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The 2012 Season of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project
The genesis of the idea to develop the database
came from a rather informal experiment with
an iPad in the field during the summer of 2011.
I field tested an iPad 1 at La Milpa, Belize to
explore the feasibility of using iPads to collect
data in the field. My use of the iPad was limited
to four specific tasks: (1) using the iPad as a
field library with PDFs of previous field reports
and relevant journal articles, (2) storing copies
of digital photographs for quick reference in
the field, (3) using Numbers, an Excel like
spreadsheet app, to record my photolog (over
750 photos were taken in the field on my
camera alone), and (4) using iDraw, a technical
drawing app, to draw three archaeological
profiles in the field instead of on graph paper.
The iPad performed exceptionally well. It was
lightweight, had phenomenal battery life, and
could even be used in light rain, much to my
surprise. It rains frequently in the summers in
Belize, and even a drizzle makes it impossible
to use paper field forms. By placing the iPad
in a waterproof plastic bag, it was possible to
draw profile drawings and enter photolog data
while all paper-based note taking was halted.
Coincidentally, while in Belize in 2011, I
learned that a colleague at the University of
New Hampshire, Dr. Eleanor Harrison-Buck,
was testing iPads on her project, as well. Her
crews were using FileMaker Pro, a relational
database, and its iPad counterpart in the field
and reported generally positive reviews.
The Data Collection System as
Proposed
The following is taken from the original grant
proposal. As is often the case, the final product
differed somewhat from the envisioned system:
As currently envisioned, the data
collection system will replace the
hierarchy of field forms typically used
in Maya archaeology. The backbone of
the system will be a Filemaker Pro 11
relational database, which will be stored
on a MacBook Pro in the field laboratory.
The laptop will be connected to an
external hard drive to allow continuous
backups. The database forms will be
exported to three iPads, and data will be
entered on the digital forms in the field
using Filemaker Go for iPad. Wireless
keyboards will facilitate entering long
text descriptions. Each evening, the
iPads will be synced with the laptop.
In addition to excavation forms,
the database will include photologs
(running list of photographs taken on
each camera) and laboratory analysis
forms.
Other data (profile and plan map
drawings of excavations) will be
entered using iDraw on the iPads.
These drawings will be uploaded to
the laptop each evening, and they will
be finalized using a desktop version
of the software. Photographs and
videos will be uploaded and managed
in iPhoto on the laptop. Copies of
photos and videos will then be synced
to the iPads as a reference source for
use during the excavations. Similarly,
data from the Total Data Station (a
surveying instrument) will be uploaded
to the laptop. Photographs and finalized
drawings will be linked to the relevant
field forms in the Filemaker Pro
relational database, as will the results
of laboratory analysis.
The Data Collection System as
Built and Implemented
Over the course of several months in the
spring of 2012, the FileMaker Pro 11 database
evolved through multiple “alpha” and “beta”
versions. Because neither Matthew Harris nor I
had used FileMaker before, the learning curve
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