Hi,
  I would like to add my name to the list of possible papers or lunch
roundtable. I've been working with the Illinois archaeological survey site
database since 1984 (on and off). We currently have about 38,000 records
in Arc/Info (a GIS program).  The database and associated background
coverages (layers) are periodically disemenated to various cultural
resource managers within the state for use with ArcView (a simplified
viewer for Arc/Info data).  These managers include folks at the
Illinois departments of: Historic Preservation, Natural Resources,
Transportation, among others.  I'm looking into ways to allow web-based
access to the information although there are several problems with this:
security and the fact that not all of the individuals have web access at
their offices.
 
We have a couple of instances of web-based map queries.  Faunmap is a
database of mammalian faunal assemblages for the 48 lower continental
United States covering the last 40,000 years (although not focusing on
post-contact sites, sorry but it's not my fault). There are just
under 3,000 paleontological or archaeological sites in the database, and
you may find out more at http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/faunmap.
 
I've put up an experimental map maker based on over 1/2 million land
records from the federal land offices in Illinois. This database records
the initial transfer for land from the U.S. public domain into private
ownership. There is a poster on the subject available from the ISM GIS
site at http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/GISlab, and I think I've
got a paper linked from my poster (schroeder 19whateveritwas).  I'm at
home now so can't see the web.  There is also a begining article/exhibit
on the subject at http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibts/ilgis (may not
remain current)Anyway, the experimental map maker based on these data is
at http://www2.museum.state.il.us/landrec.  Please, please, please don't
put this link in public places.  I make no promise that it will stay
current.  Also, searching 500,000 records makes for a big drain on our
server, so please don't do much searching.  Much as I'd like to, I can't
make this very available because too much traffic (like from
geneaologists, who would like this service very much) would trash the
machine.
 
I've also gotten interested lately in extending the role of GIS (an easy
method of archiving spatial context) with some of the recent advances in
VR, making a 3-d model of an excavation, or landscape. You can see some
of the stuff off of the http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/GISlab
link under "Arc/Info TIN==>VRML", if I remember right. I've also got some
tentative excavation square reconstructions (VRML 1.0) at
http://www.museum.state.il.us/vrmuseum/sq36.html.  These may not look
good with all VRML browsers.
 
So, if someone will organize a session, I'd like to be part.
 
Erich
 
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Erich Schroeder                    Phone: (217)785-0033
Associate Curator, Anthropology    FAX:   (217)785-2857
Illinois State Museum GIS Lab      Internet: [log in to unmask]
http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismdepts/anthro/staff/erich/erich.html
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