ABSTRACT
Data curation confronts local or community-based archaeological investigations, as it does complex multiphase, multiyear scientific studies, as it does national museums or public agencies responsible for overseeing, preserving, and protecting a country's archaeological heritage. This chapter examines these challenges and reviews recent steps that attempt to find a successful way forward. The Archaeological Data Archive Project (ADAP) was operated by a single non-profit agency, the Center for the Study of Architecture/Archaeology (CSA). The cancellation of the project impacted the Archaeological Data Archive Project (ADAP), causing a revaluation of ADAP's status and its eventual termination. Cultural resource management firms, academic institutions, government agencies, and other institutions worldwide that produce archaeological data will routinely submit that data to the appropriate archive or repository for long-term preservation according to standard curation practices. A promising, large-scale national effort outside the world of archaeology is the Library of Congress' National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) now known as the Digital Preservation Program.
