ReArch Database Project

The Recursive Relational Archaeological Database (ReArch) is a data management platform that preserves the practical configuration that data tables provide, while relaxing the strict, attribute-based model that so characterized modern databases. The schema consists of an inherently recursive and extensible structure that can incorporate heterogeneous observations and analyses into a common framework in order to evaluate their commensurability. In this manner, ReArch provides a simple platform for analyzing and formally expressing the chains of qualifications and associations that fundamentally characterize excavation contexts, artifact descriptions, geographical information, and the secondary and tertiary materials analyses derived from archaeological materials. ReArch is a stable, portable, and scalable system of open source software components, including PostgreSQL, the Django web framework, GRASS open source GIS, R statistical software, and Python scripting language.