Information Modelling for Archaeology and Anthropology: Software Engineering Principles for Cultural Heritage PDF
Preview Information Modelling for Archaeology and Anthropology: Software Engineering Principles for Cultural Heritage
Cesar Gonzalez-Perez Information Modelling for Archaeology and Anthropology Software Engineering Principles for Cultural Heritage Information Modelling for Archaeology and Anthropology This book contains multiple diagrams expressed in ConML. See www.conml.org for more information on ConML. This book also makes extensive reference to the Cultural Heritage Abstract Reference Model (CHARM). See www.charminfo.org formoreinformationonCHARM.ConMLandCHARMareresearchoutcomesof Incipit CSIC (www.incipit.csic.es) and can be used freely under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/). Mostofthemanyexamplesusedthroughoutthisbookhavebeenmadeupbythe author to better illustrate the different modelling techniques. No particular state- ments or views on the world should be assumed from them. Interior photographs correspond to Praza das Praterías in Santiago de Compostela,Spain;excavationat95GeorgeStreet,Sydney,Australia;theNational MuseumofChinainBeijing,China;arivermillinBegonte,Lugo,Spain;andMaes HoweinOrkney,Scotland.TheyweretakenjointlybytheauthorandIsabelCobas. This book was prepared by the author using Microsoft Word 2016 for editing and layout, and Microsoft Visio 2016 for the figures. The ConML diagrams were composed by using the Visio stencil at http://www.conml.org/Resources_ Templates.aspx. There is a Spanish language edition of this book, titled “Modelado de InformaciónparaArqueologíayAntropología:PrincipiosdeIngenieríadeSoftware para Patrimonio Cultural”, and with ISBN 978-1537766706. Cesar Gonzalez-Perez Information Modelling for Archaeology and Anthropology Software Engineering Principles for Cultural Heritage 123 CesarGonzalez-Perez Incipit, CSIC SantiagodeCompostela, ACoruña Spain ISBN978-3-319-72651-9 ISBN978-3-319-72652-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72652-6 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017961095 ©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2018 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland To the memory of my father, for his curiosity, idealism, and passion. Preface This book is the result of over 20 years of research and practice in the interdisci- plinaryareaofinformationtechnologiesandculturalheritage.Inthe1990s,wehad not heard yet of the “digital humanities”, but we were aware that archaeology, anthropology and other areas in the humanities desperately needed proposals to help manage the increasing amounts of information that they were generating, and sustain the associated knowledge-generation practices. Today, this trend has only intensified, and the application of solid, high-quality engineering principles to the construction of information systems and knowledge-generation approaches in the humanities is paramount. In particular, research in the humanities depends very much on the information that is managed, how it is shaped and structured (i.e. “modelled”), and how knowledge is generated from it through interpretive pro- cesses. In the absence of a rigorous approach, we may end up being unable to use our valuable information for the intended goals. Thesoftwareandknowledgeengineeringdisciplineshavebeenusingconceptual modelling for a while and exporting it to other fields such as biomedicine or businessorganization.However,robustapplicationsofconceptualmodellingtothe humanitiesarescarce.Inthisbook,weapplyprovenprinciplesandtechniquesfrom thesoftwareandknowledgeengineeringfieldstotheproblemsofculturalheritage. Also, we show how these principles and techniques have been adapted and extended to cope with the peculiarities of the humanities and, specifically, archaeology and anthropology. This book is primarily aimed at students and teachers of data management, information modelling and related areas in any field related to cultural heritage, such as archaeology, anthropology, art, museology, geography, history, architec- ture, archival science, literature, and even sociology or soil sciences. Other spe- cialists in cultural heritage such as researchers, heritage managers or heritage professionals working in industry can also use this book in a self-paced manner to learn about the topic. This book assumes no previous exposure by the reader to information tech- nologies and no knowledge whatsoever of conceptual modelling, ontologies or other topics in software or knowledge engineering. Technical detail is kept low or vii viii Preface moderate, and special technical asides used to provide highly specialized or com- plex detailsonly whenneeded aremarked“Technical”.Youcansafelyskipthese sections if not interested in the philosophical or engineering underpinnings of things.Specificwordsorphrasesbeing discussedareshownindoublequotes,like “this”. Single quotes, like ‘this’, are used to refer not to the words but to the underlying concepts. Bibliographic references mentioned in the text are indicated by numbers in brackets, like this [15]. There is a reference list at the end of each chapter. In addition, most of the chapters in this book end with a summary of the contents presented, as well as some exercises that you can use to verify how well youhaveunderstoodthem.Solutionstotheexercisesareprovidedattheendofthis book. This book is organized into five parts of increasing complexity. First, a general philosophical introduction to conceptual modelling is provided, to develop a con- textual feel of the approach and a better understanding of the technical issues that are described later. Secondly, the basics of conceptual modelling are introduced, using the ConML (www.conml.org) language as an infrastructure, and employing examples from everyday life and, as often as possible, cultural heritage. Then, advanced topics in conceptual modelling are presented, in order to fully cover the necessary aspects of ConML that will allow the reader to develop and understand complex conceptual models. After this, a proposed conceptualization of cultural heritage is presented, using the Cultural Heritage Abstract Reference Model (CHARM, www.charminfo.org) as a reference, so that conceptual models of cul- tural heritage can be easily constructed. Finally, various usage scenarios and applications of cultural heritage modelling are described, giving practical tips on how to use different techniques to solve real-world problems. You are free to read only the first few parts if you are only interested in an overview of the topic, or jump to the last parts if you are already familiar with it. If you are learning about conceptualmodellinginculturalheritageforthefirsttimeandyouareinterestedin obtaining a comprehensive view, then I suggest that you read this book cover to cover. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the contributions that many people have madetothematerialspresentedinthisbook.Mostspecially,theConMLmodelling languagehasbenefitedfromtheinputofCharlotteHugandPatriciaMartín-Rodilla. PartsofChap.19havebeenco-writtenwithCésarParcero-Oubiña,andhisinput,as well as David Barreiro’s, has been crucial to the whole chapter. The definitions of culture, cultural heritage, cultural value and heritage value that are discussed in Part IV have been refined from the results of a series of internal workshops at Incipit CSIC (www.incipit.csic.es), with contributions by Ana Ruiz-Blanch, A. César González-García, César Parcero-Oubiña, Cristina Sánchez-Carretero, David Barreiro, Felipe Criado-Boado, Joan Roura-Expósito, Juan Castro-Cal, Patricia Martín-RodillaandRuthVarela.Inturn,theinitialversionoftheCulturalHeritage Abstract Reference Model (CHARM) was developed by a core team led by the author plus Alejandro Güimil-Fariña, Camila Gianotti, César Parcero-Oubiña, Charlotte Hug, Patricia Martín-Rodilla, Pastor Fábrega-Álvarez and Rebeca Preface ix Blanco-Rotea, with additional input from Cristina Mato-Fresán, Lucía Meijueiro and Rocío Varela-Pousa. The whole manuscript was revised by Isabel Cobas. In addition, my co-workers at Incipit CSIC have been courageous enough as to not only accept a stranger between them, but also provide a challenging and exciting environmentwheretrulytransdisciplinary research canbecarried out.My collaborators at the Centro de Investigación en Métodos de Producción Software (PROS) of the Universitat Politècnica de València, the Centre de Recherche en Informatique(CRI)oftheUniversitéParis1—Panthéon-Sorbonne,andtheCentre for Object Technology Applications and Research (COTAR) of the University of Technology, Sydney, have opened many doors and shaped the results of my researchverysignificantly.Also,thecommunityaroundtheComputerApplications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) association and annual confer- ence has also been an endless source of inspiration and problems waiting to be solved. The users of ConML and CHARM, including the students of our regular postgraduate courses at the University of Santiago de Compostela and elsewhere, have also provided very useful feedback. And, last but not least, the boundless conversations with my dear Isabel have delivered both uncompromising support andpowerfulinsightsintotheconceptualmodellingofculturalheritagelikenobody else’s. Thank you all. Santiago de Compostela, Spain Cesar Gonzalez-Perez Contents Part I Introduction to Conceptual Modelling 1 What Is Conceptual Modelling? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2 Premises and Foundations of Conceptual Modelling. . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Premises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Linguistic Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Conceptual Modelling Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 What Are Conceptual Models Made Of? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 3 Benefits and Applications of Conceptual Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Exploration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Part II The Basics of Conceptual Modelling 4 Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Instance Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 5 Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 xi
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