Workshop: ArchaMap for Rapid and FAIR Archaeological Data Synthesis

Imagine combining archaeological datasets with hundreds of thousands of rows in hours instead of weeks while simultaneously building links to dozens of related datasets. This virtual workshop introduces ArchaMap, a CatMapper application designed to turn category chaos into reusable research infrastructure. Archaeological data are often encoded with different names, keys, typologies, and hierarchies for ceramics, projectile points, periods, and sites. ArchaMap helps you rapidly translate those differences into transparent mappings you can inspect, share, and reuse.

In this hands-on session, participants will learn to explore existing ArchaMap categories, generate proposed matches for a new dataset, review uncertain one-to-many and fuzzy results, and export merge-ready linkage outputs. You will leave with a practical workflow for accelerating synthesis across projects while improving reproducibility at every step. As you map categories to persistent identifiers, you are not just solving your immediate merge problem; you are contributing reusable connections that make future analyses faster for your lab, collaborators, and the wider community.

We also show how this workflow supports FAIR principles, making your data more findable, interoperable, and easier for others to validate and build on. Designed for archaeologists and open to all disciplines, this workshop requires no coding and focuses on high-impact, immediately applicable skills.