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Using the ArcGIS Collector Mobile App for Settlement Survey Data Collection in Armenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2020

Ian Lindsay Open the ORCID record for Ian Lindsay [Opens in a new window]  and
Ningning Nicole Kong Open the ORCID record for Ningning Nicole Kong [Opens in a new window]
Ian Lindsay*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, 700 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN47907, USA
Ningning Nicole Kong
Affiliation:
Libraries and School of Information Studies, Purdue University, 340 Centennial Mall Drive, West Lafayette, 47907, IN, USA
*
(ilindsay@purdue.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

Recent years have seen the rapid adoption of digital site recording strategies following the proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile devices and data collection apps. Much of the emerging literature on digital—or paperless—archaeology, however, has focused on excavation contexts, with fewer discussions of mobile-GIS solutions on archaeological survey. This article discusses the design and implementation of a site survey workflow based on Esri's ArcGIS Collector mobile app in the context of Project ArAGATS's Kasakh Valley Archaeology Survey in northwestern Armenia. The Collector app provides a simple, map-centric user interface that allows surveyors with little-to-no GIS experience to record site locations, enter attribute data on customized digital forms, and attach photographs. With a network connection, the Collector app instantly uploads site information as GIS data to the project geodatabase and refreshes the data across surveyors’ mobile devices. Although the Collector app lacks certain GIS features and requires an institutional Esri license, we found that the native integration with our project GIS and broad access to visualization and recording tools in the app made in-field decision-making and interpretation more collaborative and inclusive across the survey team.

En los últimos años se han adoptado con rapidez estrategias de registro digital en yacimientos tras la proliferación de dispositivos móviles con GPS y aplicaciones de recopilación de datos. Sin embargo, gran parte de la literatura emergente sobre arqueología digital o sin papel se ha centrado en los contextos de excavación, con pocas investigaciones en soluciones de SIG móvil aplicables a la prospección arqueológica. Este documento aborda el diseño y la implementación de un proceso de trabajo en la exploración de yacimientos, basado en la aplicación móvil Collector del Instituto de Investigación de Sistemas Ambientales (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Esri) para ArcGIS en el contexto del Proyecto ArAGATS's Kasakh Valley Archaeology Survey que se lleva a cabo en el noroeste de Armenia. La aplicación Collector provee una interfaz de usuario simple que se basa en un mapa y que permite a los topógrafos con poca o ninguna experiencia en SIG registrar las ubicaciones de los lugares, ingresar datos de atributos en formularios digitales personalizados y adjuntar fotografías. Con una conexión de red, la aplicación Collector carga instantáneamente la información del lugar como datos de SIG a la base de datos geográficos del proyecto y actualiza la información en los dispositivos móviles de todos los topógrafos. Si bien la aplicación Collector carece de ciertas características de SIG y requiere de una licencia institucional del Esri, encontramos que la integración natural con nuestro proyecto SIG y el amplio acceso a las herramientas de visualización y grabación en la aplicación hizo que la toma de decisiones durante el trabajo de campo y la interpretación fueran más colaborativas e inclusivas en todo el equipo de investigación.

Keywords

digital archaeologygeographic information systems (GIS)mobile GISsettlement surveySouth CaucasusArmeniaarqueología digitalsistemas de información geográfica (SIG)SIG móvilpatrones de asentamientosCáucaso SurArmenia
Type
Articles
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , November 2020 , pp. 322 - 336
Copyright
Copyright 2020 © Society for American Archaeology

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