Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF)

This dataset within the Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA) represents archaeological site definitions in the state of Georgia, United States of America. The source data are provided as a public service by the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF), at the University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology, where they are used to help record cultural resources and ascertain compliance with federal, state, and local statutes regarding the protection of those resources. The representation of these source data in DINAA is limited to definitions of archaeological cultures, site use types, diagnostic artifacts, and fields related to the quality of information preservation at each site. The source data maintained by the GASF contain many other elements that are not present in DINAA, including those that may be improper for Web-publication such as precise location coordinates. As such, DINAA data are not suitable for records checks or other activities to demonstrate compliance with federal, state, or local regulations. DINAA data are useful for recognizing trends among archaeological site characteristics in various spatial and temporal combinations, for research and educational purposes. Any user who wishes to investigate the source data in detail for legal compliance or research purposes, or wishes to learn more about the important work of archaeological preservation in Georgia, should contact the GASF directly.

Browsing the Data

The DINAA project continues to develop interface and visualization features to facilitate use of these data. This effort includes continued development and implementation of shared controlled vocabularies that will enable search and comparison of data from multiple states. Currently, one can search across multiple states using a shared vocabulary for archaeological cultures / periods. See below for links to example searches:

• Faceted search of periods. On the right, different periods are listed as search options.
• Faceted search of Archaic sub-periods. On the right, different sub-periods are listed as search options.
• Search facets for Phase and (Diagnostic) Artifact types. Different search options appear on the left.
• Morrow Mountain Projectile Point / Knife. This displays a map of a diagnostic artifact type.

Publication Note

Open Context published this dataset as part of a larger, multi-state data sharing and integration project, the Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA), funded in 2012 by the National Science Foundation (award # 1216810 and 1217240). DINAA's team of university, public, and private sector researchers is developing models to publish and index archaeological information from large areas of eastern North America for free of charge access and reuse by all researchers, students, and enthusiasts. For more about the DINAA project, visit the project website.

Image Credit

Credit for this project's illustrative image Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA)