Foundations of the Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeology Geodatabase (UCSAG)

FAIN: PW-285206-22

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201)
Carla Klehm (Project Director: July 2021 to March 2025)

A Foundations project to undertake a collections assessment, design a geo-database, and establish metadata and digitization protocols for archaeological data from two areas around the site of Cholula (Puebla), Mexico, an important pre-Columbian urban and religious center, occupied through the conquest.

UCSAG-Foundations focuses on the initial development for a database that will be known as UCSAG (Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase), associated with archaeological collections from the last 2,000 years in the Cholula area of Mexico. The Cholula collections have the potential to enable research for and tell the story of the rich Mexican indigenous history and living heritage before, during, and after Spanish colonialism. The collections from Urban Cholula, discovered through salvage excavations in two modern cities adjacent to Cholula's Great Pyramid, have the potential to transform understandings of how Cholula operated as a political and religious center during the pre-Columbian era, and continued to be a resilient locus of Mesoamerican culture throughout the colonial period. UCSAG-Foundations will design the database and determine the protocols to bring the attention of the world to these little-known, but incredibly significant humanities collections.

Associated Products

Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase Project: White Paper (Report)
Title: Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase Project: White Paper
Author: Carla Klehm
Author: Josue Gomez
Author: Kristin Landau
Abstract: The NEH “Foundations” Grant supported the initial development of the Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase (UCSAG), which is associated with archaeological collections from the last 2,000 years in the Cholula area of Puebla, Mexico. Cholula is an important pre-Columbian urban and religious center, occupied through the conquest, whose archaeological collections enable researchers to tell the story of the rich Mexican Indigenous history before, during, and after Spanish colonialism. The site of Cholula is world-renowned, drawing over half a million visitors per year, yet visits are often limited to the Great Pyramid rather than its larger footprint, Urban Cholula, now covered by the modern cities of San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula. This project's goals were to undertake a collections assessment, design a geodatabase, and establish metadata and digitization protocols for archaeological data from two areas, San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula, around the site of Cholula. UCSAG-Foundations designed a geodatabase and determined the protocols to bring the attention of the world to these little-known, but incredibly significant humanities collections. This file contains the white paper associated with the project, built from a series of deliverables the project members produced. The white paper is intended to be used by archaeologists around the world who struggle to digitize and manage spatial data in a long-term sustainable way. While the white paper is in English, most of the individual sections are included separated that have been translated into Spanish. The Spanish version of the archaeological geodatabase comparison is found at: 10.5281/zenodo.12746373.
Date: 03/31/2024
Primary URL: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.12745983

Spatial Data Management in Archaeology: Ensuring archaeological data is accessible for research and communication (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Spatial Data Management in Archaeology: Ensuring archaeological data is accessible for research and communication
Abstract: This file contains a powerpoint presentation, on spatial data management for archaeologists, that was given during the in-person workshop from February 21-23, 2024, in Puebla, Mexico. It was given as part of the Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase (UCSAG) project. This project's goals were to undertake a collections assessment, design a geodatabase, and establish metadata and digitization protocols for archaeological data from two areas, San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula, around the site of Cholula. Other presentations from the in-person workshop can be found at: database options for Cholula, 10.5281/zenodo.12746373; and migrating a database from FileMakerPro to ArcGIS, 10.5281/zenodo.12746346.
Author: Carla Klehm
Author: Jonathan Lim
Author: Malcolm Williamson
Author: Kristin Landau
Date: 02/23/24
Location: Puebla, Mexico
Primary URL: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.12746301

Cholula Database: Options (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Cholula Database: Options
Abstract: This file contains a powerpoint presentation, on spatial data management for archaeologists, that was given during the in-person workshop from February 21-23, 2024, in Puebla, Mexico. It was given as part of the Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase (UCSAG) project. This project's goals were to undertake a collections assessment, design a geodatabase, and establish metadata and digitization protocols for archaeological data from two areas, San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula, around the site of Cholula. This file contains a powerpoint presentation, on geodatabase options for the Cholula project, that was given during the in-person workshop from February 21-23, 2024. in Puebla, Mexico. Other presentations from the in-person workshop can be found at: 10.5281/zenodo.12746302, on spatial data management for archaeologists; and 10.5281/zenodo.12746346, on migrating a database from FileMakerPro to ArcGIS.
Author: Kristin Landau
Date: 02/22/24
Location: Puebla, Mexico
Primary URL: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.12746372

Database Examples: FileMaker and ArcGIS Pro (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Database Examples: FileMaker and ArcGIS Pro
Abstract: This file contains a powerpoint presentation, on spatial data management for archaeologists, that was given during the in-person workshop from February 21-23, 2024, in Puebla, Mexico. It was given as part of the Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase (UCSAG) project. This project's goals were to undertake a collections assessment, design a geodatabase, and establish metadata and digitization protocols for archaeological data from two areas, San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula, around the site of Cholula. This file contains a powerpoint presentation, migrating a database from FileMakerPro to ArcGIS, that was given during the in-person workshop from February 21-23, 2024. in Puebla, Mexico. Other presentations from the in-person workshop can be found at: 10.5281/zenodo.12746302, on spatial data management for archaeologists; and 10.5281/zenodo.12746373, on geodatabase options for the Cholula project.
Author: Kristin Landau
Date: 02/22/24
Location: Puebla, Mexico
Primary URL: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.12746345

Guide for Establishing an Archaeological Database with Open Access Software (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Guide for Establishing an Archaeological Database with Open Access Software
Author: Jonathan Lim
Abstract: The Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase (UCSAG), is associated with archaeological collections from the last 2,000 years in the Cholula area of Puebla, Mexico. Cholula is an important pre-Columbian urban and religious center, occupied through the conquest, whose archaeological collections enable researchers to tell the story of the rich Mexican Indigenous history before, during, and after Spanish colonialism. The site of Cholula is world-renowned, drawing over half a million visitors per year, yet visits are often limited to the Great Pyramid rather than its larger footprint, Urban Cholula, now covered by the modern cities of San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula. This project's goals were to undertake a collections assessment, design a geodatabase, and establish metadata and digitization protocols for archaeological data from two areas, San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula, around the site of Cholula. UCSAG-Foundations designed a geodatabase and determined the protocols to bring the attention of the world to these little-known, but incredibly significant humanities collections. This workflow serves as a guide for establishing an open-source archaeological geodatabase. It was developed as part of the UCSAG project deliverables and presented at the in-person workshop in Puebla, Mexico, which took place February 21-23, 2024.The white paper for the UCSAG project is found at: 10.5281/zenodo.12745984
Year: 2024
Primary URL: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.12745406
Primary URL Description: Guided Workflow for Establishing an Open-Source Archaeological Database
Audience: Undergraduate

Resumen del proyecto piloto de base de datos para Cholula (Report)
Title: Resumen del proyecto piloto de base de datos para Cholula
Author: Josue Gomez
Abstract: The Urban Cholula Salvage Archaeological Geodatabase (UCSAG) is associated with archaeological collections from the last 2,000 years in the Cholula area of Puebla, Mexico. Cholula is an important pre-Columbian urban and religious center, occupied through the conquest, whose archaeological collections enable researchers to tell the story of the rich Mexican Indigenous history before, during, and after Spanish colonialism. The site of Cholula is world-renowned, drawing over half a million visitors per year, yet visits are often limited to the Great Pyramid rather than its larger footprint, Urban Cholula, now covered by the modern cities of San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula. This project's goals were to undertake a collections assessment, design a geodatabase, and establish metadata and digitization protocols for archaeological data from two areas, San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula, around the site of Cholula. Collaborating with Mexican archaeologists and INAH, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico, the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas began designing a database and workflow that would be open-source, compliant with INAH standards, and incorporate the many fields and data types associated with the salvage excavations. The collections from Urban Cholula have the potential to transform understandings of how Cholula operated as a political and religious center during the pre-Columbian era, and continued to be a resilient locus of Mesoamerican culture throughout the colonial period, remaining so today. UCSAG-Foundations designed a geodatabase and determined the protocols to bring the attention of the world to these little-known, but incredibly significant humanities collections. This report describes the results from the pilot digitization effort
Date: 03/31/2024
Primary URL: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.12763384

---