Neil Chungfat & Jocelyn Lin

Goal

East Asian Archaeology is of interest to many different groups around the world. However, records of publications are not as well maintained in Asia as they are in the United States. Articles in a journal published last month are not easily located by someone in the west, unless they know exactly what they are looking for.

The East Asian Archaeology site we have designed was envisioned by the Boston University International Center for East Asian Archaeology and Cultural History (ICEAACH) and allows anyone with access to the internet to search for and contribute bibliographic data related to archaeology in East Asia.

Content

Content on the site is dividided into Archaeological Sites, Articles, and Journals. ICEAACH intends to input data they have available, and then form partnerships with other East Asian Archaeology Departments to collaboratively expand the database. Casual users who are interested in the subject may also contribute data, subject to approval from a designated editor. Articles and Sites are designed to be linked to one another, allowing users to easily access additional information about particular sites and their associated articles.





Features

As the site is geared towards the organization of data from East Asian documents, users may enter and view Asian language characters. They can contribute and view content as well as add comments associated with items that are part of the site. A search feature is also provided to allow people to search for particular subsets of articles based on the various available fields.

Normal User Class

Anybody browsing can look through the various sites, articles, and journals at the EAA website. Once registered and logged in, they also have the ability to add new content and comments, both of which require approval before being displayed. The average user can also go to the user workspace, where they can keep track of things they have submitted. To easily find specific information, there is a basic search available, as well as an advanced article search in which they can narrow down the parameters they are looking for.

Editor User Class

Editors share the same capabilities as the normal user, in addition to the the ability to control what content is seen -- they may approve, edit, delete, and link various submissions. They have an editor workspace in which they can perform their duties. While approving submissions, they may also edit and provide translations/transliterations if need be. The editors can also upload articles and journals in a batch, which is suitable for those who wish to share their local databases which may contain hundreds of items.

chungfat@mit.edu, jclin@mit.edu