Open and Reusable Data for Southeast Asia and Oceania Archaeology: Review of Available Resources and Prospects

All along the development of archaeology, multiple calls to openly share structured and reusable data were stated: from, among many others, Jean-Claude Gardin's 1955 “Problems of Documentation” paper to more recent statements by Charles Perrault in its 2019 “The Quality of the Archaeological Record” book. In this regard, a structured and explicit movement aiming at fostering open science practices has been ongoing in science for about two decades. Archaeology, among other disciplines, is involved. Many actors and institutions are committed to fostering sharing practices regarding reusable data and reproducible methods and workflows. The closure of the OCSEAN project gives a timely opportunity to report on the state of affairs in this matter for the Southeast Asian and Oceania Archaeology case. Specific initiatives are carried out about this region, for example, “Pofatu”, an open-access database for geochemical sourcing of archaeological materials. This presentation will review available open and/or reproducible resources, data standards, controlled vocabularies, data infrastructures, etc. relevant to archaeological research in this part of the world. This review will emphasise the richness of what has been done but will also highlight lacks and needs, and outline perspectives and prospects for the next decade.