reality.

Paul

[S. L. Wang]

Paul -

Public access is important, but the difficult resides with intellectual property, and many institutes place price tags on "by-products" like casts and photographs - they ain't cheap as you know.

Well, the ultimate purpose of PRIMO is to have a complete set of 'relevant' information (e.g., locality data, photos) for all things, extant and extinct, posted. However, PRIMO (Primate Morphology Online) is strictly a primate morphological database, so it will exclude archaeological remains...

I've posted under "link" an URL for the British Museum's original Catalogue of Fossil Homininds (not sure what edition). It's pirated but useful. =)

- Steve